Poole Dorset a few of my favorite things No longer the enclave for a sleepy retirement

Poole Dorset a special place to live and still very English. A few years ago I spent a year travelling backwards and forwards to Brighton. I had never been there before and for me it was a place that television programs have you believe Londoners dream of escaping for wonderful seaside weekends. Well all I can say is that those that are committed to Brighton as a resort for weekends or second homes have never been to Poole in Dorset. Primarily Poole has its wonderful Harbour

A harbour reported to be the second largest natural harbour in the World and Poole has surrounded the harbour with Country parks recreational playing fields, footpath walks from Upton Country Park, to Baiter park, Poole park lake, Whitecliff recreational ground and the landscaped evening hill walk down to the bay at Sandbanks. Then just take a look at the beach, it has to have the softest golden sand in the world who would swap that for the stoney Brighton beach. There is miles of beach from the tip of the Sandbanks peninsula find sand sand and more sand as far as Southbourne 10 miles away. Dispersed between these beach front take a stroll inland following the beautiful wooded chine walks Durley Chine, Branksome Dene Chine, Canford Cliffs chine. Take a walk through any of the tree lined Roads in districts approaching the harbour and you will be impressed by the results of Poole Local Authority Tree preservation control.

When I return on my regular visits back to Poole I am also impressed by the surge in people walking,jogging,cycling,windsurfing,kyte surfing and generally playing sport. There are so many tracks and trails to discover not to mention access across on the Sandbanks ferry to the trails across the Purbeck hills to Corfe Castle Swanage or Lulworth beyond or go 30 minutes East and spend the day exploring the New Forset around villages such as Fordingbridge, Lyndhurst, Bramshaw,Lymington

For those that like to Party Bournemouth offers Poole residents all the delights of a busy night life social scene and has become a mecca for stag and hen weekends add the University students to the mix and Bournemouth town centre area has become a young persons night life venue.

As you come further away from the upmarket suburbs that surround Poole harbour and beach you can now find trendy enclaves that once lay dark and dormant after 6pm most nights. Now places such as Ashley Cross, Penn Hill, Lilliput and Canford Cliffs Village compete for business with trendy cafes, bars, patisseries and restaurants. There is a definate a buzz in the air about the place with brand new designer homes being built and investment in business wherever you turn. Poole is no longer the sleepy town that is attached to Bournemouth and this is shown by the quality and value of property being built in the Poole area.

Tailor Made Lettings and Tailor Made estate agents have been part of this property scene since 1992 and have seen the demand grow year on year from people vacating Cities such as London, Manchester,Birmingham to enjoy this great lifestyle location

I myself have talked about Poole as a great UK town to many of my friends here in Sotogrande Spain and several have been back and bought homes there as well as a few buy to let properties. The most recent expat friend I took to Poole bought a house in Blake Hill Crescent, Lilliput for retirement in 10 years time paid just under 700,000.00 calculating a 100k refurbishment if he were to live in it. Presently property is rented out for 2200 per month on long term contract. Another expat friend whose daughter plans to go to Bournemouth University is now looking to buy an apartment in Poole / Bournemouth targeting an apartment on the border between the two towns possibly Westcliff, Westbourne, Alum Chine where the family can visit and enjoy themselves and once his daughter leaves the halls of residence she will have a ready made home. Of the expat friends I have shown around Poole in recent years there are now potentially 3 more looking to invest in the area a beautiful town in Southern England, its a case of seen it like it want a part of it.

Property Managing Agents Poole Dorset. A looks at best ways to upset a tenant

Tailor Made Letting agency are property managers for Poole & Bournemouth. This local Poole Business has continued to specialize in rental property and management of private residential accommodation. Established in 1992 Tailor Made have developed their systems and processes as well as staying upto date with advances in the latest Property Management software "Gemini"

Jamie Rolls of Tailor Made Lettings says "Residential management is all about minimizing risk and because we specialize, we are good at what we do" The biggest problems arise where Landlords look to manage property themselves and whilst some maybe good at it others create situations where everything turns to pot simply because both sides are too emotionally involved in the property. Its not surprising to us how many times landlords with direct contact get annoyed then situation results in all out war. So often Landlord owners visit our offices to discuss their problem tenants asking us for help in dealing with the issue of tenants who have become difficult as a result of arguments.

Finding a tenant is the easy part of our job advanced websites and various property portals such as rightmove and zoopla bring the right type of customers to our door. The key to a happy rental is to maintain good relations and not to let a dripping tap or a faulty lock turn into a debacle that damages relations. No property is perfect and much of the time occupants are frustrated by technology shoddy workmanship therefore such issues need to be tracked and signed off as successfully tackled. The other cause of potential problems can be the lack of information. For many issues simply providing info prior to occupation can take the sting out of issues when they arise. For instance where a Landlord has gone to the expense and trouble of cleaning a property prior to occupying it is always worth providing a copy of the receipt attached to the inventory. Then at the end of a contract when you ask the tenant to oblige the same courtesy and they begin to argue {as often they do} a simple production of the receipt and the contract clause stating they will oblige with a clean will turn a reticent tenant into an obliging one. At Tailor Made we have a word for managing expectations of Landlords and Tenants "preconditioning" if a person has been preconditioned then there is less likely to be an argument when a strong arm becomes necessary. Common sense really?

So many times its these small tricks of the trade that result in achieving what both tenant and landlord hope for "a smooth uncomplicated tenancy"

As a landlord once you have read this short article you must surely see the benefits of using a specialist letting agent as opposed to handing your property over to a sales agency who does rentals on part time basis. Many agents these days have turned to the rental market because times are hard and they have to find a second income stream.

For many sales agents dealing with issues are a nuisance, particularly when they are out selling property, so problems are often left to an inexperienced secretary or part time worker whose skill is to manage the phone and in response to a problem phones a manager who in turn tells the receptionist to ring a plumber,who then leaves an ansa machine message and there ends the matter. As property manager a water leak needs to be followed through to the end even if it means letting the plumber in ourselves. Its what we do. You can picture the scenario a very angry Tenant returns home to find plumber came turned water off in the Road because he couldn't get access and will not come out again that evening.

Tailor Made Letting agents

Letting agents Poole Dorset find a property in Poole Dorset & Bournemouth

Tailor Made Lettings are based in Poole town centre this office was opened in 1992 and has been a dedicated rental agent / property management business for 22 years. If you are seeking rented accommodation long term in the Poole or Bournemouth areas we can assist. Tailor Made letting agency maintains a good selection of rental property across all suburbs of Poole and West of Bournemouth town centre including Westbourne, Westcliff & Talbot Woods. The jpeg image attached details the main locations where you can find property to rent by searching our website.

