Managing multiple rental properties in London requires specific partnerships to ensure success. The property market in general is very dynamic. The market trends are always shifting, guest and resident preferences are always changing and even compliance rules and regulations are regularly evolving.
The competitive nature of the rental property market requires time and commitment to maximise the earning potential of the property and investment returns. Without property monitoring and management, opportunities may be missed and growth possibilities stunted.
Instead of struggling with numerous responsibilities, multi-property owners can turn to professional property management companies for assistance. These property experts offer invaluable support to alleviate the burden of managing and maintaining multiple properties.
In this article, you’ll discover how to choose the right property management partnership that’ll bring incredible growth to your portfolio. You’ll get insights into the qualities you should be looking for and the benefits of collaborating with the right property management company.
Assess your Property Management Needs
With thousands of property listings all over the UK, it’s not surprising that numerous property management companies operate within the area. They all share the same expertise but don’t always provide the same experience. It’s important to find the right partner that’s not only trustworthy but is also aligned with your portfolio goals.
Before you conduct a thorough assessment of your property management options, there are some things you need to consider to help you make the right choice.
The first is to identify your portfolio goals. This will help you find someone you can collaborate with - specifically one who understands and respects the direction you want your portfolio to take. Do you prefer maximising your rental income or are you looking for steady and secure long-term growth? What type of letting strategy are you willing to use?
After that, you can assess your current management processes. If it’s effective, improve it. If not, highlight what’s not working so you can discuss it with the property management company you’ll partner with.
Through the assessment, you can identify the specific areas you want to improve. Focus on those that will benefit from external support like marketing efforts, cleaning and maintenance of properties, property compliance, guest or resident communications, etc.
This will allow you to list the requirements and expectations that you want the property management company to meet. This list will guide you in choosing among different companies and their respective service offers.
You can then choose the right partner based on the specific needs of your rental properties and portfolio.
Qualities of the Best Property Management Company
With your understanding of what your multiple properties and portfolio will need, it’s time to look for qualified property experts to work with. The question is, what are the qualities of the best property management company?
Here are the important qualities that you need to scrutinise.
Reputation and experience
Seek out companies who can show a proven track record. You want someone with extensive experience managing your properties. Ask them about companies that they are currently working with or have worked with in the past. Be specific about properties or letting strategies similar to what you want. This will help you gauge how well they can meet your expectations.
Services offered
Take a look at the list of property management services that they offer. Do they have in-house cleaning and maintenance services? Or is this something that they outsource? Can they do personal check-ins and check-outs? Will they offer 24/7 guest communication channels?
Check the range of services offered and see if they can customise packages. This will allow you to enjoy a tailor-fit property management service to help you hit unique portfolio targets.
Proptech solutions
The technology used by property management companies is just as important as the manual labour they provide. Managing multiple properties is easier with automation. It can be used to monitor all booking schedules. It can also be set up to send notifications in case a compliance check is required. It can also be used to maximise
Ask the company how they integrate technology into their services. This will show how innovative and competent they are in enhancing their service offer.
Packages and pricing fees
Evaluate the packages that the property management company offers. What is their pricing structure and how are you expected to pay them? Some property management companies offer a fixed rate. Others have a commission scheme that’s tied to the income generated by the properties.
Other costs should be considered. For instance, the cleaning and housekeeping services in between bookings. How much is the fee for this service? What about the other management fees? Scrutinise all the expenses to choose which fits your budget and needs best.
Customer reviews and feedback
Although the property management company will give you case studies and testimonials, you want to look at third-party websites to read reviews about them. This will give you unbiased reviews about the company’s work ethics, reliability and customer care systems.
While you want to look for companies with the most positive reviews, don’t ignore the negative feedback. Even the most reputable and established companies have their share of negative reviews. Pay attention to how they deal with the negative reviews. This will provide a different perspective on how they handle setbacks.
Benefits of Working with the Right Property Expert
Partnering with the right property management company brings several benefits that can lead to significant portfolio growth.
An experienced company can provide customised solutions to address the specific needs of your portfolio. This will allow you to optimise your strategies to reach your goals faster.
Property management companies also manage other properties - which means they already have a network of contractors and service providers. This will give you expert maintenance services to preserve and improve your property. Some companies have teams dedicated to inspecting managed properties - ensuring that all units comply with local regulations. Routine maintenance, immediate repairs and ongoing support and compliance checks will protect your property and its ability to earn rental income.
When you work with an established property management company, you’ll also benefit from their data-driven insights and automated property performance monitoring. You can get access to their dashboard so you can view how your property is performing. This will allow you and the company to identify opportunities to optimise your property’s performance.
Tenant communication and relationship management is another thing that property experts will do for you. This is a tedious job that property management companies can handle easily. They have invested in resources and manpower to make sure all your guests and residents have a great experience as they stay or live on your property.
Thanks to the tools, experience and expertise of property management companies, they have streamlined their operations to provide full administrative support. Their services can include even marketing campaigns and rental fee collection. This will leave you with higher rental income and occupancy rates - all acquired without stressing yourself out.
Work with Property Experts from Opago
At Opago, we understand the unique challenges that multi-property owners face in London. The local property market can be volatile and require a dynamic strategy to maximise earning potential.
The extensive industry knowledge and experience of Opago fuels its ability to provide a wide range of property management services.
Through expertise and experience, Opago can offer a flexible letting strategy supported by an industry-leading team of operatives. This in-house team are skilled in housekeeping, maintenance, compliance and guest services. This allows the company to provide a full package of services to ensure that multi-property owners will enjoy maximum rental returns.
On top of this service is a tech-enabled scheduling platform that can also monitor property performances. Multi-property owners like serviced apartment providers, developers, investors, aparthotel operators, student accommodation providers and property managers can access valuable data to aid in streamlining portfolios to be more sustainable and profitable. This data can be used to calculate competitive fees to optimise rental and occupancy rates.
The skilled professionals of Opago can also provide dedicated customer support and 24/7 communication channels. All these services were created to ensure positive client reviews and success stories - something that can boost the reputation of properties to increase guest appeal.
Partner with the Most Reliable Property Management Company in London
Choosing the right property management company is crucial for multi-property owners to succeed in the dynamic and sometimes intimidating London rental market. The shifting trends, evolving guest preferences and changing compliance regulations can be challenging - but it becomes manageable once you get strategic partnerships with expert property management companies.
When choosing a property expert to partner with, look for a solid reputation, extensive experience and a range of services that can be tailor-fitted to align with your portfolio goals. Focus on those equipped with proptech solutions for competitive marketing and pricing strategies as well as skilled professionals who can provide exceptional housekeeping, maintenance, compliance and guest services.
Partnering with Opago, a reputable property management company in London gives you access to industry expertise, comprehensive services and cutting-edge technology. Find out how we can help optimise your portfolio’s performance. Contact us so we can discuss how to grow your portfolio this year.
