A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A 1LET PROPERTY MANAGER
by Alan Henderson
Coffee. It all starts with a hot cup of coffee. And a hearty ‘hello’ to my colleagues, of course! It’s a Wednesday morning and I’ve already got a good idea of what’s planned for the day. Yesterday ended with me arranging for a boiler to be repaired, and my first port of call will be to check that the boiler is working, and the tenant has heat. A quick call confirms that the contractor went out, fixed the problem and all is well- a great start to the day!
In offices across the land, emails are being checked, and I’m no exception. Several received overnight, and from first glance there’s nothing too scary amongst them. People requesting viewings for flats that are available to let soon, a request from tenants for permission to have a dog, a faulty washing machine, feedback from some previous emails, and one from the head of a major organisation in the Middle East offering me a share of $200 million if I just hand over my bank details (hmm I think that last one might be spam…).
The phone rings. Another boiler down, but after a quick chat I can tell that the pressure has dropped. I explain to the tenant how to top it up and the problem is solved. We’ve had a cold snap recently so people are putting their boilers on for the first time since the long, hot summer (remember that?) and finding that they’re not working. It’s far from uncommon for the cause to be a simple pressure drop and it’s always nice to hear the relief at the other end of the line when the tenant’s topped the pressure back up and the boiler fired up.
My good start to the day continues, and I check my diary to see when I’ll be out of the office. I’ll be conducting some viewings at a lovely one bedroom flat later, and I’m looking forward to it. We’ve had a big response to the advert and I think that the property will let quickly. A tenant has moved out of his flat today and I’ll be checking it to make sure that everything is ok for the new tenants moving in tomorrow. The keys were put through our office’s letterbox this morning so I think I’ll pop over to the flat before I do my viewings. All being well, I’ll be back this afternoon and I’ll be able to arrange for the deposit to be returned later today. Before I go, I run through my emails and deal with the most pressing matters- the washing machine will be repaired, and some of the viewing enquiries have led to actual viewings.
The trip to the flat tests my happy start to the day- where have all these roadworks come from? I arrive at the flat and it soon becomes clear that flat hasn’t been cleaned despite assurances that it had been. I check the inventory and see that it was professionally cleaned before the tenant moved in. It’s safe to say it hasn’t been this time. It takes about an hour to write down all of the issues that I find, and I realise that I’m going to have to make a claim on the tenant’s deposit after all. It’s always a shame to do this as I always want to be able to help tenants get their full deposit back. There’s no way that I can let new tenants move in to the flat tomorrow with it in this condition so I call my colleague and ask a favour: “Can you ask a Cleaner to come out and clean this flat?”. She does, and he will. Relief. Some of the bulbs are out and haven’t been replaced. Fortunately, there are some in a drawer so I change them and everything works. Some of the blinds are broken and will need to be repaired, and there are marks all over the kitchen table. I’ll be able to get a handyman to fix the blinds and tap and I’ll need to get a quote for putting the kitchen table back to standard. I call the contractor and I’m fortunate that he’ll be able to visit this evening. Things should be alright for the move in now.
My day’s next port of call is to carry out the viewings. I always enjoy these and I’m delighted to see that the current tenant has the apartment clean and tidy. This makes a good impression on the viewers and I’m confident that I’ll be receiving some applications. Because of the location, the landlord has stipulated that no pets are to be allowed in the flat. When I arranged the viewings, I asked everyone whether they had any pets so that I wouldn’t have to disappoint anyone after they’d viewed. Standing in the living room, I’m twice asked if the landlord will accept pets. Despite assurances that each person’s dog doesn’t bark, and is never any trouble, I have to explain that pets aren’t allowed. The landlord has just bought the property and laid new carpets and pets add wear and tear that he doesn’t want.
The viewings finish and I head back to the office. It’s been a busy day so far and I notice that I’ve had plenty of emails while I’ve been away. There are some repair issues amongst them so after getting permission from the respective landlords, I arrange for contractors to visit. We have new property management software and raising work is quick and easy now. The phones ring regularly and I’ve arranged more viewings for other properties that we’re letting. I carry on working through emails and I notice a big one has come in: I’ve received notification that some tenants are going to move out. As they’re on a Private Residential Tenancy, they only need to give 28 days’ notice to leave so I know this needs to be dealt with quickly. They’ve been great tenants, and I’ve enjoyed being their Property Manager, so I’m a bit sad that they’re moving on. I confirm the email and inform the landlord. I know that the flat is in great condition, and it should re-let quite quickly but I need the landlord to confirm that she definitely wants her property to be let out again.
Before I know it, it’s 3.30pm and I need to follow up on my end of tenancy inspection. The Cleaner and handyman have collected keys but I need to do the administration work of closing the tenancy down and updating our records with the meter readings. I also need to inform the tenant that I’ll have to make a claim on his deposit for the cleaning and damage that’s been caused. As I do this, I take a few more calls including advice on how to deal with a noisy neighbour, and another where the heating has stopped. Sadly, a pressure top- up won’t do the trick this time so our contractor will need to visit. I finish my email to the earlier tenant and I’m sure I’ll find out his thoughts on it when I come back in the morning.
With a half an hour of the day to go, I take another call from a tenant. It seems that he’s locked out of his flat and has lost his keys. It’ll take a little while to get there (roadworks etc.) but we have a set of keys, so I jump in a 1Let car and head off to help. A new set of keys are cut, and we get into the flat. One relieved tenant later, I head back to the office, ready to join the throngs of evening commuters.
It’s been a busy day at 1Let but life is never dull. I hop onto the train safe in the knowledge that I’ve helped people, and knowing I’ll get it all to do tomorrow.