If you would like to meet us and discuss finding a suitable property then please feel free to collect a rental list of flats and houses on offer from one of our locations click on the MAP LINK for Poole town centre office #MAPLINK

Alternatively why not pop down to Sandbanks beach and collect a rental property listing from Tailor Made estate Agents on the peninsula the office is next to Cafe Shore restaurant opposite the main Sandbanks beach car park.

Map of Poole /Bournemouth

Tailor Made rental agency 234 High Street North Poole Dorset BH15 1DY

www.tailormadelettings.co.uk

0044 1202 770040

Social media big boost to Tailor Made Lettings 3 years of intense promotion and still learning

Our Letting agency uses Social media to promote property and letting services as well as promote the beautiful town of Poole Dorset.Unfortunately its no longer possible to simply sit back behind a shopfront and wait for the customer.

If your going to live in the UK then Poole on the South Coast has to be one of the best lifestyle moves a family can make. The town has been carefully developed and great care has been take particularly around the harbour areas to maintain recreational grounds and in particular trees and tree lines, a great feature of the town is its leafy roads and stunning beach,harbour locations.

Three years ago I set out to work hard on social media promotion of my business in the knowledge that the biggest asset i had available to promote are the town's of Poole & Bournemouth. By this point in time having worked hard to gain a good presence on various media including facebook, twitter, linkedin, pinterest, google plus,flickr, panoramio & blogger the results have been very effective.All the social media are of course all used in support of the two websites we operate tailormadelettings.co.uk and sandbankslettings.co.uk yet they are there to create a public interest in what you have to say and I find myself very well supported when pointing out what a great towns Poole & Bournemouth are. Just stating this fact is an attention grabber

The results of plugging away at this form of promotion has shown a steady growth year on year and now within a time span of 24 hours a single promotion put out on the world wide web by Tailor Made will be seen not only by our followers but often by the people we follow. The results in 24 hours are around 400 views per feature or property either directly promoted or indirectly featured via links. Throw in a regular run of Photographic promotion of the area as well as our physical literature scanned to the internet and coverage is immense particularly when items are sent out daily, from early morning until late night.

In our industry there is a tendency not to train for internet promotion and often many source the job out resulting in regular robotic promotion done by persons who do not understand the industry or the business they are assisting ,therefore there is no message, instead they put out news items of national and local property interest where maybe a prospective customer raises an eyebrow then forgets within a few minutes. Most of the time the reports submitted contradict each other and are not in keeping with the message your business wants to get across. Do these agents think that retweeting every news property item in the UK will get people on board. In my opinion such practice is more likely to be viewed as spam.

In addition to social media agents use web portals. Tailor Made Lettings use Rightmove and Zoopla, property information for these portals is automatically fed from our own websites directly into the portal feed which in turn provides a good source of inquiry. Tailor Made lettings are seeing possibly 18 to 26 inquirers a day from these alone. The key at the moment is to target the Landlords as demand out strips supply by far. Agents struggle to provide choice of property for the variety of inquiries that come in. Its here that Social Media works best and the larger the following the clearer the message the better chance of attracting the Landlord with the property you need. All said and done finding the Landlord then matching property with tenant is the final result where personality rules yet spare a thought for the amount of time effort and process that goes into the many forms of promotion that an agency follows to achieve the end result.This next photo shows a cheeky promo on a friends Ferrari our magnetic promotion was on there for couple hours outside the tennis club then once we mentioned it to him, it was ordered to be removed immediately

Gone are the days where an agent sat on a busy street with a sign saying property for sale and a bunch of keys. Social media web promotion newspaper advertising need an expertise and for people like myself it has become second nature to follow internet trends and look to stay ahead or keep up with the game yet continue with physical processes to gain public awareness Francis Payne Tailor Made Letting agents The dedicated rental agency in Poole Dorset

Bournemouth workers target Canford Cliffs in Poole Dorset

Demand from outside of Poole and shortage of flats to rent in upmarket locations

This month has seen high demand for Canford Cliffs rental apartments and interestingly enough the inquiries have been from Bournemouth workers, professional couples who simply want to live in Poole and to be near the sea. This trend has not only been from existing locals but also from new relocation arrivals to the area living in short term company accommodation

Canford Cliffs has some very upmarket modern apartment developments many in very close proximity to the Beach Harbour and the ever popular Sandbanks. For those that work in Bournemouth getting to the the Canford Cliffs area is easy as normally it has no congestion. Passage across to Bournemouth via Branksome Park, Westbourne along the Westcliff is relatively easy and most importantly quick. Also within Canford Cliffs and on the peripheries ie Lilliput Penn Hill and Sandbanks the once sleepy parades have come alive with trendy wine bars, cafes, restaurants, some great places to wind down at the end of a hard days work or good meeting points to kick start a day of exploring beach and harbour .

Jamie Rolls of Tailor Made Poole town office says "its no surprise that people love to live in Poole its getting a real reputation as a lifestyle destination much of this down to the huge harbour and the amount of parkland and scenery. Cycling this area seems to have taken off big time as people take to two wheels and discover harbour beach chines and the Purbecks a few minutes ferry hop from Sandbanks its no wonder professional couples want a piece of it"

If you own a property you are considering renting it out then let Tailor Made Lettings provide you with an analysis of 12 month rentals for your street or postcode area Tailor Made Lettings 01202 770040 website www.tailormadelettings.co.uk

Property in Broadstone on the market to rent

Rental property in Broadstone is scarce

Did you know that Broadstone in the Poole Dorset area scores high on prospective tenant searches. Broadstone location is the highest searched for rental property via Primelocation, Zoopla, Rightmove portals. Despite this Broastone has the lowest stats for properties available to rent.

Very interesting stats for the buy to let investor in Poole for next time when considering where to purchase. Broadstone is great for school catchment and this we believe this reason to be biggest driving factor for the high interest in renting a property in Broadstone.

Letting Agency Tailor Made Lettings of Poole town office have available this house To Let in Broadstone . Contact us for viewings 01202 770040

Broadstone rental property

Properties to rent in the Poole area in short supply Dorset hotspot

Poole a beautiful place to live and work

In Poole Dorset the demand for rental property is high and the interest from Companies looking to relocate is on increase. As more and more Company directors buy second homes in and around the beach and harbour locations its hardly surprising that the same business people are investigating the commercial property market for offices and industrial units. Tailor Made estate agents in Sandbanks report a lot of interest and sales happening to Directors of London Companies looking to buy a second home in or near Sandbanks many investing over 1 million pounds for designer homes close to the beach.

