Lewis & Foy Lettings - Property Management Liverpool/Merseyside.

Property Management in Liverpool & Merseyside

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Property Management

Property management is our passion. It is not just a division of our business, it is our sole business!

We specialise in property management only - we are not diluted by sales. Our team are exceptionally proud of the systems we have put in place to ensure a cost-effective, efficient service for your benefit.

The property management department is 100% dedicated to managing our clients properties. Their tasks include:

  1. Rent Collection
  2. CP12 & EICRs
  3. EPC – Energy Performance Certificates
  4. Checking tenants into and out of properties
  5. Carrying out regular inspections of your property
  6. Liaising with landlords, tenants and contractors
  7. Being on call 24/7 for emergencies
  8. Prompt processing of rental payments
  9. Dealing with any issues at end of tenancy

We believe that quality property management is the solution to obtaining maximum rental returns on your property. It is right to assert that the majority of tenants insist on only renting managed properties, as they want the security of knowing that there will always be backup support systems in place for them; indeed, corporate tenants will only rent from managing agents.

Instructing Lewis & Foy to manage your property provides you peace of mind that both your property and tenant will be cared for 24/7. Our dedicated management team will look after the general day to day management of your property together with more complex issues such as emergency repairs, the collection of rent, transfer of utilities – all the jobs that you would need to do if you were and hands-on landlord, and many more besides.

Property Inspections

An essential function of the management department is to conduct property inspections. We believe that regular Property Inspections allow an efficient way of preventing problems from formulating up during a tenancy. Attending and resolving small issues at an early stage helps to avoid more significant issues at the time of termination of the tenancy.

We conduct the initial Property Inspection to our managed properties approximately one month after the tenant has been checked into the property. During this visit, we assess the property for any routine maintenance work requirements; verify that the house is being looked after by the tenant; that only the people contained on the tenancy agreement are living in the property, including that only pets accepted by the landlord are present.

Afterwards, a report of our conclusions will be presented to the landlord following each inspection. We usually take the opportunity to discuss requirements for any on-going maintenance, avoiding void periods (intervals between lets) are always kept to a minimum.

Contractors

A crucial part of our model is to ensure a cost-effective maintenance service. We utilise our internal group of tradesmen. However, we do realise that Landlords may want to use an alternate contractor, or there are some jobs that we cannot undertake. In that case, any contractors we use will be vetted to ensure that they possess suitable experience for the applicable professional, or trade qualifications (where necessary).

We have a duty under Section 11 of the 1985 Landlord & Tenant Act, and we take this duty extremely seriously.

Client Account Management

A critical section of our Management Department is our Client Account Team who liaises with our landlords. They focus primarily on the following tasks:

  1. Punctual processing of rental payments – we process the payments within a few days of the funds clearing into our account. We guarantee landlords can get their payments as quickly as possible.
  2. Issuing detailed statements of accounts & information for our clients tax returns by post or email
  3. Arrangement and facilitation of annual rent increases

Rent increases are a sensitive area that some landlords find challenging to deal with. We will be happy to take the problem out of your hands. Once the landlord has indicated his or her preferences, we will put in place the processes to implement the landlords' wishes.

Simple Pricing

Explore our comprehensive service packages, each designed to meet your specific needs. For a full breakdown of what's included, please see our pricing page.

Full Management

Our most popular service, covering everything from tenant finding to property compliance. We handle all aspects of property management, ensuring a hassle-free experience for landlords.

Full Management (plus rental protection)

Full Management with added peace of mind. This service includes everything in our Full Management package, plus comprehensive rental protection to safeguard your investment.

Let Only

Our Let Only service is perfect for landlords who want to find tenants without the ongoing management. We handle tenant sourcing, referencing, and producing an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, leaving you to manage the property.

10% + VAT

Full Management

13% + VAT

Full Management (plus rental protection)

One Months Rent + VAT

Let Only

Custom - Call Us!

Larger Portfolios

Lewis & Foy Onboarding in 3 Simple Steps

As your letting agent, we guarantee a seamless and efficient handover of your property to our management, ensuring a hassle-free transition for you

1

Contact Us

Get in touch with us today so we can better understand your specific management requirements and tailor our services to meet your needs effectively.

2

Onboard Your Properties

We’ll take care of all compliance matters and coordinate directly with your current letting agent, if applicable, to ensure a smooth and fully compliant process."

3

Peace Of Mind

Once onboard, we’ll expertly manage your property and keep you informed with regular updates, ensuring peace of mind and full transparency.

Contact Us

Full Management Explained

One of our lettings specialists will perform a desktop analysis and attend the property(s) in person to give an accurate market valuation. Our experts will evaluate multiple factors before committing to a value. These factors include, but are not limited to; market conditions and demand, location of the property(s), property condition, plus many more additional elements.

Should your property(s) require improvements or refurbishment, we will gladly advise on what we think would be the best possibilities and give the greatest return on investment.

