After compliance, by far and away the most popular topic we get asked about is viewings so, we thought that it was about time that we put together our thoughts on what constitutes the “perfect viewing.”
Book viewings in blocks. Although it may be tempting to pop over to the property to show a “hot to trot” prospect around, this can result in wasted time, journeys and more viewings than needed.
So, you’ve screened your applicants and used the first stage process to get a feel for how they interact with the team, and now have the best booked in and through the door. People often say (especially about a buoyant city like Bristol) that it’s easy to find tenants – but this is not what we are looking at here. Here we are concentrating on finding good quality tenants and it’s important to know and understand the difference between the two.
Booking in blocks of viewings means one visit, making your life and your existing tenants’ lives easier and, will create a buzz and a sense of scarcity and competition, as prospective tenants just finishing their viewings see ones waiting to come in. We book blocks of 6, as we find this works well for us. Think about what the viewing is for. This might sound obvious and the answer some people will give here is “to see whether the prospective tenant likes the property.” Well, this is important, obviously but, it’s just as important that you like them too, that you feel that they’ll make a good tenant and, if it’s an HMO, with the current mix of the house in mind, you feel that they will be a good and harmonious fit.
Make sure that all tenants are present at the viewing. You want to meet all the tenants who will be living at the property, so that you can assess them all and, to see how they interact with each other. The fact of the matter is, that if you don’t, then you will have strangers who you haven’t met before and who you haven’t had the opportunity to set up the boundaries of a relationship with, living in your property. This is not good for you or the tenants, who have a right to meet their landlord and have the same first viewing (with all that entails) as everyone else on the tenancy. 32 Subscribe to Bristol Weekly Magazine at www.directlocalbristol/bristolonline
