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2014 sees some special anniversaries here at The Letting People.

12 busy years –

Since the Letting People were first founded in March 2002, in a very small office (approx. 60 square feet of useable space) in Leamington Spa!  Weekly newspaper advertising was crucial, the cost of mobile phone calls were extortionate, and hardly any of our customers had access to email… today internet advertising is crucial, mobile phone calls are sensibly priced, and we expect everyone to have daily access to email (or even Smart phone or tablet communications!)

10 happy years –

Since Anthony & Caroline Kempster, the co-founders of The Letting People were married in May 2004, in Warwick Register Office, with the reception in The Restaurant in the Park, Jephson Gardens. Our photographer didn’t have a digital camera – so please excuse the blurry picture!  This year we celebrate our Tin Wedding Anniversary so we are off to visit a tin mine in Cornwall whilst on our second honeymoon!

10 ‘team’ years –

Since Christine Kelly and Michele Thomas came to join us in our second office premises in Leamington Spa in Holly Walk.  We’ve been through another two office moves together, and today are all incredibly proud of what we have achieved in the last decade.

2 growth years –

Since Ziaull Hussain came to join us – first on a year’s undergraduate work placement, and now as a full-time Lettings Co-ordinator who commutes daily, through all weathers, to Leamington from Birmingham.

1 franchise year –

Since Philip Rayner and Michael Lomax joined The Letting People as our first franchise branch in Milton Keynes.  With their combined experience gained in the construction industry, and marketing and design knowledge, their partnership is ideally suited to develop their lettings business in a thriving city.

Photo credit: Darwin Bell via Compfight cc

Letting You Let Our Properties? 

Viewings Advisors (Freelance/Self-employed) Job Vacancies

… is this “up your street”?  

• Are you looking for a new and interesting freelance/self-employed opportunity in and around Leamington Spa?
• Are you currently self-employed and would you relish the flexibility of working around your own interests?
• Do you have a real interest in meeting new people and finding out what is most important to them?
• Do you have an interest in and/or experience within the property industry?
• Do you have use of a car, SatNav, mobile phone, and laptop/computer?
• Are you available for up to 5 days per week including most Saturdays?

If you can answer ‘Yes’ to the above, we have very interesting and worthwhile Viewings Advisor positions available, with good rates of pay plus commission.

If this sounds “up your street” please email your current CV with a covering letter stating why you are interested, and full contact details to: caroline@thelettingpeople.co.uk

Previously this vacancy had over 100 hits on The Letting People website in one day!

 … so don't miss out … Closing date for CVs: Thursday 7th August

A garden can be a real selling point for tenants who look forward to a summer weekend eating al fresco, or seeing their children playing outside.  

However, all the seasons can create a great deal of garden maintenance issues that few tenants will have the time or skills to deal with.  

Here are a few ideas to keep the garden, and hopefully your tenant, as low-maintenance as possible!

1. Do away with the grass! It looks lovely when it’s neatly mowed – but lawn-maintenance is a big problem for most tenants who may never have used a mower before! 

The best bet is concrete and paving stones of various types – or stone chippings with a mesh to stop the weeds.

Decking too can look stylish, but be careful as it may become slippery and therefore dangerous when it’s wet.

2. Raise the borders! Very few tenants will have the time to regularly tend to the borders and the edges, and may want to avoid bending down to pull out the weeds, etc.  Raised beds will be more likely to get a bit more care – and can be used for additional seating if built at a comfortable seat height.

3. Throw on the bark-chippings. These will let through the rain and keep the roots of plants watered, but should also keep the weeds down.

4. Choose plants carefully. Many plants will look after themselves and dense planting of easy-care plants will prevent any weeds becoming established.

5. Employ a gardener! Perhaps just a few times a year this will be money very well spent. Use to cut back any trees and hedges, clear up fallen leaves, pull out or treat any stubborn weeds, and to check any trees or plants that might affect garden walls, drains and guttering.

Are you interested in what you have just read? The Letting People employ several local garden contractors who can assist you with all the above jobs, and maybe some other gardening works we haven’t covered here.  Please Contact your local branch for more details.