Most property searches for tenants will start online and use portals such as Rightmove & Zoopla. We advertise on both and utilise our constantly building database of tenants looking for quality properties. We frequently have properties not initially advertised on Rightmove or Zoopla, as we have interested and pre-qualified tenants awaiting a property to come available.

Ever-advancing technology provides us with continuous opportunities to advance our marketing opportunities. Lewis & Foy Lettings chose to embrace this opportunity and employ the best in the class of virtual tour providers - Matterport. Authentic virtual tours should not be confused with walk-around videos taken on camera phones; these types of video tours, whilst informative, do not give a true reflection of a property and can not be recorded to showcase a property to its full potential. Our virtual tours allow tenants to explore the entire property from the comfort of their own homes and quickly decide if a potential property is for them; our virtual tours even enable a tenant to measure areas of a property, for furniture etc.

We like to meet all our potential tenants, so we strive to meet prospective tenants at the property to ensure they are happy and want to proceed. We endeavour to ensure that the prospective tenants will be satisfied with the property.

Utilising the advancements in technology and Open Banking, we have partnered with a market-leading referencing provider who can complete full screening for us, sometimes on the same day. They keep us updated at all times and guide any potential applicants through the process. They provide us with information such as; identity confirmation, credit ratings, adverse credit warnings, income verification, previous rental payment verification, previous landlord references and employer references. They also give us a figure called an ‘affordability rating’, which advises us what each applicant can afford as a monthly rent amount.

The secure, reliable collection of the rent and accounting documentation is an essential service for any landlord. At Lewis & Foy Lettings, we have a custom-built system to track all incoming rental payments, automatically allocating them to the right property, tenant or landlord. This system also automatically produces monthly statements detailing all incoming & outgoing expenses and our management fees. Digital statements are automatically sent to each landlord every month.

If required, we can provide you with access to an online landlord finance portal which will provide details and access to things such as; rental statements, invoices, receipts and anything financially related to your property.

Our Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreements have been drafted by Dutton Gregory Solicitors and produced by ARLA Propertymark. This investment from us shows we will not just settle for an off-the-shelf tenancy agreement which may not protect our landlords. We are committed to providing the best.

As part of our full management service, we annually review our managed rental portfolio and assess if the current rents are appropriate for the property and tenant. When considering a rent review, we consider multiple factors, which will determine if a rent increase should be proposed and by how much. Numerous factors which affect the outcome of the review include but are not limited to, current full market value, tenant payment history, how the current tenant has managed their tenancy, how well the property has been maintained, general condition of the property and/or building.

Unfortunately, things do break, as much as we wish they didn’t. As part of our full management service, we manage the reporting of an issue or required repair through to completion and handle all liaisons with the tenant and applicable contractor throughout the process.

Lewis & Foy Lettings operates concurrently with James Foy. This puts Lewis & Foy Lettings in a very advantageous and unique position with the ability to quickly access very experienced and qualified tradespeople to complete any repair, maintenance or compliance work to your property. The James Foy has been completing work for landlords with property in Liverpool and Merseyside for over 30 years.

We personally meet each tenant at your property to hand over keys and check in your new tenants. During this time, we will also show the new tenant where all the basics are, including; the fuse board, electric meter, gas meter, water meter and water stop tap. Additionally, this check-in procedure coincides with the required Right to Rent check, where we confirm in person that the identification provided matches the occupying tenant(s).

The management of the interim utility bills for a rental property has always been a problematic area for many landlords. Using the latest technology and processes, we have a system in place where the utility companies and local councils are informed of a tenant vacating, the landlords’ details for the interim bills, and the new tenants’ details. All meter readings are provided to the appropriate suppliers and memorialised within our digital inventory and check-out reports for future reference if required.

Right to rent checks form part of the Immigration Act 2014. From the 1st February 2016, the UK government introduced a new requirement for landlords with rental properties in the UK to check whether their current or prospective tenants have the right to rent a property in the UK. This check started fairly simple with just a review of ID for UK & Irish nationals and biometric residency card checks for anyone not from the UK or Ireland. Things have now progressed, and the government has introduced an online checking service for non-UK nationals. A secure document is then produced to memorialise the check, which also contains the name of the agency that performed the check and when any further checks will be needed. The fines associated with failing to complete right-to-rent checks are up to £3,000 per tenant. It is also worth noting that anyone holding or storing confidential information on tenants will need to be registered with the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office). Lewis & Foy Lettings are of course, registered with the ICO.

Right to Rent checks sometimes needs to be monitored, maintained and re-checked. Non-UK national residents usually have a set period in which they are legally allowed to rent a property in the UK; once this period expires, they must re-apply and renew the status for another fixed term. Lewis & Foy Lettings ensure that the re-checking is completed where required and the appropriate documentation securely stored for future reference if ever required.

With all tenancies under our management, we always request the maximum possible deposit, equal to 5 weeks of rent, per the Tenant Fees Act 2019. We then protect this deposit within the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) custodial scheme. Once registered and protected, the deposit prescribed information is then produced and delivered securely to the tenant for signature and proof of delivery. This will be handled on your behalf if any management of the deposit is required during the term.

