Open 9:00am to 6:00pm – 7 days a week
PLEASE CALL 01462 659730 TO DISCUSS OUR No.1 SERVICE
Everyone’s safety is paramount – Updated strict Covid-19 procedures in place
FEES
Fully Managed Service
15 per cent inclusive of VAT (12.5% excluding VAT) of monthly rent plus a one off £200 inclusive of VAT set up fee per new tenant
Additional fees
Detailed Inventories: Check in fees from £65.00 including VAT / Check out fees from £90.00 including VAT (please call to confirm size of property)
Tenancy Renewal Fees: 6 months £250.00 including VAT / 12 months £350.00 Including VAT including Rent Guarantee Cover & Legal Pack (where applicable)
moving to a rolling contract £75.00 Rent Guarantee Cover & legal pack not included.
OR JUST
A Tenant find service of £950.00 inclusive of VAT (£792 excluding VAT)
PLEASE CALL TO DISCUSS OUR No.1 SERVICE
Our set up fee covers the following
- Full market appraisal
- Taking full property details and professional photographs
- Advertising on all major online portals Rightmove, Zoopla, Prime Location and On The Market, Facebook & Market Place
- Erect a board in accordance with Town & Country Planning Act 1990
- Advice and guidance on refurbishment
- Advice and guidance on legal compliance
- Find a tenant within the landlords guidelines
- Accompanied viewings
- Referencing for up to two tenants (ID checks, right to rent check, financial credit checks, employment and previous landlord references)
- Guarantor referencing if required
- Goodlord Tenancy Agreement
- Advise on non-resident tax status and HMRC (where relevant)
- Registration on deposit with the Deposit Protection Scheme
- Deduct and remit any pre tenancy invoices
Our monthly fee covers the following:
- Collect and remit the rent within 3 working days of receipt and provide a monthly statement
- Respond to all maintenance issues and emergencies. Arrange routine repairs (under £500) and instruct approved contractors
- Arrange payment to contractors and log and hold any warranties
- Carry out quarterly professional property inspections followed by a report
- Pursuant of any non-payment of rent and provide advice on rent arrears action
- Annual rent reviews
- Organise check out, return deposit the landlord has agreed and de register deposit with DPS
- Gas safety reminders
- Rent guarantee cover with no excess to pay, where applicable
- Legal pack with up to £100,000 of cover, where applicable
- Vacant property management – continuous management between lets
Lettings
We are very proud to announce that First Step are the Number 1 Lettings Agent in our local area. We are only too happy to assist with your choice of service options from First Step.
The two options we offer our clients:
Package 1 – We manage the entire process:
We handle the payments from the tenant to ourselves and place the deposit into the Governments mandatory deposit protection scheme.
We in turn, on a monthly basis pay you the rental received less our commission rate, less any ongoing maintenance work. We will then ask trusted contractors known to us to quote for the works to be done. We then send you these to approve before any work is carried out, unless they are relatively small amounts (which you may want us to proceed without authorisation at a pre-set limit).
After the check-in we undertake approximately 3 monthly property inspections. When the tenant wishes to vacate, we can instruct the optional checkout inventory, advise on refreshing the property after normal wear and tear and aim to re-list the property and minimise any void period. Generally, we are given plenty of notice by the outgoing tenants so we can re-list the property and have someone move in just after the last tenant has moved out, once again to minimise any non-rental void period.
Full Management & Letting service:
- Over 2 decades of rental experience
- Thorough honest & reliable approach service from start to finish
- Quarterly inspections with report/checklist provided to give you peace of mind
- Associated with dedicated and highly regarded Property Maintenance Services Team
- Very competitive rates/fees with no hidden costs
- In-house property management
- Available 7 days a week from 9am to 6pm
- Evening and weekend viewings
- All tenants need to adhere to our strict criteria using online reference software
- Successful in achieving best possible rate of rental income.