Image courtesy of FDP 2014

Whether you are starting out on your search for a purchase, or have found the property you wish to purchase, we can offer a service that is right for you. From initial search through to completion we can focus on what is important to you whether this is capital growth, rental income, and/or simply saving your time! More income less fuss with a specialist and personal service. This service is only currently available at our Leamington Spa branch. Find out more here https://thelettingpeople.co.uk/buy-to-let

Are you giving the taxman too much of your income from your investment property?

Do you know 51 ways to save property taxes?

Are you using a non-specialist accountant?

This book by Iain Wallis could save you ££££s in property taxes! It has 51 top tips to enable you to potentially keep more of your income from property – be that income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax – and therefore spend your money saved on what you want to spend it on!

Imagine how you could spend your money that could have gone to the taxman – perhaps on an extra holiday or on some nice surprises for your family? …. or perhaps to secure the future for your children or even your grandchildren?

To *claim your FREE book (£24.99 RRP) instruct your local The Letting People branch to let your property.

Please be quick … This is a limited FREE offer only available to landlords who advertise their property to let with their local branch of The Letting People before 30th June 2015.

Call today to book your marketing appraisal:

01926 882555 (Leamington Spa) or leamington@thelettingpeople.co.uk

OR

01908 713000 (Milton Keynes) or miltonkeynes@thelettingpeople.co.uk

*Please note this offer may be withdrawn at any time.

NLA celebrates licensing victory in Milton Keynes

The National Landlords Association (NLA) is celebrating a licensing victory and is delighted to announce that Milton Keynes City Council has abandoned plans to introduce a proposed city-wide Selective Licensing scheme.

The NLA have been leading the fight against licensing through its local landlord members, meeting with local authorities and action groups as well as launching a social media campaign. Milton Keynes Council concluded last week that the introduction of a city-wide licensing scheme would not solve the issues of poor housing standards, anti-social behaviour and low housing demand in the area.  

In a further piece of good news for landlords, the council also cut the license fee on all Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) by over half, from £800 to £300.

Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer at the NLA said:

“This is fantastic news for landlords in Milton Keynes and we thank all those involved in reaching this conclusion.

“Selective licensing is a powerful tool at the disposal of local authorities, but it should only be used when appropriate. The clear message from Milton Keynes is that they intend to take a more proactive stance and focus on the existing powers they have available to combat poor standards in the area, an approach the NLA has long argued is more effective.

“It’s important that the NLA represents the views of its members who saw this as the wrong move.  Nevertheless, we’re committed to working with Milton Keynes City Council to improve property standards in the area, to promote best practice and to encourage co-operation between the council, landlords and their tenants."

Caroline Kempster, co-founder of The Letting People discusses the importance of branding at a recent 4N Networking 4Sight event in Leamington Spa. Anthony Kempster co-founder of The Letting People comments "Caroline has been instrumental in developing and nuturing The Letting People brand to being much more than a logo! Landlords should consider the importance of a strong and easily recognisable brand when choosing their letting agent. The Letting People are passionate about lettings; the business and the brand is all about "people" and building long term relationships".

Landlords: Whether you are buying, selling or letting to find out more about The Letting People property investor services visit click here https://www.thelettingpeople.co.uk/buy-to-let

Book you FREE local property investment discussion today. 

BBC Apprentice star Jo Cameron has launched her successful and exclusive business community, the Achievers Academy for Women (AAW), in Leamington Spa, with Caroline Kempster of The Letting People.

The high energy event saw more than 40 of the area’s top businesswomen gather at Leamington Spa’s Episode Hotel to meet Jo Cameron and to hear inspirational stories from women who have changed themselves and their businesses to create successful enterprises.

As the first of Jo Cameron’s 16 AAW groups across the country to launch the ‘Prime’ model, the hand-picked selection of like-minded business professionals in the Leamington Spa group will meet monthly to share and to build upon their knowledge and experience. The new group, will be led by Leamington entrepreneur Caroline Kempster, founder and marketing director of local letting specialists, The Letting People.

