Services Provided by Ready to Rent Management

Over the years as distant property landlords we have come to realise the importance of good property management.  It can literally mean the difference between success in your portfolio and failure.  

We understand that you are purchasing property in the North East primarily to give yourself an income and the majority of our investors want to be armchair investors with little or no involvement in the day to day management of their property.

Our management team, Ready to Rent Management, is a UKALA registered letting company and is a member of Durham County Councils' Private Landlord Accreditation Scheme. 

We charge 10% of rental income per month with a minimum charge of £45 per month +VAT to Landlords for a full management service which includes the following;

1. Finding, vetting, and appointing New Tenants, paying close attention to applicant history and references.
   Under the Ready Let guarantee, there is no New Tenant Fee for the first 6 months of ownership.  Following this period, if there is a change in tenant,  there is a charge of £200 to cover the cost of referenceing and setting up a new tenant.
2. Collecting Rent from Tenant or the relevant government agency as appropriate, liaising with tenants, Durham County Council or Universal Credit and tenant support organisations to help resolve payment issues that may arise.  Please note that around 70% of our tenants are on some form of income related benefit, which is normally paid direct to us making it a very safe form of payment.  If benefits are paid to the tenant and the tenant becomes 2 months in arrears, universal credit then has to pay us directly going forward.
3. Payment made to the Landlord each month for the rent collected less any fees and costs, with a remittance summary.  Please note that some tenants may be in receipt of Housing Benefit which is paid 4 weekly over the year totalling 13 payments per annum instead of 12 monthly payments.
4. Ready to Rent Management aim to inspect each property on a three-monthly basis.  Reports can be provided if requested.*
5. Ensuring the tenancy is managed in accordance with regulations and that the required safety certification is kept up to date and invoiced.
   -Annual Gas Safety checks are arranged and carried out on your behalf and charged accordingly (£80+VAT per year following the date of the first report)
   - 5 Yearly Electrical Safety Reports are arranged and carried out on your behalf and charged accordingly. (£225+VAT every 5 years following the date of the first report)
   - EPCs are arranged and carried out on your behalf and charged accordingly. (£80+VAT, normally done every 10 years)
6. All of our properties are let on an unfurnished basis.
7. Maintenance of the property is managed in accordance with health and safety requirements.
   Any snagging issues following our refurbishment are resolved free of charge in the first 6 months. 
   After the first 6 months single work costing up to £250 will be done promptly by our building team and costs will be deducted from the rents collected.
   All single costs over £250 will be referred to the landlord for authorisation, except in an emergancy situation that may cause further damage to the property, adjoining properties or to the tenant.
   Once authorisation has been given, an invoice will be sent to the Landlords as agreed.

Ready to Rent Management aims to maximise the rent collected from every property we manage, as well as assisting you in understanding your legal requirements as landlords including health and safety, tenant/owner rights and responsibilities and take all reasonable steps to achieve compliance.

There are few who thoroughly understand the complexity of the benefit system. You can rely on the training and expertise of our team to try to resolve benefits issues promptly, and in the landlord’s favour. Issues rarely present themselves or their solutions clearly when they first arise. Issues left unresolved could quickly degenerate into deeper problems more costly to resolve -sometimes requiring even more costly legal resolution. This speedy resolution of payments issues is therefore a priority for us.

On 1st April 2022 Durham County Council bought in a Selective Licensing scheme for many of the properties in the County Durham area.   We are happy to confirm that all of our properties are refurbished to the minimum of the Durham Decent Home Standard and we will provide you all the documents and information that you will need regarding your property so that you can apply for the licence.

Ready to Rent Management is run by our administrative letting manager and our field letting manager.  Our administrative lettings manager is our landlords main point of contact and our field lettings manager is our tenants main point of contact. 

Email jennifer@readytorentmanagement.co.uk for further information.

*please note that this service is not available during COVID-19 Government lockdowns.