- Many long-standing reliable tenants
- Professional internal and external photographs taken of each property
- Each property advertised on Rightmove, OnTheMarket, Zoopla, Facebook Marketplace and Prime Location
- All viewings accompanied by a Lettings member of staff
- ARLA Tenancy Agreement
Package 2- Tenant Find Service:
We recommend a full inventory of the property to be done by yourself, but from experience we would recommend an inventory specialist carries out this on your behalf. Our inventory specialist takes very detailed notes which are signed by the tenant upon check-in. In our opinion we feel that having this done would be beneficial if any damage is done to the property, this detailed document could be used in arbitration.
As the landlord it will be necessary for you to provide an up-to-date Gas Certificate, which will need to include all your gas items such as a boiler, gas hob, gas fires etc. Gas Certification should be done on a yearly basis. We can arrange for this to be carried out on your behalf by a reputable Gas Safe Engineer.
We advise you to ensure that you can provide an up-to-date Electrical Certificate. Certification last for 7 years. If your current certificate is out of date, we can arrange for this to be carried out for you. Whilst this is currently not a statutory requirement, it is the Landlords responsibility to ensure that all electrical equipment in the property is safe.
There are now legal requirements that each floor of any rental property has a carbon monoxide alarm. These are available at your local DIY store or our Property Services Team can supply and fit these for you.
Finally, an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is required for properties when constructed, sold or let.
We continually strive to make renting your property easier for you. Whether you are a landlord with a property to let, or a tenant looking to rent your next home, we are here to make the process as stress free as possible – don’t just take our word for it – Please read the testimonials opposite.
• Sound and trusted advice • With no compromise on quality • A local service you can depend on
DOWNLOAD – TOP 10 TIPS FOR BUY TO LET VIEW PAST LET PROPERTIES
We aim to be available when you need us, we are here before and after working hours Monday to Sunday 9:00am to 6:00pm.
As an independent flexible Estate Agent our costs are keen, and any savings are happily passed onto our clients. We are office based so do not incur the overheads of a high street shop, this means we keep client friendly hours instead of shop hours. With our refreshing honest approach, we can help you put the fun back into achieving your goal within our local property market.
- Potential purchasers can call us Monday to Sunday 9:00am to 6:00pm.
- All viewings will be carried out by a professional team member familiar with your property, (not casual weekend staff – who have yet to view your property).
- We are flexible and will meet all prospective purchasers at your property to suit yourdiary and lifestyle schedules.
- We attract more buyers as our ‘shop door’ never closes.
- Unlike other agents we offer late evening and weekend viewings to suit the busylifestyle of our clients especially commuters.
Lettings Testimonials
"I just wanted to share how impressed I was with the service First Step Lettings provided during this process which was more often than not, very stressful given I had so many things to juggle. First Step Lettings always kept me posted on developments, didn’t call me to present issues which I then needed to address but instead, gave me an update and had a solution at the ready. This took a lot of the stress out of the lettings side for me.
Minty, May 2021
First Step Lettings are always upbeat, affable and approachable with it which always makes our interactions a pleasure! Great service and thanks, as always.”
"Spoke with The Lettings Team on multiple occasions and cannot speak highly enough of the service the Team provided. They were informative, understanding, passionate about their work and quite frankly a national treasure. If I am ever in the market for a new rental property, First Step will 100% be my first I call. Thank you all for your help!”
Rob, March 2021
"The Lettings team at First Step were an absolute star in finding us a home. They were dedicated to the search for us and were a pleasure to deal with every step of the way. Kind, thoughtful, professional and supportive in our very stressful search during a crazy time for Tenants seeking homes. First Step Lettings found us the perfect place and we are so happy with our new place. They even recommended a moving company who were brilliant too!
Sarah, October 2020
Cannot express just how good First Step are to deal with - everyone is courteous and friendly. Thank you First Step!”
"Had the pleasure of dealing with First Step. Found us a lovely property to let. A lovely genuine company who is one in a million and cannot thank you enough. Very professional and dedicated to their job… Nothing was too much trouble and would highly recommend. If I could give more stars I would. Really are one in a million. Thank you for everything you done for us."
Lianne, October 2020
A STEP ABOVE OTHER AGENCIES
Contact First Step
If you have any immediate/upcoming requirements for lettings as a tenant or a landlord, or would like any more information on our services, please do get in touch with us, call: 01462 659730