Picture this, we've just received notice that your tenant is leaving your property next month, okay so now what? We need to get that sucker back on the market ASAP right? Well... maybe, maybe not.

 

I know what you're going to say: "We need to generate interest early" or "I need to have a new tenant lined up right away" but stick with me here. We can list properties as "coming soon" from the point of notice, however, what if I said you could be doing yourself more harm than good by sticking your property straight back up on the market?

 

Let me break it down, there are two ways it could go:

 

 

Scenario two is where things get a little bit hairy. We frequently have new landlords or existing landlords with new properties asking us to list right away, when we have never marketed before. This usually results in a single front shot being listed with a description and not much else, and this is what is being asked of us to help "generate interest early". We asked ourselves, are people really going to get interested in a single front shot and some text? Our answer... possibly not.

 

Here's some background on the marketing process of your properties that might help you understand our message. We list properties on our website, on Zoopla and on Rightmove as soon as possible from the point of instruction from our landlords. When a property is added to Zoopla and Rightmove they get a shiny and exciting "Just Added" banner that people love to see. Now let's say you instructed us to list your property on these portals on the 1st of September as "coming soon, available 1st of October". Your property is given its special "Just Added" banner, all the possible renters browsing for their next home are excited, they can't wait to see what new property has just landed in front of them. Much to their dismay, they see the exterior of a building and a description detailing the location, layout and features along with a tag stating it will be available next month. They may save the link and come back to it, but what's more likely is that they will see 20/30 other "Just Added" properties within the first week of seeing your property. I'm sorry to say, but they may not remember to come back to see how yours turned out.

 

 

Properties listed two, three or four weeks prior to any additional marketing material being added tend to stagnate as renters will have already moved beyond that, and many more "Just Added" properties are stacked above them on the third-party portals.

 

Here's our proposition, after careful consideration and understanding of the market: in order to present your property in its best light, to capture the best tenants at the best time - hold back on instructing the listing when it's only possible to get external photography. We know how tenants work, we know what they want to see and we know how fleeting their attention can be in such a fast-paced market.

 

We invest heavily in the equipment we use to photograph and video your properties, by allowing time for your property to become vacant, we can send our team in to capture it in the best possible conditions to bring it to market like the precious gem it is. We will hand (digitally) deliver it to the eager renters who are ready and waiting to see the best of what we have to offer.

 

We aren't saying that we won't list as soon as possible with as many shots as we can at that time, we are simply asking you to trust our judgement and our intention to get the best out of your property to get the best tenants as quickly and efficiently as possible.