It must be said that office space is a fraction of the price of London. Within the last 5 years many Companies tightening their belts have rented space for their City back office operations and systems in and around Poole. The result has seen a continuous flow of new workers arriving in Poole and seeking rental property in the area. Demand has in the last 12 months outstripped supply and the recent increase in property sales has seen buy to let Landlords rent newly purchased homes out within 7 days of coming on the market.

Jamie Rolls of Tailor Made lettings Poole town office advises that existing landlords should take a fresh look at market conditions on renewal of contract. Jamie says "people tend to get trapped into a rental value void where existing agents looking for an easy renewal simply tell an owner that its best not to increase the rent and owners comply worried about the property coming vacant" The owner is often happy to do this but often does so for years on end. In Poole the average 1 bedroom apartment 3 years ago was renting for £500.00 pcm most owners in the area who have renewed several times in that period are now seeing rents of £575.00 pcm yet the same flats on the market to new comers are letting for £650.00 pcm. The key here for property owners is to seek small annual increases that keep up with inflation rather than let a rent stay the same for several years and then ask for a large hike in rent. Jamie Rolls invites Landlords to contact him for a written rental analysis report as the stats make interesting reading and will indicate rentals in the same street or same postcode over the last 12 months. For those seeking to buy and rent out property the same analysis will show where the demand is highest in the area and what the average rents will be for a specified type of property in a stated location.

Tailor Made letting agency on behalf of a Gibraltar buyer recently sourced and rented a home in the desirable Lilliput area of Poole this particular owner was nervous about being out of the UK property market and wanted to invest in a property he would one day hope to live in on retirement. The client wanted to buy now whilst he still had income and with a view to returning to UK in next 10 years. Tailor Made Letting agency were able to find a suitable long term tenant for the property within 10 days of completion

A walk around the harbour and beach areas of Poole will reveal a buzz in the property market as more developers buy up many of the older properties and build in their place designer houses and apartments and you will also see that most of the homes that are built have a sold board on them. The South Coast of England is definately a property hotspot for the future and where the smart money continues to invest with Poole Dorset at the forefront.

. A recent property rented 3 days of coming vacant allowing time for cleaning polishing and a few maintenance items. Lilliput house.

Francis Payne 13 Sept 2014 www.tailormadelettings.co.uk

Truth about property and living on Sandbanks enjoying this stunning location

Sandbanks Dorset the truth

The press love Sandbanks and 2 years ago part of my long association with Sandbanks partially ended when I left with my family to live in Sotogrande Spain. Prior to that I had lived and worked in and around Sandbanks since 1979 at that time I started my first job as an office junior in an old established property management business earning £98 per month. My then boss had opened in 1937 and despite his years intended to work until he dropped. His home was a large house sitting on 1 acre of Sandbanks beach front with gates opening directly onto the beach at the rear and great views of Poole harbor from the front of the house. This property was sold around 1990 a time when property had crashed an acre on sandbanks which sold for under £1 million.

In 1992 I left my old firm to open up Tailor Made in Poole town centre and in 1999 we as a family business had bought the old beach goods shop on Sandbanks and reformed the premises into Tailor Made estate agents where my wife and mother in law took over the selling of up market property in the area from the sleeping agents that existed at that time. Good times followed on a rising market and Sandbanks made headlines as one of the most expensive places to live in the world. Then pre Crisis my wife and I sold our share in the Sandbanks estate agency and moved to Spain.

During the boom years at Sandbanks developers built and city dwellers bought, second homes, retirement homes and weekend retreats. Throughout those years the press fuelled with an insatiable appetite for Sandbanks visited and revisited the highs and lows but mainly highs of property news in this exclusive uk enclave.

So what is the truth about Sandbanks

Speculation has been rife about who is buying, who lives there, whether it will sink due to global warming and whether it is affordable.

Now having taken a step away from Sandbanks I feel a compulsion to provide some insight into the reality that I know to be Sandbanks.

The first thing people should know is that Sandbanks is a place of natural beauty offering a stunning harbour, beautifully maintained beach’s, nature reserves and an un-spoilt example of UK seaside life. Very popular for kite or board surfing in one of the safest bays in the country. Here you will not find any bingo, amusement arcades or night life. Sandbanks offers a couple of quirky waterfront hotels an up-market restaurant, a breakfast bar, water sport shop & schools, a post office newsagents, a holiday letting company, beach café, and of course Tailor Made estate agents and two sailing clubs. For those who think that Piers Morgan’s Sandbanks program was a true snapshot then think again. Having said that Piers Morgan repeatedly mentions the natural beauty of the place. Many people simply drive down by car do a circuit of the one way system get out at the beach car park and make judgment. To really enjoy this area you need to get back to basics. Arrive early ditch the car and walk. I recommend park in the main beach car park at Banks Road, breakfast in the parade at the Café then walk the beach westwards until you reach the public path leading back into the peninsula keep travelling westward and you will arrive at the quirky chain ferry, stop here and have a tea or coffee in the sea view bar of the haven before making the 5 minute crossing to the Shell bay nature reserve owned by the national trust a sand dune and Dorset heath land where apart from a small boatyard and café restaurant you will not come across any other buildings for many miles. As a teenager I would walk from Sandbanks to the old harry rocks via Studland but for that you will need to set a full day with a stop at the Studland Banks arms for refreshment en-route. Anyway if you have spent time over the ferry cross back to Sandbanks and take the small boat to Brownsea Island again a national trust nature reserve and a well preserved wooded island which make a beautiful location for picnics. How many of us have forgotten the joy and fun of a picnic and believe me Brownsea Island is the perfect place to spend a few hours. Then travel back from Brownsea (you can take a boat back to Poole Quay) to Sandbanks and once back follow the one way system as it takes you back to the main beach. Once you take a left from the ferry you will be tracking along the houses multi million pound homes that make the news headlines including Harry Redknapps gothic style mini mansion complete with a country cottage gate house. As you draw near to the parade there are a couple of public access paths taking you alongside the boat yards where small beach areas allow you to the shore edge of the harbor. Back on the one way system you are soon back at the parade. Café Shore restaurant is the hub of Sandbanks social life , the food is always great and the views are wonderful and the prices are strictly London for those that want to spend less the beach café offers you the alternative.

Who Lives on Sandbanks Having lived and worked on Sandbanks I always respond “well there’s Harry Redknapp and there’s Harry Redknapp” and whilst there are a few other celebrities and footballers living in the area none of them actually live on Sandbanks peninsula. Of course programs such as Piers Morgan suggest that the location is awash with celebs. Again the truth is that the majority of the people that Piers interviewed on the program were not from and never had lived on Sandbanks. The local business man more recently famous for his bankruptcy lived over 3 miles away and none of his bars night clubs or developments were on or that close to Sandbanks. The bar owner who hated Sandbanks had two years previously tried to buy there but having made an offer did not see the sale through and at the time simply disappeared, the estate agent had offices 3 miles away and had lost his market share of the peninsula 5 years before the program was made. All in all the program did not reflect the people that live or holiday on Sandbanks most of whom are British business people who shun any publicity and have bought on the peninsula because they love its natural beauty and the tranquility it can offer whilst still being part of a larger town.

