We’re ARPM and we specialise in looking after let properties for estate agents, corporates, ALMO's across Britain. We work behind the scenes and take care of everything from collecting the rent to arranging safety inspections, and we’ll do it under your business name and branding.
So when your landlord wants to query a payment or the tenant needs a new boiler, we’ll take the call and do what needs to be done. Professionally and efficiently. And because we’re exceptionally cost-effective, you can still enjoy a healthy margin on every rent payment.
We’ve been going since 2007 and our growing team can take responsibility for as many let properties as you can secure.
Outsourcing. Everyone has an opinion on it and there’s a stigma surrounding it in the lettings industry.
But get this…letting agents ARE outsourcing their tenancy administration and property management to enable them to survive and prosper in an ever-challenging market. And this trend is going to INCREASE in 2019.
So if you don’t want to be left behind and think you know the truth about outsourcing? Think again.
Here are six common outsourcing myths busted!
Myth #1 – It’s cheaper to employ staff and handle everything in-house
TRUTH - On face value, it can seem that way for some letting agents if you’re simply adding up the cost per property per month of outsourcing with the annual salary(ies) of your staff. When you take the overheads – recruitment and training costs, car allowance and expenses, software fees, National Insurance and pension contributions - and hassle of people management into account, however, it’s usually the more affordable (and hassle-free) option.
Myth #2 –People will lose their jobs
TRUTH - In some instances, outsourcing does enable you to cut costs by letting staff go, but there are many business situations when outsourcing is useful and hardly any of them mean the loss of jobs. More often than not, outsourcing is a way of keeping in-house staff focused on core tasks, such as sales, with the time-consuming aspects delegated to available resources. It is also invaluable when it comes to staff leaving of their own accord and you need instant scalability – your outsourcing team already has the skills, infrastructure and capacity to take on existing workload or new deals as you grow. You won’t have to worry about a costly or lengthy recruitment process either.
Myth #3 – Outsourcing means using proptech to replace people
TRUTH - Replacing people with technology is a form of outsourcing, but not in this context. You will not only save on in-house licence fees, because we already use and pay for the best systems and technology, but you will have your own UK-based property management team dedicated to your portfolio. These experienced professionals will speak to your landlords and tenants as you would and build trust and rapport with them.
Myth #4 – Not having someone in the office will result in a bad quality service
TRUTH – Nothing could be further from the truth. Outsourced lettings specialists like ARPM invest heavily in staff training, robust systems/processes and prop tech, so can help letting agents to improve customer service. Our team’s combined knowledge and experience often eclipses that of negotiators in branch, as we are property management specialists and nothing else, and we have a proven track record for reducing complaints and rent arrears.
Myth #5 – My clients will think we’re less capable if they know we outsource
TRUTH - If your outsourcing provider offers a white labelled service, your clients will have no idea that someone from outside of your company is looking after them, their tenants and their property. We’ll answer the phone with your company name, ensure all correspondence that leaves our company is branded in line with yours and keep our partnership 100% confidential.
Myth #6 – We’ll lose control of our portfolio
TRUTH – The only thing you will lose is the hassle! You’ll retain all high-level control without having to deal with the day-to-day administration and management. You set the level of autonomy we have when it comes to approving maintenance and repair costs or appointing contractors, for example, and you’ll be able to log into our systems to see exactly what is happening with your portfolio at any time. We will keep you up to date via weekly conference calls and your dedicated team is just a call away to answer any queries or questions.
Outsourcing. Why not?
Join more than 60% of letting agents who are seriously considering outsourcing in 2019.
Speak to our specialist team to find out how outsourcing can work for all types of lettings businesses. Contact ARPM today.