Speaking following the event, Jo said: “The AAW launch in Leamington was a super-charged event which saw several existing members share their personal stories. It was inspirational to hear about the incredible business journeys that they were going through and I know that their time spent at AAW, under Caroline’s leadership, will inspire them even further.”

Caroline, who will be hosting the next monthly meeting on Monday 14th April, said “I firmly believe that we can always continue to make positive changes to our personal and business lives if we have the right encouragement and expertise from the people around us.

“When I first joined AAW three years ago it was fantastic to meet women who were so passionate about their businesses. I have gained so much from the group and I know that Jo’s exclusive community of discerning business women will bring a new and positive dimension to business growth in Leamington.”

The Achievers Academy for Women now boasts 150 members across 16 groups in the UK. For more information please visit www.achieversacademyforwomen.com or call 0843 289 2839.

Henry has extensive experience of moving and settling into new homes having been born in Perth Australia, 3 further homes, and then rehomed to find himself in Leamington Spa! He is a flat-coat retriever and is now very knowledgeable about the parks and gardens of both Leamington Spa and surrounding areas including all the best places for a run and swim.

Henry is regularly found in Jephson Gardens in the morning where he meets the new dogs in the neighbourhood and at the weekends in the Aviary Cafe for his breakfast treat. If you are looking for a new home with your dog, Henry recommends some very helpful information which may be obtained from the Dogs Trust at http://www.dogstrust.org.uk and http://www.letswithpets.org.uk and we will also do our best to find your dog- and human-friendly home. Woof Woof!

"Many professional tenants, on their first move away from home or student accommodation, may not have enough spare money to buy their own furnishings"

At this time of year, university students are moving into their new accommodation, and expecting to find a prescribed list of furnishings supplied by the landlord in each bedroom – bed, desk, chair, wardrobe, etc.  However, most tenancies are not as straightforward as this and landlords are often left in a dilemma as to what furnishings to provide.

The Letting People have considerable experience of advising landlords on suitable furnishings for properties, as required, to make the property let more easily to the perfect tenant. Some tenants will enjoy choosing new furniture to make a rented house into their home. They may therefore choose a particular unfurnished property because of the size of the rooms – a big enough living room to accommodate a large corner sofa, or perhaps a bedroom that will fit the king-size bed they’ve been dreaming of purchasing. 

Equally, many properties to let will be furnished and a rental decision may be based entirely on the style, period and age of the furnishings. Likewise a flat, without lift access, above the first floor is more likely to let on a furnished basis as no-one is keen to carry (or pay someone else to carry) large furnishings up lots of stairs! Another consideration will be the comfort of soft furnishings such as the bed and/or sofa provided. Some tenants will be anxious to find a home with enough clothes storage space also.

Generally, The Letting People recommend that one-bedroom flats and apartments should be furnished. This is because approximately 90% of the enquiries received for one-bedroom flats, are from tenants requiring furniture. This is frequently because single prospective tenants are looking for an alternative to hotel accommodation or just somewhere to live mid-week. Additionally many professional tenants, on their first move away from home or student accommodation, may not have enough spare money to buy their own furnishings.

Two-bedroom properties with a double and single bedroom, are usually let to single professionals or to couples, who will use the smaller room for an office or storage/dressing room. It is recommended these properties are furnished, except for the smaller bedroom.

There is probably an equal demand for furnished or unfurnished two double-bedroom properties, but a very stylishly furnished property will let more quickly and at a higher rent than its unfurnished counterpart. However, although the same unfurnished property may take longer to let – the tenancy can be for a longer term. This is because it is easier both to move into, and to move out, of a furnished property.

Larger properties of three or more bedrooms are often easier to let unfurnished. These properties are more attractive to families or older couples with their own furnishings and requirements for particular spaces such as room to work from home or for teenage children to have their own space.

The Letting People are always happy to advise property investors and landlords on how to maximise their rental income – whether by including particular furnishings or by other means!