JS Landlord Q&A - Estate & Lettings Agents - Worthing & Sussex

JS Landlord Q&A


Jan Gold 

What sort of properties do you let, and how did/do you choose them?

“Currently I have a two-bedroom BTL (Buy to Let) in a purpose built block of flats. I chose the flat as it was a really good size, on the top floor. It also has a garage at the back of the flat. I find that it holds reasonable ground rent/maintenance fees and I hold a long lease with this property. Location is everything, as it is situated near the main rail line and station and is about 2 minutes from good bus links. Further to that, the local facilities and shops are close by, which will benefit anyone.”


“I would definitely use the letting agents again when I buy my next BTL.”

What are the benefits of having your property managed by JS?

“JS have been brilliant! The communication throughout the entire process was excellent, with quick responses to my emails and queries. I never had to wait long to hear back from them. The team were thorough in their explanation of the AST process too. The management has been superb, with reasonable fees to fully manage my flat. Even their proactiveness in vetting/securing prospective tenants, has put my trust in them. Honesty and trustworthiness is very important to me.”

Derrick Harrington

What sort of properties do you let, and how did/do you choose them?

“I purchased and let two flats via Jacobs Steel. A studio flat purchased in 2000, and the other being a one-bedroom flat purchased in 2003. Both properties are let under a full management arrangement with Jacobs Steel.”


“Jacobs Steel provides a complete lettings service”

What are the benefits of having your property managed by JS?

“The benefits from full management means Jacobs Steel provides a complete lettings service. As a landlord, this saves me a great deal of time and expense if I had to deal with this work myself.  The areas JS assist with include: 

  • Advising on likely rental income.
  • Advertising and marketing the Property.
  • Interviewing prospective tenants, taking up full references including bank, employer or previous landlord character reference or obtaining reference checks through a third-party referencing supplier. Where necessary, additional security would be requested by means of a guarantor. In cases where a company occupies as the tenant, a full bank reference or credit check would be taken.
  • Providing a suitable tenancy agreement for the Property.
  • Liaising with a Landlord’s mortgagees where necessary with regard to references and tenancy agreement.
  • Carrying out the initial right to rent checks in accordance with the Immigration Act 2014.
  • Taking a deposit from the Tenant, dealing with this deposit under the requirements of the chosen deposit protection scheme until the end of the tenancy when the Property and contents have been checked for unfair wear and tear and handling any termination issues with the Tenant and the tenancy deposit scheme provider.
  • Collecting the Rent monthly and paying over to the Landlord monthly (normally sent within a few days of collection) less any fees or expenses due or incurred for the period. Payments are made by direct bank transfer and a detailed rent statement is forwarded to the Landlord
  • Arranging with service companies (principally electricity, gas & water) for meter readings and advising them of the transfer of service contracts to the Tenant at the beginning of each tenancy..
  • Regular inspections of the Property are carried out on a quarterly basis.
  • Coordination of repair or maintenance including arranging for tradesmen to attend the Property and obtaining estimates where necessary, supervising works and settling accounts from rents received.
  • Making payments on behalf of the Landlord from rents received for costs in managing the Property.
    Carrying out a full property inspection and inventory check at the end of the tenancy and, if necessary, preparing and agreeing a schedule of costs relating to any damage or unfair wear and tear prior to releasing the Deposit.
  • In addition, Arranging annual gas safety checks; arranging 5 yearly Electrical Safety checks and certification; Energy Performance Certificates; Legionella Risk Assessment Fee – all at reasonable and competitive fees. As a landlord this saves me a great deal of time and expense if I had to deal with this work myself.


Pat Ashby

What sort of properties do you let, and how did/do you choose them?

I typically choose purpose built flats when building my portfolio, and tended to look more favourably on flats with pitched tiled roofs, as these would need less maintenance. My current portfolio consists of a mixture of studio, 1 bed, 2 bed flats, together with a block of flats that I own and Jacobs Steel manages for me. In current times, any property that is leasehold but offers the owner a share of the freehold is good, as this gives the owner a greater degree of control in maintenance expenditure.


“I wanted to recreate the “personal touch””

What are the benefits of having your property managed by JS?

I have recently moved the management of my portfolio to Jacobs Steel, as I wanted to recreate the “personal touch” between me and my tenants, rather than be just “a number” as was the method being employed by larger agents. Jacobs Steel have dealt quickly and efficiently with any problems with my properties, which in turn gives both me as a landlord and my tenants confidence in the homes in which they live, and the properties in which I have invested.


Lee & Alice Hardwick

What sort of properties do you let, and how did/do you choose them?

We let a range of properties all of which are in Worthing. We have a one-bedroom ground-floor flat, a two-bedroom house, a three-bedroom house and a seven-bedroom house. We have lived in all of the properties ourselves and bought them as our next home instead of as an intentional rental investment. This approach has allowed us to complete any works required and ensure that the properties are finished to a high standard prior to letting them out. Despite our best efforts, we are notoriously bad at finding the ‘forever home’ – and so our portfolio has grown since 2013 quite accidentally!

We initially self-managed our portfolio with the help of our family. However, as our personal circumstances changed including starting a family, commuting west for work then eventually moving further west to be closer to work we decided to hand the properties over to an agent for them to manage. We explored a few local agents and found the team at Jacobs Steel to be approachable, knowledgeable and reliable.


“Approachable, knowledgeable and reliable



What are the benefits of having your property managed by JS?

We would regard the main benefits of having our properties managed by Jacobs Steel to be that the tenant gets to contact the office instantly and we, as landlords, are able to maintain a distance which reduces the potential stresses associated with being a private landlord.

As well as this, we have found Jacobs Steel to be very reasonably priced – often, the income from the properties is greater than we would achieve self-managing despite the management fees due to the exposure on well-known online platforms such as Rightmove, where many tenants will focus their search. We have also greatly appreciated being able to maintain an element of control, specifically in relation to continuing to use the tradespeople that we have used previously and therefore know and trust.

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