Property Prices The house previously mentioned where i tended the garden 85 Banks Road occupying an acre on Sandbanks beach would pre-crisis have been valued at around £15 million. The family actually sold for £850,000 in 1993. So what can I tell you about values over the years in Sandbanks. Well those who bought on Sandbanks in the late 80′s took a hit in the early 1990s. Having said that in 1989 the same house with an acre was receiving bids of up to £2 million then the crash and the resultant sale for £850,000 move along 10 years to 2003 and the value if that house was available (8 townhouses were built on the site) £10 million (talking land value of course). By 2005 an acre on Sandbanks where you can enjoy two way views estimated £15 million. A conservative price now would be around 12/13 million

Another good example of historical values stems from my own experience in 1991 the market had turned and prices were tumbling I was in the market to buy and was looking for a deal. I bid £98,000 on a brand new apartment on the Esplanade Canford Cliffs in Poole 2 miles from Sandbanks the apartment had been on the market 18 months before for £165,000. The sale was quite advanced when I received a call from a fellow agent. He told me that he had bought an apartment on Sandbanks in Carina Court first floor flat on the beach with views he had paid £192,000 for the apartment and could not make the payments would I like to buy it for £105,000 but needed to be exchanged within 7 days. I was out in the car and immediately headed down to Sandbanks, I viewed it and immediately said yes to buying for £105,000 excitedly I phoned my Solicitors to tell them to withdraw from the apartment in Canford Cliffs as usual no one was available so I left an urgent message. Twenty minutes later I get a call to congratulate me I had exchanged on the Canford Cliffs property . Move on to 2006 the value of the 3 bed apartment in canford cliffs had increased to around £350,000 the apartment in Sandbanks was now £630,000. So here are some figures that those considering Sandbanks as somewhere to invest post credit crunch may like to think about.

Of course if you cannot spend millions on a property it does not mean you cannot live on Sandbanks apartments to buy start at 350,000.00 or maybe a town house for 650,000.00 alternatively rent an apartment or town house from 800 pcm

Its a fact that the second home places of natural beauty and the prime locations take a knock but when the market bounces back they do tend to bounce back quicker. Whilst I am no longer part of Sandbanks estate agency (only have a rental business there now in Poole town centre Tailor Made Lettings) my family members who now own the estate agency are starting to see the smart cash investors move in for Sandbanks deals. Sandbanks along with many of the other luxury hotspots around the world can take the knocks but in my view the long term investment is a secure one.

Sandbanks Sinking due to Global Warming As you are now aware from my earlier history I worked for a man who bought a large house on Sandbanks in 1950, he paid circa 40,000 for the house named “storm” where the development of 8 grey townhouses now stand also called “storm”(built by Seven developments). At the time he opened up his office in 1942 a small building plot on Sandbanks could be bought for around £800 still a sizable sum in those days. However plots in Canford Cliffs in much higher elevations could be bought for £1000 and were much easier to sell as the warning was that Sandbanks would sink within 15 years. Interestingly at the turn of the century the Sandbanks land was considered unsellable because it would erode within 15 years. When my old boss bought the house known as “storm” in 1950 he was warned that it was a gamble as the peninsula would be cut off from the mainland within ? yes you guessed 15 years. The same claims were made in the 80's and then the 90's. Pre credit crunch every time there was any press about Sandbanks they would find someone who predicted Sandbanks would be gone due to Global warming. In all my years I have never come across anyone who owned a property on Sandbanks with any hint of flooding, there are the odd problems where people have built basements and the tanking has failed but no flooding as a result of water levels apart from when storm drains block near Tesco Express. If you travel 7 miles around the harbor to Poole old town then on a high spring tide you will see flooding and Sandbags protecting many of the fishermen’s cottages was always a fact of life. My view is that Poole town will disappear before Sandbanks ever will. The cynics keep saying it will sink yet fact is that Sandbanks has grown. The beach is far bigger than it was in the 1970s and the groin system in place brings more and more sand onto the beach each year.

Would I live on Sandbanks I get very frustrated with people who believe everything in the newspapers. Its difficult to convey what makes a multi millionaire want to live on this penisula. To judge you need to have tried living there yourself. I spent 9 months in a rented town house on Sandbanks 150 meters from the chain ferry. As a family I can say it was a fantastic 9 months and we loved the seaside life. The only problem was that to live in a house of a size we needed with a large garden was no affordable. Still the 3 bedroom town house at 1200 pcm provided us with a super 9 month stay where I really made the best of beach walks, crossing on the chain ferry and exploring Studland beach and the Purbecks. Regular Ice-cream visits at the ferry area,fishing off the sea wall, membership of the haven hotel health club facility,beers in the waterside Haven Hotel bar watching the boats come in and out,evening Sail races from the Royal Motor yacht club,cycling along the prom to Bournemouth and back and hot chocolate and jazz music on a cold winters Sunday morning at Jazz'es Cafe. Even enjoyed being woken up early by the sea gulls. Sandbanks gave me fond memories and I understand that multi millionaires start with an apartment on the beach then end up upgrading to a waterside house. Francis Payne Tailor Made Lettings www.tailormadelettings.co.uk

The residential lettings game is your agent minimising the risk or are sales his forte

The professional approach by Tailor Made Letting Agents in Poole Dorset So your a landlord and you hopefully you have found a tenant with a great job and good credit score. So what more can go wrong ? Plenty says Jamie Rolls of Tailor Made Management "In my experience it happens so often where a Landlord deals direct with a tenant that things turn to pot as essentially there can be a clash of personalities over the most minor of issues resulting in failed co-operation" Are you a Landlord who has fallen out with the tenant where the tenant has then gone out of his way to make things as difficult as possible for you directly or through your property agency. Or maybe you are a Landlord and the tenant has fallen out with your Agent. What then?

Residential property management is in many ways a game of chess. A professional experienced rental agent will have come across every possible scenario over many years and learned through their own mistakes or systems what works and what will exacerbate problems as opposed to resolving them. An agent worth his salt will know that in dealing with a rented property issue that tackling the matter in the wrong way can result in total breakdown in communications between all concerned. A letting agent is in-fact only a middle man, yet reality is that he is working for the person that pays him "the owner". The Letting agent therefore must take the role of ambassador to achieve the best result for all concerned. Not easy when your paymaster is the owner yet the tenant is expecting a great service from the agent they chose to rent through.

