Landlords, Property Management Southend & Westcliff on Sea, Essex

Our success in residential letting for our landlords is due to our powerful internet marketing strategy. We will advertise your property on the internet through our numerous marketing partners network and local press to locate our landlords suitable tenants swiftly.

We use the most update date technology to market your property, as follows.

Full colour details including floor plans
Email alerts
SMS Text alerts
Local press advertising
Easy to use website, www.reedresidential.co.uk
Prominent shop frontage
Listings on rightmove.co.uk , primelocation.co.uk, propertyfinder.com, findaproperty.com and up to 20 other property portals that provide us on average 60 leads per day.

Reed Residential - Estate and Lettings agency in Southend On Sea

The Right Tenant

The type of tenant will depend on your individual requirements. The majority of tenants are either working professionals or claiming housing benefit. Which ever, the applicants will be fully referenced by our business partner Rentchecks.com who analyses the personal data held by credit reference agencies alongside data resulting from enhanced checks that are proven to detect undesirable, high risk or fraudulent prospective tenants and provide a full report based on their findings. Reed Residential shall then asses whether additional security is required and report to you with our recommendations.

The Services We Offer

Full Management

Reed Residential property management leads the way with an impressive track record, and well earned reputation for excellence. At the core of our management practice is a straight forward principle, to provide the optimum service with the minimum of fuss but with maximum efficiency.

We set high standards and maintain them by recruiting and retaining experienced and genuinely helpful staff. We take pride in caring for our clients properties and go out of our way to rectify problems as they arise. Keeping clients well informed is another central part of our service. Reed residential have invested heavily in the latest technology to ensure that our accounting and overall communication is as efficient and streamlined as possible. We feel strongly that openness and transparency are vital for successful working relationships; therefore we aim to respond quickly, clearly and without unnecessary jargon. Plain speaking means that everyone is aware of the circumstances, leaving no room for misunderstandings. When it comes to maintenance we never compromise: we only accept the highest standards of workmanship. In resolving problems promptly and striving for excellence in everything we do, we take the worry out of maintenance matters and offer our clients that most valuable commodity peace of mind.

Our Services

A Quick Guide to Our Services

Request a Valuation

About the Tenancy Deposit Scheme

About EPCs

We prepare an inventory and schedule of condition of your property and will check the tenant in to the property at the start of the tenancy, Reed Residential will then continue to collect rental payments, make immediate contact with the tenant if payments are not made (and follow set procedures to collect any arrears). We will visit the property on a regular basis to check on the condition and arrange for any necessary maintenance, and will issue you with a report of our recommendations. Any property maintenance will be handled in accordance with our assigned authority and we will arrange for our contractors to gain access to carry out any works. At the end of the tenancy, we will serve all necessary notices upon your instruction. Checkout procedures will be followed and the deposit monies will be handled as necessary.

A gas and or an electrical safety test can be organized by Reed Residential by one of our specialist contractors who will be fully qualified in their particular field. All of the contractors that we select we believe are competent and offer prices which are good value but we are unable to provide a personal guarantee as to the standard of workmanship. Finally, the initial rent and deposit monies are collected in cleared funds and only after we have advised the tenants of their obligations and signed the tenancy agreement will we allow them to take possession. The tenancy is then handed over to you or your representative to collect rents and provide a management service to the tenants, you will be required to register the deposit with a dispute resolution service in line with the Housing Act 2004 prior to letting your property.

Rental Payments

Our client monies are forwarded quickly and efficiently by our property management team who understand the Residential Lettings business and the need of our individual clients. Our accounting complies fully with the NAEA (national association of estate agents). We know it is important for our clients to receive all rental payments as quickly as possible. In order to avoid delay we make payments directly into the landlords nominated bank. Our commitment is to arrange for this within 5 working days of receiving cleared funds, however, often we achieve this within 2-3 working days.

Rent and Legal Protection with Let in Sure

Renting a property carries a number of risks, but with our Landlords Rent Guarantee Insurance we can guarantee your monthly rental income.

Having many years experience in dealing with rent and legal insurers we believe that Let in Sure provide the most comprehensive and best value service, a leaflet of their services is available, ordering a rent and legal protection policy is simple and can be done from our offices.

