our services
our services Heart of the Lakes offers a range of services to suit your holiday letting requirements – here are some of our most frequently asked questions. If you would like to know more, or to make an appointment please call Marie or Jo on 015394 33110.
What areas do you cover? All properties featured are within the Lake District National Park in and around Ambleside, Troutbeck, Windermere and Bowness, Grasmere, Langdale, Hawkshead and Coniston areas, Patterdale and round Ullswater, Keswick area and north lakes villages. Where are you based? Our head office is in Ambleside. We also have a high street office in Keswick.
Full property and management service with cleaning and maintenance.
How much do you charge? Probably the most asked question and certainly one of the most important... Commission charges are competitive with other agencies in the area and indeed considerably less than some of the large national agents. We are confident
Reduced commission service for letting and marketing only.
that we offer a real value-for money service. We can arrange a full cleaning and management service where required, however, if you are able to clean and manage your own cottage you will find our reduced commission very attractive. What about weeks for owner’s use?
Property renovation and project management.
Most owners are happy with 6/8 weeks for their own use. Some take none at all and others prefer to take weeks on an ad-hoc basis. As we offer a bespoke service we are happy to discuss your personal needs in more detail.
Advice on purchasing your holiday home.
Where do you advertise? In addition to our high quality and informative brochure we concentrate on major newspapers, glossy publications, National Trust, Birds Magazine etc. together with carefully targeted website maximisation, regular e-shots to our extensive database, local offices
Free brochure and website entry.
and brochure outlets. We are also on Facebook, Twitter and U-tube. How many bookings can we expect? This will depend very much on the location and quality of the cottage but we are confident that our bookings are consistently above average with some properties
Free professional photography.
achieving over 40 weeks annually. We concentrate on
selling holidays rather than short breaks although there
permitting) to do a visual external and internal
are many bookings to be had by those owners who opt
inspection to make sure that all is in order.
to take short breaks particularly in the shoulder seasons of the year. We can give you a better idea of what
Who writes the brochure description and takes
bookings to expect once we see your property.
photographs etc? This is all taken care of ‘in-house’ by our skilled team
Will my property be star graded?
thus ensuring that your description is fair and accurate
Your cottage will be quality graded and given Heart
and done in a similar and well balanced style. You will
of the Lakes very own star ranking together with our
be given an opportunity to approve the description
unique ‘facilities’ grade which enables clients to make
before we go to print. We do not oversell your property
an accurately informed choice. Our very own Quality
and often find that clients’ expectations are exceeded
Services Manager is based at our head office and is able
when they arrive at the property.
to help and advise at all stages to make sure you get the best from your property.
How do I insure my property? We have contacts with several companies who offer
Tell us about your management service?
‘Holiday homes insurance’.
When we say ‘all-inclusive’ we really mean what we say. Your property will be visited by the cleaners on a
What about Business Rates?
weekly basis after each let and inspected randomly by
Yes your property will need to be registered for business
inspectors who check the cleaner’s work. Our in-house
rates instead of council tax and we can advise you how
maintenance team will respond without charge to any
to do this. We can also advise on local regulations for
holidaymaker’s problems and our resident housekeepers
refuse collection.
manage the cleaning, linen supply etc. and generally take care of other housekeeping issues.
What about gardening and window cleaning? We have local gardeners and window cleaners who
How do you deal with maintenance problems?
will take on these routine jobs and bill accordingly. You
In the first instance a member of our team would visit
can either pay direct to your supplier or we will pay the
the property to decide what is needed and we will keep
invoice on your behalf and back charge to you on your
you informed of any remedial action that becomes
monthly account.
necessary. In many cases we will be able to supply a repair, or sourcing, delivery and fitting service, at a
When do I get paid?
small extra charge. If necessary we will arrange access
Owners’ accounts are paid monthly and direct into your
and attend the property with an external provider. On
bank account.
completion of the job an invoice can be sent direct to you or we can pay on your behalf with a debit from your
Quality Throughout
account.
Quality management is integral to the way we run our business and we are proud to be a Visit England Quality
What about other visits to the property? A rolling programme of out of season visits to your property includes an internal inspection and an adjustment of the heating if necessary, your insurance will no doubt insist on these regular inspections. In extreme circumstances i.e. floods, gales, snow etc. we increase our number of visits accordingly (access
Accredited Agency.
aftercare We would like to welcome you to Heart of the Lakes. Should you need to contact us about anything at all please find below a list of our contacts:-
Quality Julian Cottell julian.cottell@heartofthelakes.co.uk
Bookings Bookings Team info@heartofthelakes.co.uk
Maintenance Graeme Drylie maint.hotl@heartofthelakes.co.uk
Statements Beth Marshall beth.marshall@heartofthelakes.co.uk
Property Management Marie Holland marie@heartofthelakes.co.uk Joanna Harris joanna@heartofthelakes.co.uk
heartofthelakes.co.uk for more information