6 Key Tips on How to Market a Tenanted Property

You know that we’re big fans of selling tenanted property; all the benefits, almost no downsides.

However, that’s only true if your property sells, and knowing how to market a tenanted property is a key factor in making sure that happens quickly, for the right price. In this article, we’ll concentrate on the right way to market a tenanted property.

Should you have a new set of photos taken? Should you redecorate? Will those original photos from three years back do the job?

With years of experience serving the buy-to-let market, we’re ideally placed to advise you on what works and what doesn’t, so here’s 6 key tips on how to market a tenanted property.

Let’s get into it!

1. Involve your tenants

We’ll keep this short as we’ve covered it elsewhere, but speak to your tenants before you do anything else.

You need them onside, especially to ensure that there are no avoidable delays, and they will need, and appreciate, your reassurance that other than their landlord, nothing else will change for them.

2. Every picture tells a story

When discussing how to market a tenanted property, one of the questions we get asked more often than any other is “can’t I just use my original photos, it’s all fresh and attractive”.

The short answer is no, don’t do that. Take new pictures, showing the property as it is at the time of going on the market. Why? Simple – most of your likely buyers will have experience with buying buy-to-let properties.

They’ll realise straight away that the photos aren’t representative. They know what properties look like after being occupied for years and your pristine pics will either put them off completely or make them decide that a viewing is necessary.

There are many overseas buyers operating in the market, for them viewing a property is often not a feasible option, so they need to know how the property looks now – not how it looked two or three years ago.

It’s an easy job to blur out personal items and information on photos, protecting the tenants privacy, and good, current photos, allied to an accurate floor plan can drastically reduce the need for viewings.

This makes a potentially stressful experience for tenants a little bit easier and it is possible to achieve a sale without any viewings whatsoever. You can see Chris and I discuss this subject here.

3. Get your ducks in a row!

It’s equally important that you have all particulars of the property and the tenancy agreement available and up-to-date before you market your property.

Few buyers are going to be interested in a property which isn’t compliant with all required regulations. We’re not saying you couldn’t sell it but why would any buyer take on a work-in-progress?

So you’ll need:

• Private Residential Tenancy (PRT) 
• Property Inventory
• Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) 
• Portable Appliance Test (PAT) 
• Gas safety cert (if gas is in the property) 
• Legionnaire Risk Assessment
• Lead Water Test 
• Deposit Certificate 
• Rent Increase Notice (if applicable)
• HMO licence (if applicable) 
• Home Report

In England, the list is slightly shorter:

• Tenancy Agreement
• Property Inventory
• EICR
• PAT
• EPC
• Gas safety cert
• Legionnaire Risk Assessment
• Right to Rent document
• Deposit Certificate

Since most of these are statutory requirements, professional buyers will expect all of the above to be available and up-to-date, and any failure or omission here will cause raised eyebrows.

Naturally, as part of our sales and marketing process, we’ll go over all of this to ensure that you’re ready to sell as quickly as possible, but they should all be in place.

4. Now’s the time to fix those niggles

If there are any outstanding maintenance issues with your property, regardless of whether or not such issues are bothering your tenants, now is the time to deal with them.

Even if not serious, you don’t want to risk that some minor maintenance matters might put off a potential buyer who might question just how well the property has been looked after while in your ownership.

Don’t give them the opportunity – get it sorted!

5. Why did you buy it?

The reason that you invested in this property is relevant because those same reasons may appeal to an interested buyer.

Did you select it because it’s near to a good school and therefore attracted a certain type of tenant? One interested in a longer-term tenancy and more inclined to look after your investment?

Or were you aiming squarely at a large student population, and accepting the more seasonal nature of your tenants and the fall-out from occasional wild parties in exchange for regular demand?

Experienced buyers will work this out for themselves, but that’s not a reason not to stress all of the positives of your property when selling.

6. Pick your agent carefully

All estate agents will happily offer to sell your property for you (there are some who might offer to sell your Granny if you ask), but some will inevitably be better placed to do so than others.

Companies, like Portolio, who specialise in the buy-to-let market will understand the sector better and likely have a wide range of relevant contacts within that sector.

They may know potential buyers who would be interested in your property and you could achieve a sale even without advertising. Regardless, such agents will be better placed to guide you through the process to ensure a smooth and painless sale.

Advice from the property pros

Marketing a tenanted property is an exercise in bringing all the relevant information together and then presenting it in a fashion that will appeal to property professionals.

Remember, these buyers aren’t looking for a home, they’re looking for an investment that will make them money, and won’t be getting all dewy-eyed when reading through details of your investment opportunity.

They will be looking for accurate information that will help them make a business decision, and as agents operating exclusively in the buy-to-let sector, our role is to make sure that you deliver exactly that.

By doing so, we help make it easier for them to reach that decision, and as a result, help your property sell faster and for the best price. We mentioned previously that yours may not be the only property they are interested in.

Consequently the easier it is for them to see all the information necessary to make a decision, the less likely it is that they’ll simply move onto the next opportunity and skip yours.

In summary…

Because this is a business transaction the marketing of your tenanted property has to be done professionally and aimed at professionals, even if those professionals are themselves new entrants to the property investment sector.

You’d expect us to blow our own trumpet, and given our extensive experience in this sector, we will do that from time to time.

This is a market we know well, where we have widespread contacts and whose requirements we understand. Accordingly, we can help you market your tenanted property to ensure a quick and profitable sale.

If you’d like to know more about us and our services, please get in touch and set up a meeting where we can discuss this and all aspects of property investment in Scotland.

Marketing a tenanted property isn’t rocket science, but doing it properly can make it an easier experience for your tenants and a more profitable experience for you.

Thanks for reading!

Written by Ross MacDonald, Director of Sales & Cofounder of Portolio

Get in touch on 07388 361 564 or email to [email protected]