haart is to roll out a dedicated new lettings service for military landlords in garrison towns throughout Britain.
It is launching its first Military Lettings Service at its existing branch in Colchester, Essex, led by Tracey Dumont, senior lettings manager.
The team will help military landlords currently serving with the 16 Air Assault Brigade to market their properties in Colchester and the surrounding area.
A particular feature of the service is that landlords will be able to change their terms with the agent at a moment’s notice if they are called away on duty – for example, if they want to change to a full management service, they can do so by phone or email without having to visit the office and sign a new agreement.
Whilst away, they will be able to view their monthly statements securely online or receive them by email.
Haart is also creating a section on its website for military landlords, together with a call-back facility.
Dumont said: “As a garrison town, Colchester has been in real need of a lettings agent that military landlords can trust, especially since the demise of Blue Forces.”
Blue Forces was one of two military-focused property companies, headquartered in Colchester, and set up with the backing of the Ministry of Defence, to help soldiers buy homes. Blue Force Property and Blue Force Services both went into liquidation, owing troops serving abroad, including Afghanistan, an estimated £1.5m.
Feedback from troops during research before setting up the new military service was that they wanted a lettings agent offering deposit protection, separate client accounts and client money protection. The research suggested military landlords were particularly interested in the SAFEagent scheme, to which haart belongs.
A spokesman said: “The plan is to launch the service in Colchester and then roll it out to other military towns where we have dedicated lettings branches over the coming months.”
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