A week in the life of a Property Manager - Thursday

What do the Property Management team get up to on a Thursday? Property Visits!

A Property Visit comprises a brief, internal and external inspection of a tenanted property, for the following purposes –

• To ensure the tenant is looking after the property
• To highlight any outstanding maintenance issues; a tenant may not always report it if they don’t feel it is important, without realising that it may deteriorate if not attended to.
• A head count – to identify signs of multiple occupation or changes in occupancy
• To check for signs of pets (if not permitted)
• To test the smoke alarms – tenants are advised it is their responsibility to replace batteries during their tenancy
• For the tenant to raise any queries – sometimes a tenant will mention that they wish to decorate a room in a different colour, or have already done so! – these are matters which are addressed by the Property Managers when they receive the reports.

This part of our job ideally needs to be a smooth process as the first half is arranging the visits themselves (which can be hard work in some cases) and then waiting for our inspectors to actually conduct them. We do get a lot of people calling to rearrange or cancel, so keeping accurate notes is paramount.

During these uncertain times we are pushing for property visits to be virtual (this can either be via Zoom, Facetime or WhatsApp) to keep our staff and the tenants as safe as possible. On those occasions where we have some concern or a real need to physically go to the property then a property visit is booked in person - and of course our Property Inspectors always wear full PPE and maintain social distancing guidelines.

Once complete the second half comes in to play. Our inspectors will upload all information and photos via our bespoke software system to produce the final report. We then work through the report to see if any issues are raised (such as maintenance) or any queries that the tenant may have.

Once we are happy with the report we send this to the Landlord with a summary of how the visit went, and any concerns or advice as appropriate, which may lead on to other work for us to deal with. The next visit is then diarised for 6 months’ time.

Ann Skelley, Property Management Team Leader, 01952 208740

Dawn Clarke, Lettings Director, 07967 209011