How to Make the Most of Post-Stamp-Duty Lettings

Agents | Tue 27 Jul 21

Now that the sales rush of the stamp duty holiday is over, you’re probably ready for a holiday yourself. Once you’re back from staycationing, it’s time to make the most of the traditional summer peak in lettings, spiking even higher this year thanks to bottled-up Covid demand.

In fact, Goodlord’s Rental index shows voids in England were down to just 16 days in June*.

Open more opportunities and close more deals

Did you know 96% of tenants say they’d choose a Zero Deposit™ agent over the rest**? Take advantage of the rush in rentals by making your agency one that tenants flock to. Offering a Zero Deposit Guarantee could help you unlock even more quality leads to offer your landlords, and close more deals with the no-deposit guarantee tenants prefer***.

Speed up the process by pre-qualifying your applicants

Don’t wait until the referencing stage to uncover potential application problems you could have identified sooner. This extra bit of paperwork upfront could save you a lot of time later on, as there’ll be less risk of tenants falling at the last hurdle. Your pre-qualification questionnaire should cover their ID, employment status, income, credit history and earliest move-in date. Having this information means you can advise your tenant early on if you’ll need anything extra from them to progress their application. For example, if they’re on a lower income, they may need a guarantor. Make sure your applicants understand the process and what’s expected of them, too. This will help keep timescales on track.

Get your house in order when it comes to process

With more lettings and more applicants comes more admin. How efficient are your internal comms, systems and processes? Could anything be streamlined? For example, upgrading to a cloud-based CRM system could allow your team to work better from anywhere, while freeing them from paper-based admin. Not only will this help you get more done, you’ll be able to focus on more valuable tasks – like face-to-face time with your clients.

Attract more applicants with online reviews

Word of mouth is one of the most powerful ways to get new referrals. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in person, or in a collection of positive online reviews. While tenants looking to move might be at a high right now, competition is high too. So, don’t be shy about inviting your landlords and tenants to leave you a glowing Google review. Seeing what good things other renters have to say might be the nudge they need to reach out to you, too.

For more tips for your letting agency, take a look at our blog.

*Source: Goodlord blog (https://blog.goodlord.co/where-is-your-focus-sales-or-lettings)

*Source: Internal data, August 2020 - Survey of 243 tenants

**Source: Trustpilot. Comparison of 5 star reviews on Trustpilot: Zero Deposit (1,884), Flatfair (437), Canopy (185) and Reposit (115). Correct on 19/07/2021.