|
Starting a Letting Agency - Carrying Out Local Research
Preparatory market research is necessary in the planning stage of any new venture, but for anyone starting a letting agency it is especially important, as certain key factors differ from area to area. We cannot provide the answers for you, but we can tell you how to carry out the research, and how to utilise the results to your best advantage in setting up a letting agency business.
You'll need to discover the following:
- Information about existing letting agents in your area
- Local rental values for various property sizes
- The letting agency fee structures which apply locally
- Your most likely sources of potential customers
- More about your area through the eyes of a letting agent
In the Southcourt Letting Agency Manual we show you how and where to find this information, and how to use it to learn key facts about the rental scene in your proposed working area, and in planning your working methods and marketing strategy. We also include specially designed research sheets, one for rental values and the other for letting agency fees and commissions, to help facilitate your collection and analysis of this information, which is a vital exercise for anyone planning on becoming a letting agent.
Before you can start researching the necessary information, the first step is to make a written list of the name, address and telephone number of every letting agent, and estate agent that offers a letting service, in your proposed working area.
How to source the information
The internet: Go to www.upmystreet.co.uk, and enter your post code. Click on Find my Nearest, then Moving Home then Letting Agents. You’ll also find lots of other local information on this site which will be useful for your business.
Yellow Pages, Thomsons and other local directories: The headings to look under are: Letting agents, and also Property management.
Local newspapers: Buy a copy of each local newspaper which carries advertisements for property to let, often in a separate property section. Also put aside copies of any free distribution papers which are delivered to your door. Read through the display and box ads for property to let, and add any newly discovered letting agents, and also any estate agents advertising lettings, to the list already started. Keep the newspapers handy, as you will need them again.
Whether you are starting a letting agency with an expensive letting agency franchise, or you choose the more sensible and cost-effective option of becoming a letting agent with the well proven Southcourt Letting Agency Business Package, it is imperative that you do not skimp on the important market research preliminaries explained in this article, and in our two following articles.
Posted: October 2011
<-- back to News Section
| 
