You’ve invested a great deal of time, effort and costs into your property, ensuring it’s ready for a tenant occupancy; yet it remains empty with costs beginning to escalate. Now you’re beginning to ask yourself, why isn’t my property letting?
If you’re struggling to rent out your property, it is vital that you remain proactive in addressing the cause behind it. An empty property can lead to:
1. Mortgage payments without rental income to back them up.
2. Council tax and standing utility payments.
3. Increase in premium rates.
4. Your property is more likely to be subject to vandalism or asset theft.
The case of properties failing to let can be common dependant on a range of factors. These include:
Pricing
It’s a no-brainer when it comes to wanting to make the best return on your investment, trying to stretch your rental figure as high as possible. One of the most common themes when it comes to slow or total let failings however is the rental figure may be too high. One of the best methods of pricing your property is analysing comparable property prices in the area, and setting it to a similar or even competitive offering.
Marketing
Having a letting agent grants the ability to have your property put onto the largest property portals, including Rightmove and Zoopla. If your property isn’t on these portals, there’s going to be a large quantity of potential tenants missing your property.
Photographs
The term “don’t judge a book by its cover” is frequently torn up and thrown to the wind when it comes to properties; people buy with their eyes. Nothing grabs potential tenant’s interest like high quality photographs of your property; it’s vital that they are well lit and show the property off at its best. Is the property clean and tidy in the photos with no clutter? Are the photos grainy or blurry? If you’re taking your own photos rather than an agent, smartphones in the modern day and age come already pre-loaded with excellent cameras, so photo quality shouldn’t be too much of an issue.
Property turn-offs
There are a variety of common factors that can lose a potential tenant’s interest when they attend viewings for a property. Smells are one of the first thing someone notices when they enter a new space. An overflowing cat litter tray, stale curry or cigarette smoke are some of the worst odour greetings anyone can have to a property. General clutter around the house can also be a hindrance. Prospective tenants like to visualise themselves in their own canvas of a property, and the more clutter there is, the more difficult this task can become. Keeping the house clean and tidy, whilst ensuring its smelling at its best are guaranteed methods of securing a potential tenant’s interest during a viewing.
Maintenance Issues
Obvious maintenance issues are also going to be highly off-putting to potential tenants. You can assure them that these will be rectified during a viewing, but the viewers need to be able to fall back on trust for this to happen. They may have had negative experiences with landlords in previous properties that have the potential to scupper this trust, so ensure there is no mould throughout the property, doors are on hinges, and there are no dead shrubs or plants in the garden.
Any responsible letting agent will help and guide you through these processes to ensure your properties let quickly to minimise voids. If you’re doubting your current agent’s ability to help let your properties, or are looking for assistance on the matter. give us a call on 0161 883 2525.