Letting Only Service

A full statement is accounted to you for the monies paid less our commission, fees, agreed outgoings and taxes (if applicable), along with a copy tenancy agreement and an inventory check in report (if applicable).

This service is suitable if you want your property to be widely marketed to achieve an early letting with the best possible rent, and has the reassurance of an independent credit check of the applicant. Ideally we would only look at this service if you live near your property and would be confident in dealing with all tenancy matters; it will be very surprising how time intensive managing your property can be. We will also advise you on estimated rental income, give advice and guidance on preparing then marketing the property to the widest possible audience using our proven methods including our website to boards, property portals and the local press.

Reed Residential will interview the prospective tenants, accompany viewings of the property and negotiate offers on your behalf to secure the best possible terms. References are then taken, including a full credit reference by an independent company.

We will prepare a Reed Residential bespoke tenancy agreement in line with the Housing Act, Landlord and Tenants Acts and any other legal documentation that may be required by your mortgage company.

The Regulations

Gas Safety (installation and use) Regulations 1998 Gas Safe Register

These regulations first came into effect 31st October 1994 to ensure that gas appliances are properly installed and maintained in a safe condition so as to avoid the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning. It is the responsibility of landlords to ensure that ALL gas appliances and gas installation pipe work owned by them are checked for safety at lease once a year by a gas safety registered engineer which was updated on the 01st April 2009 from the Corgi register. In addition accurate records of the safety inspections and any work carried out must kept. The current Gas Safe safety certificate must always be available for any tenant prior to them taking occupation of a property.

Electrical Equipment (Safety) regulations 1994

The above regulations impose an obligation on a landlord to ensure that all electrical appliances left as part of a let property are safe. Cabling, fuses and plugs should also be inspected and replaced where necessary to the correct rating for that particular appliance, other legislation covering electrical installations is currently in force and we strongly recommend that all appliances are regularly checked and serviced.

Smoke Alarms - Building Regulations 1991

The 1991 Building Regulations require that all properties built since June 1992 must be fitted with mains operated interlinked smoke detectors/alarms on each floor. Such regulations regarding older properties do not exist but we strongly recommend that smoke alarms are fitted in all let properties and are regularly checked to ensure they are in full working order.

Deposits

With the changes to the Housing Act 1996 in 2004 from 6 April 2007, all landlords and letting agents taking deposits for assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) in England and Wales must safeguard them with a Government-authorised tenant deposit protection scheme, either custodial or insurance based. Reed Residential are NAEA qualified and lodge all of the deposits paid to The Dispute Service (TDS) the insurance based scheme for regulated Estate Agents, further information on the deposit schemes can be found on our website www.reedresidential.co.uk, this only applied to properties that are managed by Reed Residential, landlords that choose to manage their own property are required to provide details of their chosen deposit scheme.

Energy Performance Certificate

From the 01st October 2008 Landlords are required to provide and Energy Performance Certificate when they rent out a property, EPCs assess the energy performance of a property and represent the energy efficiency on a scale from A most efficient to G least efficient. A valid EPC will last for 10 years, unless changes are made to the property which may affect its energy efficiency, and can be used for multiple tenancies within that period. Reed Residential is working in partnership with several EPC assessors that can produce a report swiftly avoiding any marketing delays.

Further information

Consent To Let

If you have a mortgage you must obtain consent from your mortgage lender. If your interest in the property is leasehold your lease may require you to obtain consent from your landlord prior to sub letting.

Tax implications

Income tax is payable on all rental income arising from property in the United Kingdom regardless of the residential status of the landlord. Landlords living in the UK should include details of their income and expenditure when completing their income tax returns in the usual manner. Under the 1995 Finance Act, the lettings agent is obliged to advise the Inland Revenue that a letting has been arranged for a landlord who is non resident for UK tax purposes The Agent is liable for the payment of any tax, which arises from the letting and must therefore retain monies at the current tax rate, to cover this liability. Non resident landlords can apply to the Inland Revenue for an assessment on income from rental property. If this is granted, then the Inland Revenue will issue an exemption certificate and the agent will then be no longer bound to retain tax on the rental income. Reed Residential does not undertake to submit your tax returns and would recommend that you appoint an accountant to handle your tax affairs.