So the Letting Agent must never fall out with a tenant they must at all costs maintain the communication irrespective of how testing and difficult a tenant may prove to be. The best agents have deaf ears to insults and will simply do what they need to do to make the problem go away. So when a tenant has had no electricity for two days and several electricians cannot find the cause a good agent will ensure that the tenant remains in the loop of every effort made to tackle the issue. Even if its only one line texts or emails. If the tenant can see that there is something happening then it will soften the frustration. Left alone without any news and you may get them festering and be on your way to trading insults, a situation that will leave a barrier between you and the tenant for the rest of the contract.

Maintaining good communication is where a letting agent will excel. At Tailor Made Lettings we have always looked to manage a tenants expectations whilst carrying out the Landlords instructions. The best way to achieve this is to leave very little to chance. The main keyword used in our office is Preconditioning. This means that from day one of marketing a property our policy of preconditioning becomes effective. If an inventory is done attach the carpet cleaning receipt to it and the cleaners bill. In the letter enclosing the inventory mention the clean has been done in readiness for their occupation. prior to the end of the tenancy if they are vacating in a letter make sure you precondition the tenant and recall the cleaning bill suggest that they may like to use the same cleaners where 2 cleaners spent 5 hours cleaning internally. In this way it may mean the tenant will not ask their own cleaning lady to come in for an hour and dust down. This is one example of many where proper management is ensuring a happy ending.

So many times I have been to Letting Agent seminars listened to a speaker then met with fellow agents in the bar and listened to stories of how they do not take any nonsense from a tenant and give them what for. Recently i met an estate agent just going into the property rental business because of the recession, she commented on how after a property inspection she gave the tenant hell because of the state the apartment was in. You can bet your life that the tenant on the firing end of such attitude was belittled and most probably alienated. This means that the Landlords representative may have lost the ability to be able to sensibly deal with the tenant in the future.

Examples The Inspection process My approach to inspections is to drop the tenant a friendly email along the lines of "hi we are due to make a report to the landlord on the progress of the tenancy are there any issues we need to make him aware of. Also advise if we can pop in and do a routine inspection as we would like to confirm to the owner that the apartment is well maintained and would like to send the owner a few pics to support this" Then if an inspection is made and the place is a state, do not go off on one. My line is "thanks for letting us inspect the property it may have been too short notice as photographing it as it was would not reflect well, maybe we can pop back middle next week. What day would be best for you"

The Deposit issue Experience has shown that where good preconditioning has been performed there is less likelihood of fall-outs between parties. Hence prior to a tenant vacating we offer as part of our service a fast track tenant deposit return system where we help the tenant make sure that everything is booked to be done before the hand back day. Again precondition a tenant in a letter suggesting they book a carpet cleaner in early so to avoid stress last minute if none are available. We offer our own people to meet and quote to clean carpet clean or put right any damages. That way we are seen to be working with the tenant to get back the deposit.

Another common error made by many agents renting property is to receive a report from a tenant about some accidental damage. When a tenant reports the damage they often say they will sort it out when they leave and the agent simply thinks yes great make a note of that. This to me is not the correct way to deal with accidental damage. When a tenant leaves a property their minds are usually on the next home not the one they are in. As with all moves costs arise beyond their initial expectations. The last thing a tenant will want to sort out is spending money on the property they are vacating so they move hoping the burnt carpet will have been forgotten. The key here is to tackle the problem on the day you are told about it mid tenancy. Again a letter to thank the tenant for bringing this to your attention and for wanting the matter dealt with and tell the tenant you will send in your carpet man to quote for the damage and you will shop around to find a bargain deal for the tenant. Notify the owner you have sourced a replacement and get the job done ASAP. It means one less issue at the end. These are but a few simple ways in which to tackle matters efficiently. If you have belittled insulted or upset the tenant in anyway then if the day comes he gets made redundant and cannot pay the rent he will simply clam up and avoid having to visit the arrogant agent who he cannot stand.

For the Letting agent Communication is king. I hope you can see that good methodology works and to benefit from such fine tuning can only mean using a specialist property manager. Do you really think the sales agent who dabbles in lettings to pay his stationary bill and rent will have a strategy. Lets face it for the sales agent when the sales market gets busy it will be all hands to the pump. That's the way it is down at the Tailor Made Sandbanks Dorset office and hence we have a separate office and team for rrental management office in Poole town centre.

Tailor Made Letting Agents 234 High Street North Poole Dorset BH15 1DY www.tailormadelettings.co.uk tel. 01202 673454

Fast moving rental market in Poole Dorset say Poole town centre Letting Agency Tailor Made Lettings

Try finding a property to rent in Poole Dorset The task is not an easy one as anything that is left on the market for more than 7 days tends to be very over priced or simply not of a standard acceptable to the price range its in. A quick glimpse at our website is a good indication of the residential letting market today. Our Tailor Made Letting agents website only has two properties available and we anticipate both will be rented to fully vetted tenants by the end of this week. The average time to rent out a house or apartment in Poole or Bournemouth for this market is now 7 days.

These figures are based on our Poole & Bournemouth operating area over the last 6 weeks during which time we have placed tenants in 14 properties from Westcliff to Sandbanks and as far West as Lytchett. Of course in this market where demand far exceeds supply finding a tenant is easy but Landlords should still be wary as in a market where there are few properties it normally means there are a lot of dubious people seeking to rent and rigorous vetting is still the best way to eliminate risk. Historic checks and credit checking is a must no matter who the person is check them out properly and ask your agent to provide details of the checks. The other check that a property owner should look into is the actual rental value. Many agents who do not specialize in renting homes do not keep their eye on the ball and we seen last month similar property rented out next door to each other with a discrepancy of One hundred & fifty pounds a month simply because it was easier for the estate agent to offer it at the same rent it had been let for for the past 18 months. Essentially the property came vacant and because of the agent it cost the landlord owner 1800 pounds for the 12 month rental. Are you getting the correct rental This is why at Tailor Made Lettings when a property comes up for renewal we use a market rental analysis system to create a written report for that particular street and the immediate surrounding location. The analysis creates a report dating back 12 months. Essentially you feed in property details bedrooms street detached etc and stats are produced and sent to the property owner for a decision on how much rent should be asked. The system works well where a tenant is due for renewal and when faced with a report detailing surrounding similar homes and the rentals for those homes the tenant is more inclined to accept an increase or at least negotiate, whereas without such proof a request to increase rent may result in being given notice by a tenant you do not want to lose.

