Philip James’ Neil Ryder gives his view on the student letting market in South Manchester and explains the estate agency’s successful process of operation.
As always the student lettings market in South Manchester has been very busy and competitive. This year has been no different with an increasing number of letting agents now marketing properties aimed at students. At Philip James we have a very pro-active approach to student lettings for the academic year 2017/2018 and this has seen us let 90% of our current managed properties before the traditionally busiest month of February.
Online Presence
We advertised all our properties on the market from the beginning of November. In the current student climate it is all about an online presence. Gone are the days of students queuing up in a high street office to book viewings. Every student has a smartphone or tablet so all viewings are now booked online. To make the most of this we have invested in making sure our properties are at the forefront on the property portals used by students. We advertise on Rightmove, Zoopla, StuRents and Universitycribs. We are also an accredited agent with Manchester Student Homes.
Manchester Student Homes
Manchester Student Homes is a University run service that helps students find privately rented accommodation and they have offices located in the centre of Fallowfield. To be an accredited agent we agree to adhere to a code of conduct set out by Manchester Student Homes, meaning we pledge to have a high standard of property and landlord. Each of the properties we manage adheres to all current property legislation. This aligns us with the universities and shows that Philip James run a totally transparent student lettings operation. This gives the students (and their parents) peace of mind that they are renting with a reputable, trustworthy agent.
Accomodation Fair
In conjunction with us being an accredited agent with Manchester Student Homes we took part in a student accommodation fair at Owens Park halls of residence in Fallowfield. This gave us excellent access to the 1000+ students who live there. Due to our ‘live’ lettings system we were the only agent there who were booking viewings for the students who visited our stall. The day was a great success and led to a number of properties being let.
Flexible Viewings
At Philip James we carry out viewings on our properties from 9am to 9pm Monday to Friday and also at weekends. As students can have hectic university and social lives we find that working our viewings around the student’s timetables, in more unsociable hours, we have more success getting the students around the houses.
Good Relationship
We also work very hard in maintaining a good relationship with our tenants and keep up to date with any maintenance jobs they report so they are happy to sell the house and our service to prospective tenants. Once we secure a let on a house we fully reference each tenant by credit checking them, obtaining references from their current landlord and having their parents or guardians sign a deed of guarantee. We have them sign an assured shorthold tenancy and carry out a full written and photographic inventory before move in. This inventory is then used when carrying out the four inspections that take place throughout the tenancy.
Cherished
Our managed properties and landlords are a cherished part of our business and as such we do not, unlike most other local agents, advertise student properties that we do not manage. This is because we want to pour all our efforts into getting our student managed houses let quickly and to the right tenants. As we have now let nearly all our managed student properties and are still getting inundated with students looking for accommodation we are looking to take on more properties. If you have not yet let your property for the next academic year or are not entirely happy with your current agent please contact Neil Ryder on 0161 434 5007 or neil.ryder@philipjames.co.uk for a chat about your property. Neil has been with Philip James for ten years and has over twelve years’ experience in South Manchester lettings, specialising in student lettings.