As standard, we will produce a fully digital inventory containing time and date-stamped images of a property's condition on the day a tenant moves in. We will also ensure the meter readings are memorialised in the same way and form part of the report. A detailed schedule of conditions (inventory) is essential evidence if a claim is needed against the deposit held. Our inventories are sent to the tenants for signing and to allow comments to be made if they so wish. Again, these reports are sent for secure digital signature, which provides us with a chain of custody that the report was delivered and an opportunity for comment was given.

As part of any Assured Shorthold Tenancy, properties must be inspected regularly. As standard, we make an allowance for at least one inspection to take place during 6 months. These inspections are documented within the same format as our inventories where possible, and all images are time and date stamped for clarity. Should we identify any areas of concern, we will ask the tenants to ensure these issues are resolved (as long as it is their responsibility) and arrange a repeat visit to confirm the required improvements have been completed. Periodic inspections are also a requirement of the Liverpool Landlord Selective Licensing Scheme.

Sometimes, issues in people’s lives do happen, and we at Lewis & Foy Lettings are the first port of call for tenants who come across problems in their lives relating to their tenancies. We work proactively with all tenants who have issues to find a resolution and positive outcome for all parties. We find that taking an understanding approach can often assist a tenant in resolving problems quickly and avoiding the potential impact on their home and family life. After all, property lettings and management is a people business.

As you will be aware, the world of compliance within the private rental sector is constantly evolving and more complex as the years' progress! We will go through all the required areas and ensure the property is fully compliant. Compliance issues include; smoke alarms (the correct number, in the correct locations and validity), Carbon Monoxide Alarms (the correct number, in the correct locations and validity), adherence to HHSRS (Housing Health and Safety Rating System).

Compliance is an ever-evolving and changing landscape within the private rental sector. Lewis & Foy Lettings ensure we are up to date with all current, pending and potential changes in UK law, legislation and physical requirements. Once new requirements are announced, and we know they are required, we will take the necessary steps to ensure you are always up to date and protected.

As part of our full management service and a core part of our custom-built property management system, we ensure we can track and maintain all safety certificates which are legally required to be in place. We also ensure they are securely stored and backed up. Our system will notify us, in good time, when a particular certificate is due for renewal, and we will take steps to instruct the new testing and inspection takes place so you as a landlord are always covered. The main elements currently required by law are Electrical Inspection Condition Report (EICR) and Landlord Gas Safety Certificate (CP12). All new certificates are securely stored and backed up. As required, digital copies are also sent to tenants. We have now decided to take this one step further and produce digital proofs of smoke alarm and Carbon Monoxide alarm expiry dates, again, our system notifies us when these are required to be replaced and the proofs of the new installations will be taken and stored securely.

In the rare and unfortunate event that deductions are required to be made from a tenant’s deposit, we are here to help. As part of our full management service, we handle the gathering of information and discussions with the tenant about why the deductions are required and the cost of the remedy. We will notify the tenant before any claims against the deposit are made to ensure they are aware and to expect an amount of the deposit to be retained. Sometimes we may enter into negotiations with the tenant to ensure an amicable agreement can be made, and any issues are resolved. Should the tenant not wish to accept the proposed deductions, then we will enter into the adjudication process provided by the Deposit Protection Service (DPS); we will gather all the evidence possible and present your case to the adjudicator within the required timeframe for them to make the decision. The majority of fair and reasonable claims with good supporting evidence are successful in the adjudication process.

As part of a new tenancy, there are additional requirements for landlords in the form of ‘prescribed information', which is a set list of specific information and documents required to be delivered to a tenant at the start of their tenancy. The list is as follows: How to Rent guide, deposit certificate, deposit prescribed information, deposit terms and conditions, Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for the property, Electrical Inspection Condition Report (EICR) for the property, Landlords Gas Safety Certificate (CP12) for the property and any other certification which may be applicable. Lewis & Foy Lettings ensure all these documents are delivered through a system proving they were received. Should you ever need to evict a tenant and all the prescribed information was not provided or cannot be confirmed it was delivered, it can slow things down dramatically or even stop an eviction, even if your tenant is not paying rent.

Landlord Testimonials

Our testimonials reflect the trust and satisfaction of our valued clients.

“As a landlord knowing that my property and tenants are being looked after is crucial and Lewis & Foy deliver on both of these. Incredibly easy to deal with, no messing about and they are great at what they do. Very responsive to any questions or queries. I switched my property to them at the start of the year and my only regret is that I didn’t do it 5yrs sooner.”

Scott Jones

Client

"Great personal interaction from the get go. Handing over the management of our property has never been easier. Prompt replies and straightforward communication has led to what I hope will be a great relationship going forward."

Tim Webb

Client

Join Lewis & Foy Lettings

Are you a landlord looking for a trusted letting agency in Liverpool? We are proud to offer landlords a seamless, no-fee transfer process to join our esteemed portfolio. With a commitment to excellence, we provide tailored solutions and unparalleled service to meet your unique property needs. Contact us today to arrange a consultation and discover how we can elevate your letting experience.

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