Tailor Made Lettings are happy to provide owners with rental analysis report for your property. To obtain your report simply email us the address of the property, brief description, number bedrooms & postcode to jamie@tailormadelettings.co.uk or phone Poole 01202 673454 to go to our website click on our name Tailor Made Letting Agents

Poole letting agents fresh advice on buy to let property market

Buy to Let Poole Dorset

The last few months has seen the property market booming in Poole Dorset. So what is happening with the the buy to let market. On the face of it the market is very good with a shortage of property and plenty of prospective tenant inquiries. Wind the clock back 5 years to the time when many property owners who invested in property couldn't sell and were then faced with having to rent their property. Turned out quite a good option because of the low interest rates. So here we are 5 years on with a mini boom and a threat of Government having to take more drastic action to slow the market down and Banks finally happy to lend to buyers. The result has been many of those owners taking advantage and cashing in and many who wanted to buy their own homes buying. In the short term this has left a shortage of rental property in the Poole Area and rents have soared. However Agents are finding they are not replenishing their stocks and seeing more move out's than move in's. Great news for those that have decided to remain Landlords or who are looking at buying a property to rent out. Through our agency we can report that our recognized professional property owners, the smart money have been buying renters. They have been making low offers and gaining high rents believing they are yet again on a rising market for the next two maybe 3 years. The shortage of rental property means that over the last few months the average period to find a tenant has reduced from 3 weeks down to 10 days providing minimal void periods for those who invest. Infact in the last 2 months we have seen 3 purchases where we have advised the buyer/landlord to negotiate as part of the deal access to show the property between exchange and completion resulting in a tenant signing up on or within days of the purchase. We have been pleased with the response to our Buy to Let comparable report/analysis and many property investors have looked at a potential property wondering if the figures quoted by the selling agent are accurate. Tailor Made Lettings given a street name and property description anywhere Poole or Bournemouth will be able to produce a written report detailing all rents asked in that street or within quarter of a mile of that location along with a few other useful stats. For instance consider Broadstone in Poole as a potential location to buy a house. The stats we have show that it is a location with fewest rentals yet has the most searches for rental property. Another trend that we are regularly seeing are end user buyers who look to Poole Dorset as a retirement location. Within the last 12 months 4 people have bought houses in and around the Lower Parkstone area with the sole intention of taking advantage of low prices renting for a number of years before re-modelling refurbishing in readiness for retirement. This trend came to my attention some years ago when a London headmaster arrived at our Sandbanks office. The client was 10 years off retirement was conscious he needed to buy now whilst still on a wage and could afford a mortgage, then in 8 years time he will start getting ready to make his move from the City to a beautiful home in a wonderful seaside town 10 minutes walk of Poole Harbour paying off the mortgage using his lump sum from his pension. Poole Dorset surely has to be one of the best places in Britain to live in. The Harbour,the beach,Purbecks, New Forest,Bournemouth town really make this a feel good area to live and to invest in. Why not call us to discuss potential locations for good investment properties 01202 673454

A happy ending Stress avoided

A happy Landlord story

A developer shows us a detached 4 bedroom house which he intends buying demolishing and building 3 homes on it. The plans have not been drawn up so he figures he has 12 months before he will be ready to build. The purchase goes through and because there is a crack on the building I tell the owner to maintain the building insurance with the same insurer as the previous owner and to get his lawyer to obtain a copy of previous policy. Tailor Made Lettings are asked to find a tenant for 9 month rental.

We advertise and soon have an applicant who wants to rent it but does not want to give references so offers 6 months advance rental for a 6 month contract. He has just sold a house and will get his lawyer to send the 6 months rent and deposit on his completion day. I don’t get a great feeling about the applicant and therefore make a few of my own discreet inquiries and am advised by several people to be wary.

I arrange a meeting with the owner and explain that I have reservations. The owner says that as there is 6 months upfront he is not too bothered and we should proceed anyway.

I suggest that we tell the applicant that the owner has a bank insisting on Rent Guarantee/Legal Assistance Insurance and to get this cover he must have a credit check done as well as an Employers reference. The applicant is disgruntled but agrees to fill in the application form. When he first met us he stated he was a self employed car dealer yet the application form showed he was in fact employed as a jewellery buyer. Again a few discreet inquiries establish his employment is in fact his parent business.

I again meet with the Landlord and update him on the situation explaining that I was not certain that he worked where he said he did and my concern was that once his advanced rental was used up he would not pay and would not vacate. The Landlord advised he would take that chance and I responded that if the vetting passed the Insurers checks then we should take the rent Guarantee/Legal assistance cover.

The 6 months expired and the tenant asked to stay longer the owner agreed another 4 months as long as the advanced rental was paid over. No rent came and the tenant avoided all demands and continued to reside in the house. Two months on the tenant reported a blocked drain and the landlord refused to send anyone. I spoke to the Landlord and advised him to get the drains checked as there were a number of trees on the site and if there had been a collapse it maybe recoverable under his insurance because easily as we had maintained cover with the same insurer. At that point a claim was submitted and the same day an arrears claim was made to the Rent Guarantee insurers.

Over the next 3 months the mains drain into the property was completely replaced at the cost of the building insurer and the tenant was evicted under the legal expenses cover and the owner received a cheque for the outstanding rent less the policy excess.

In this example Property Management experience has been key in a happy ending. The owner obtained planning for two homes within a few weeks of obtaining possession.

Tenant causing damage ? what do you do ? So as a lanlord you have met the new tenants and they seem perfect both working with good jobs well dressed well spoken and good references. What more could you want?

Well they have been there 4 months and the agent has made the first inspection. The agent reports that the property is very messy but not damaged the tenants are simply untidy and perhaps careless and result could be a problem.

An inexperienced agent may write a stern letter and come down hard on the tenant. This should never be the first approach as it will alienate the relationship. The tenant agent relations should be maintained at early stages at all cost even if Landlord has fallen out. I have learnt through experience to tread carefully initially. Where things are not going well on initial inspections I have always returned to the office and written to the tenant saying "we are sorry you were not able to have the property ready for our inspection it maybe we did not give you enough time to get the house presentable as we are keen to present a good report to the owner, perhaps we could return in a weeks time please confirm your co-operation.

Now we have a situation where subtly the hint has been made without talking down at the tenants.Thereafter if they simply ignore a sterner approach can be adopted. So the agent has returned to the property and this time it is neat and tidy clothes are in laundry or wardrobes plates removed from floors and coffee tables and the agent report states that due to carelessness the newish cream carpets will not survive the term of their occupation as already stains from footprints and spillages have caused damage that may not clean.

Most agents at this point would warn the tenants that they are causing damages and they will expect them to remedy the damage by the expiry of the tenancy.

