Property Blog » Web Portals

New portal partnership brings more choice of property for tenants

Letting a Property — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:56:25 +0000

LettingaProperty.com, the property website dedicated to rental property, is delighted to announce a new partnership with the UK’s leading pay for results global property website – PropertyIndex.com

LettingaProperty.com will be the first purely focused rental website to be accepting a direct data feed from PropertyIndex.com which will feature over 45,000 properties to rent from letting agents across the UK. This is a figure which is rising every day as increasing numbers of letting agents join PropertyIndex.com on a ‘cost per lead’ basis – a business model which means agents only pay when they receive a property enquiry rather than paying subscription fees with no promise of results.

Commenting on the partnership, Jonathan Daines, co-founder of LettingaProperty.com says: “We’re incredibly excited to be working with such a dynamic team of online property experts. We’ve every confidence that advertising property to rent from PropertyIndex.com on our website will boost the number of letting enquiries received which will give our tenants more choice in stock when browsing through private landlord advertisements PLUS letting agent property listings.”

PropertyIndex.com is one of the UK’s fastest growing property websites with thousands of UK estate agency branches signing up to advertise on a cost per lead basis every day, as well as numerous agents and developers marketing overseas property or sale and rent from across the globe. A cost per lead campaign on PropertyIndex.com costs nothing to set up, there’s no minimum term contract, no monthly subscriptions, and no commission on rentals. Agents only pay when they receive a lead. All property enquiries are delivered in real time to the agent’s personal email inbox and include a full name, contact telephone number and email address.

LettingaProperty.com was launched in early 2009 and brings together a comprehensive range of services for landlords, letting agents and tenants alike on a single website.

Private landlords are able to advertise property online for a one-off payment of £29. This gives landlords access to a private landlord account where they will be able to create and download online tenancy agreements, order ‘To Let’ boards, get an online landlords insurance and rent guarantee quote, credit reference their prospective tenants, send and receive private messages to prospective and existing tenants, calculate cash flow, manage expenses, plus much more.

LettingaProperty.com looks set to become an essential resource for landlords, letting agents and tenants; packed full of rental property listings and helpful information, including advice on letting property in the UK and current property regulations. The full functionality of the property management software is expected to go live in July.

In the meantime, we invite you to get in touch, send us your name and email address and you will receive a FREE property advertisement which can remain available on the site until let, plus access to our online property management software.

Letting Agents under fire

Letting a Property — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:25:34 +0000

The Estate Agent Today has recently published an article about the “provocative attack” on Letting Agents by Keshav Thukaram, Managing Director of Smartlandlord.co.uk.

Mr Thukram, states that “Landlords are being taken to the cleaners by greedy letting agents who are milking them for everything they’re worth.” His remarks have clearly not been welcomed by professional agents working in the lettings industry and for good reason too. In response, Laura Heyes writes “Anyone who is trying to sell himself by being critical of others cannot be trusted!” – ouch.

Yes, we are experiencing an economic crises and purse strings are a little tighter than normal however, Private Landlord advertising and Letting Agencies have co-existed for years. I cannot see this ending anytime soon just because there is a “new service” available.

Letting Agents provide a valuable service, particularly if the property is being managed. It is not about whether the landlord knows a good plumber or electrician, it is when the tenant does not pay rent or causes a nuisance to neighbours, that Letting Agents add real value. As an ex Letting Agent myself, I can vouch for the work that goes into managing a portfolio of properties and the headaches associated when things don’t go quite as expected.

However, there is also room for Private Listing sites that cater for Private Landlords who perhaps have experience in letting property or who are resourceful and have enough time on their hands to deal with their tenants. As long as you follow the latest legislation, property regulations and use professionally drafted tenancy agreements, then 9 times out of 10, the let goes ahead smoothly.

Long live consumer choice.

Rightmove shares sold by Connells

Letting a Property — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:12:32 +0000

The Estate Agent Today have written an interesting article on the sale of Rightmove shares by one of the Nation’s largest estate agency chains, Connells.

The revelation came only 12 hours after Rightmove announced that it has renewed its agreement with Connells, for it to continue listing on the portal until 2012.

Connells, one of the original shareholders in Rightmove, had been at the centre of City rumours that it was trying to sell its shares. Halifax and Countrywide have already disposed of their holdings.

According to to the stock market announcement this morning, Connells has sold 21m shares in Rightmove. These, representing a 18% holding, have been placed at 155p.

The announcement comes at a time when many agents are threatening to stop listing their properties on the portal, although from last night’s announcement, it is clear that Connells will not be amongst these departures.

David Livesey, Connells group chief executive, said: “We have listed our customers’ properties on Rightmove from the start. Rightmove has become and will remain the leading UK property website.

“With its unparalleled reach, Rightmove is something house sellers expect from their agent. Rightmove is an essential element of our marketing. Signing up now for a long-term deal gives us certainty of cost, and this has a clear value to us.”

Rightmove’s managing director, Ed Williams, said: “In such a challenging housing market, Connells recognises the value that Rightmove brings.”

Rightmove, which has announced redundancies in its staff, is to start its biggest-ever advertising campaign on television on Boxing Day.

Shares in Rightmove, which listed on the stock market in March 2006, have fallen from their high of 540p in February and this morning were 163p, down 21p. Had Connells sold when the shares were at 500p, they would have raised £105m. At 155p, the sum raised is in the region of £32.55m.