RENTING PROPERTY WITH WATERSONS

When you’re renting a property with Watersons, we keep everything hassle-free and as simple as we can.

See a property you like? Call our Rentals team and arrange a viewing. If you think you can make your home there, fill in the forms online and we’ll get back to you when the vetting process is sorted. (There’s a lot of competition out there, so it might take a few days.)

We’ll do the negotiating for you, so all you have to do is sign on the dotted line, pay your deposit (usually the first week’s rent) and collect the keys on moving day.

Our Rentals team will have checked everything over for you, to make sure it’s clean and tidy, and up-to-date with working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. There’s a photographic inventory of everything so you can rest easy, knowing that we’re looking after your best interests.

If anything goes wrong, all you have to do is call our team and we’ll get it put right for you. And when you leave, all you have to do is make sure that everything looks just the same as it did when you moved in.

It couldn’t be simpler. You’re in safe hands. We like to do things exceptionally well. Without exception.

The basic rental process

We visit your property

One of our experienced property valuers will come out to your property to run through the rental process with you, and give you an accurate rental valuation in the current market, along with a list of comparable properties in the area, so you can be confident you’re pricing your property correctly, and you know exactly how the process works.

We put together your marketing pack

A member of our team will come to your property to take high-quality marketing photographs which show it off to the best of our ability, so that it gets maximum interest when it goes live.

We market your property

Via our website, Rightmove, Zoopla, and OnTheMarket, as well as our mailing list (with our average mailshot reaching 150 people), we’ll make sure your property is seen by as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. (We also display it on the wall in our rentals and sales offices – hard copy still works!)

Viewings with your potential tenants

We keep you bang up-to-date about all viewings that take place, and we arrange access with any current tenants directly, so there’s absolutely no stress for you. One of our friendly viewing representatives, sometimes one of our office team, is on hand to show your prospective tenants around your property. We make sure you have all your viewing feedback within 48 hours, so that you know exactly how everything’s going.

Potential tenant offers

Any viewer who wants to apply to rent your property fills in an online application form, which gives us the important information we need in order to put their offer forward to you. This tells you when they want to start the tenancy, who’s going to live there, what they do for a living, and so on, and then it’s up to you to pick your ideal tenant.

Agreement of term and rental

We act as a negotiator on your behalf with the applicants and work for the best deal between you. Then we deal with the formal written agreement, so that nobody’s in any doubt about the details.

Holding deposit

In line with the tenant fee ban that was introduced in 2019, we don’t ask tenants to pay anything other than a holding deposit, equal to one week’s rent. This goes towards the first month’s rent when referencing has gone through. The holding deposit shows your potential tenant's commitment to the property. We then mark the property as Let Agreed, which means that all further viewings are cancelled, and any other applications will be declined.

Reference checks

We want you to be absolutely confident that your tenants are exactly the right people for you. To be totally sure about this, we use an external referencing company called UKTenantData for our tenant referencing. This covers aspects of verifying income, current employment status, right to rent checks, current landlord references etc. so you can have peace of mind about the people you’re renting to.

Signing the agreement and taking the deposit

We draw up the contract and send it over to you for your approval before sending it to the tenant for them to sign online. We then take the first month’s rent and the deposit from the tenant. The deposit is then registered with the TDS and transferred to our client account where it’s held throughout the tenancy.

Property check

A Watersons team member will visit the property to make sure the smoke alarms are working, and that the property is clean and ready for the tenant to move in.

Inventory

We use a specialist inventory company who creates an independent inventory of the property, complete with photographs and up-to-date meter readings, the day before your new tenant moves in. This report will be used to compare the condition of your property when the tenant moves out, helping to ensure that your asset remains in good condition.

Moving-in day

We take care of all the nitty-gritty details: the new tenants will collect their keys and any documentation from our rental office in Hale. We let the council and utility providers know of their arrival and submit current meter readings.

Give us a call on 0161 941 6767 if there’s anything you’d like more information on; one of our team will be happy to help.