Many discussions over my 30 years with other agents in asking what course of action they would take they all respond similarly. Along the lines that they log it, then demjand tenant action and warn owner, then do nothing until, the expiry of the tenancy.

This is not the correct way to address the issue, it needs to be tackled with direct action immediately. Again from experience the last thing a tenant proven to be careless is interested in at the end of their term is the property they are leavingt. Their focus will be on the new property and will not give 100% commitment to the property they are vacating mentally or financially

So we are mid term and the carpets look like they will definately need replacing. Its at this point AN agent should insist the tenant tackles the issue today not tomorrow. The agent should tell the tenant how old the carpet is and obtain a price for professional cleaning and pass it to the tenant. Warn the tenant that if it doesnt clean they maybe responsible to replace. Ignore promises that they will sort it all when they vacate. The pressure must be placed on them whilst they are in the property. If the cleaning has worked they may be more cautious and tidy in future, if it has not worked and the damage is obvious then an agent should stick 2 or 3 replacement carpet quotes under the tenants nose saying that the owner intends to replace and they must pay. Its easier to pursue them legally whilst they are in your property.

It is the owners responsibility to make the decisions to enforce action keep in mind an agent is only a go-between. In making decisions fare wear & tear needs to be a consideration and the law courts will hold very little value of a carpet that is over 6 years old. A good agent will have the condition of the carpet reflected in the inventory but age will play a major factor in any dispute.

This example deals with carpets but can be applied to any other damage seen in the property.

Many owners read a report and think the agent will tackle it further, the agent is their to advise and administer your instruction if it falls within the law and the agents remit. However if anything is mentioned in the report then an owner should be pro-active in tackling the issue sooner rather than later

Poole rental agent specialists Tailor Made lettings maintain office dedicated to rental & management

Dedicated only to the rental market Our Poole Town centre office has been a dedicated rental agency from the day it opened in 1992.

Only once did I attempt to bring in a sales department. It was when my wife decided she would like to return to work. The truth was that adding several selling staff into the mix proved counter productive to my Letting business.

My rentals team are proficient and trained to be accurate administrators. Duties include important logging diarising all manner of events,regulations,important anniversaries,rent due,renewals,gas safetychecks,electricity inspections,new tenancies,expiring tenancies, maintenance,rent increases,inspections,checkouts,checkins,inventories and so much more.

Sales staff I soon found had an aversion to admin and seemed to chat most of the day. They discuss their sales,their strategies and bounce ideas around all day long about getting an instruction or promoting a property or controlling a client, they were mainly working loudly together as a team.The sales people jotted the odd notes down and had very good memory for pursuing finite issues that may or maynot caused sales to falter every aspect shouted across the office for all to hear.

All very well but having two teams in one office was causing my lettings team problems.The answer was tricky as after 12 months I had to tell my wife she had to find alternative premises to work from.

Fortunately for Tailor Made we discovered the Sandbanks Peninsula office and opened up a dedicated sales office in 2001 from where staff referred rental inquiries back to Poole Town centre branch.

Since then our interest in sales at Sandbanks has been sold, yet remains in my wifes family.

With new regulations governing every aspect of renting a property, operating a proper management system is key to dealing with larger volume. Lets face it you would not want your property to be the one that slipped through the net for something important such as building insurance,gas safety,electrical testing or tenancy renewal or notice to quit.

For the last 15 years we have used Gemini (started out as protrack) a property management package that covers every aspect of looking after property.The system is wonderful and speeds up all our processes freeing our time to promote and market empty property.

However we have grown with the system and staff are trained to use it. For instance a new member of accounts it takes approximately 6 months of working supervised to become proficient. The entire team pump in their info and record data on a daily basis. The entire history of your property under management is recorded and important events pop up out of the system at the right time and dates.

Property Management has become more complex and the need now is for specialised staff to perform specific jobs. I have been in the business since 1979 and know that to simply wake up one morning and decide to switch from Estate agency sales to rentals or do both is not conducive to good practice.

When faced with dropping everything and doing a viewing your Estate Agent sales negotiator will be up and gone as this is the reason he took the job to sell and earn large commissions, the fact that he has taken 10 repair calls,a checkout has been delayed, a tenant is locked out of the house and there are nine renewals to be done that afternoon may see the negotiator fade out of sight.

My trained staff attend regular training days and our own in-house training stems from adopted practices and techniques learned from an office with 20 years history as a dedicated rental agency using an expensive software system to make sure things are not missed and all reports are logged. Even for a dripping tap we now click on "choose the property", click choose the contractor, enter an instruction and click to send it to contractor and owner by email.

The job will be shown outstanding until a bill has been received and will disappear off the to-do screen once the bill has been paid. The Tailor Made office in Spain provides Estate Agency sales and although we offer rentals we do so on a Tenant finding service only . No management so essentially Spain is a sales office for the reasons contained above.

Landlords get it right !

To work or to Battle In summer of 1979 my mother pushed a copy of the Bournemouth echo job page under my nose telling me you have had your summer now get a job. Circled on the page an office junior job at a local estate agency. I made the call and was given an interview. On arrival at my new job there was no plush office. A ply wood screen with 10,000 pin holes, patrolled by ants and loaded with faded curling card offering shops offices and rental homes. A herringbone wooden floor and desks from the 1950s. A boss worth millions who owned 20% of property in the area and managed another 20% for old school mates. We serviced Landlords who had handed property to tenants new in the late 1940s & 50s but who had never spent a penny on the homes since. By the late 1970s the original protected tenants on regulated rents were vacating or dying. The properties were grim rotted flooring, nail sick roofs led pipes china sinks and cast iron hot water tanks. As the properties came vacant most were re-let. I organised repairs to nail sick roofs,rotted flooring,rotted windows, new kitchen sinks, gas central heating, and a lick of paint. After spending 5000.00 on a property it still looked naff but we still managed to find tenants. The result was that more often than not the properties were problematic and occupied by agrieved tenants continually complaining. I used to say that every morning I put on my tin hat ready for battle. I was rewarded with hard work, great training and the promise to myself that when I started my own business I did not want to do battle every day. Fourteen years later I was able to put that ethos into practice. No bedsits no student housing and no dilapidated homes would mean that all my energy would be concentrated on looking after nice homes and dealing with mature well mannered customers. I wanted to make work a pleasure not a chore. Find the right property choose the right occupier and if you get it right, managing the property will be smoothe and efficient. Of course many times over the years I arrived at a property that fell far below the standard required to find the type of occupier that I preferred to deal with. I was very aware that to take on a property with a load of issues was detrimental to my business so I would often quote commission rates of 17.5% way above the industry standard simply to lose the instruction. Tenant vetting was equally important and Tailor Made Lettings was the first agency in our area to provide 16 point check/48 hour referencing. Managing property is all about systems and applying risk minimization techniques that are proven to work. Experience is key and managing expectations is very important. Telling a Landlord that if he professionally cleans the carpets Tailor Made will look to ensure the tenant does the same when they vacate, follow up by a simple written pre-warning to the tenant that the owner has used a professional company to clean the carpets at a cost of two hundred pounds ready for your occupation and will expect the same courtesy when you vacate. In this instance you have managed expectations for both sides and the result will be a smoother process at the end of the tenancy with both sides aware of their responsibility. If you are about to rent your property here are some tips that are worth inquiring about before giving instruction 1. Insist on 3 references: bank, work, previous agent /landlord & a credit check. Make sure you see all three and not just the good refs. Some agents may use a referencing agency which include all these checks. Agents desperate for commission may simply want to get deal signed away and provide you with 2 good references but hold back the bad one. I get most agrieved when we turn away a tenant due to bad reference only to find they have gone to the agent down the road and been accepted. Happens all the time particularly in the multi chain agencies 2. Ask the agent to provide some comparable eveidence of rentals achieved in last 6 months for the area. Agents will quote a high rent to get the instruction then pressure you with a low rent offer because its slow to shift. An established agent will have comparable evidence to support the rental valuation and find a tenant quickly at that rent or near to it 3. Make sure you have the final say. Make it clear to the agent not to reserve your property until you have discussed and agreed the tenant is right for your property. 4. Use an agency that can provide 48 hour referencing. Longer can mean the tenant has time to see other property and your deal could fall through. Once referenced and approved by you ask the agent to set a deadline to sign the contract. Normally within 3 days of approval any longer and you need to ask why are we waiting. The worst thing you can do is wait a month until the start date to sign up then the tenant decides they do not want it. After 33 years in the business there are literally hundreds of safeguards that can be used to ensure a smoothe rental we have in place letter templates for all situations and contracts adjusted and written to cover most issues. All this with good working practice makes for happy landlords and just as important happy tenants Francis Payne

Beware! Good Agent Bad Agent

BEWARE BAD RENTAL AGENT: Choose the right agent In property Lettings Specialising is King How many of us ask the right questions when choosing an Agent The world economic crisis resulted in a strong rental market as ability to buy is diminished with of finance. The result has been many new letting agencies opening and many Estate Agents who never offered rentals or property management turning a hand into the letting market. A Question I get asked often "what makes a good letting agent" When Tailor Made Lettings first opened the Poole Town centre office in 1992 it was as a dedicated rental office. At that time I had worked in property management for 15 years during a time where the wrong word on the receipt of a prospective occupier could result in your property value halving overnight. In the 1970s and 1980s caution was key slip up in law. These days it has been simplified but the duty of care is still paramount and as in every industry specialising is king. During the late 1990s my wife wanted to return to work and came up with the idea of opening an estate agent. I had lots of room in the Rental office and so suggested that she may like to use a couple of desks and part of the window space to sell property. Within a month with 2 new staff the Sales venture opened. What became apparent very quickly is how different sales staff are in comparison to trained rental staff. The property management team were entering finite information and figures requiring a degree of concentration, suddenly we had some chatty sales staff talking over our heads about deals and applicants constantly thinking out loud. The disruption continued for several months and in the end I told my wife to find her own premises. Within 6 months she had vacated and moved to Sandbanks. The office returned to normality with my team concentrating on the task of managing the issues that arise when renting property. The team of 6 comprised as follows: 1. Owner manager 2. Financial controller 3. Lettings negotiator 4. Property inspector_ problem solver 5. Compliance Administrator 6. Receptionist - Administrator All have been through various levels of training and qualifications. All have been kept up-to-date with the latest changes in Law and compliance. So tell me how many Selling Agents that converted to rentals provide this kind of staffing and where did the training come from. An established letting agent has been through the mill and back many times. Along the way the agency has made errors paid for them and rectified the systems to avoid them in the future. This build up of experience is very important. Too often over the years I have heard agents at conferences or seminars at the bar making silly comments "I don’t take any nonsense from my tenants I really tell them where to get off if they dare question me" Hello Mr Agent! This is no longer a feudal system the likelihood is that your tenant is more qualified than you and earns 5 times your wages. No doubt this is an agent who alienates tenants and as a result looses respect and good communication. Most of the time the ones making the comments turn out to be inexperienced or migrating from sales to dabbling in lettings as well. So a Letting Agent - Property manager is a specialist that you as a client employ to find a tenant and minimize risk. My approach has always been nice people in nice property makes my life as an agent easier and I do prefer a hassle free work environment as opposed to Get them in at whatever cost because we need the commission . This attitude by agents results in problems. It’s frustrating when we refuse a rental tenant due to poor references then they go to the agent along the Road and are accepted immediately. You have to ask yourself did they reference and if they did what did they actually produce to the owner. Over the years as an agency we have turned down offers to manage bedsitters, houses in multiple occupation and student accommodations. Why? Because these types of properties are problematic and managing them will result in a lot of time being spent resolving issues taking staff away from their day to day management tasks. There may well be some good estate agents who double up as letting agents but finding the good tenant may only be half the necessary qualification. The real Letting Agent Property Manager has the knowledge and expertise as to how to deal with things when a good tenant goes bad. Francis Payne

Poole rental agent

The rental agent in Poole Town centre committed to the rental market

Tailor Made Lettings is proud that it has remained committed to the rental market and next month will be our 18th year for the Poole town centre office on the Barclays international Round-about at High Street North.

Whilst many of our competitors start off as selling agents who incorporate rentals as a sideline the Tailor Made office located at the end of Longfleet Road Poole has never sold property.

Jamie Rolls managing partner states “our business at Poole town centre is about risk minimization and for this reason each member of staff needs to be trained to specialise in rentals & management” The firm points out that their systems and techniques in minimizing risk has developed over many years resulting in virtually a trouble free management programme. Francis Payne senior partner confirms “ If you permit a troublesome problematic tenant into a property you will end up spending most of your time dealing with problems and too many agents who are inexperienced or simply greedy for commission permit the wrong people to occupy creating a headache for everyone involved. With experience, the correct vetting and the right approach problems are avoidable” Whilst the Tailor Made brand name has become synonymous with high end luxury homes the firm is quick to point out that the Poole office applies the same standards of care and risk minimization to all property be it a 1 bedroom town centre apartment or a 6 bedroom waterside mansion the systems are the same for all and are tried and tested. In 18 years Tailor Made Lettings are probably now one of the largest local letting agents and if you are thinking of renting a property the likelihood is that they will have a number of comparables in your area of Poole to support achieving the maximum rent possible without the property remaining empty for too long.