Claire Empson runs the innovative Daisylets letting agency which she started herself as she was so fed up with the shoddy service of local agents. The fact that she has done well is shown by the fact that she is winner of the NLA 2010 Property Women letting agent award. Here is her story.
1. Please introduce yourself. Say a bit about yourself and your company
I’m 37 years old and live in East Dulwich in South London with my partner and our two boys aged 6 and 4. I started my company, Daisylets three years ago after getting thoroughly fed up with the dire service that I was receiving from agents that were dealing with my own properties. We try to provide a service where the tenant feels like they are renting from a private landlord rather than getting lost in a large agency where no one knows or cares who they are. We try to provide a personal bespoke service to our clients at a reasonable cost.
2. How did you first become involved in property?
17 years ago, when I was a student in Swansea I became friendly with the local lettings agent that I rented from. The family business ethos they had built up and the way they ran their business with integrity inspired me and I remember thinking at the time that one day I would like to invest and work in property, given the opportunity. I’m now a landlord of 7 years with a small property portfolio and the Managing Director of Daisylets.
3. What do you think is your greatest achievement so far?
I’m pleased I can hold my head high in the sometimes murky world of lettings and I’m proud of the feedback and testimonials we get. We try to treat people as human beings and not as a product and it’s a nice feeling to know that our company has grown largely through word of mouth. We currently manage around 65 properties in and around SE22, London, which I have built up from nothing – winning a National award has made all the hard work worthwhile!
4. Do you or your company have any exciting plans for the future?
I recently passed the NFOPP Technical Award in Residential Property Management and Lettings which was, as I’m sure any Mum will testify, a minor miracle of multi-tasking, squeezing in study, running Daisylets and making sure packed lunches and kids made it to school on time! This means we are now eligible to join ARLA (Association of Residential Lettings Agents) if we wish to. We are considering opening an office locally and might even franchise the business in the future or look into licensing. With such strong branding and an ethos that I hope sets us aside from the rest, it would make a good proposition for anyone thinking about starting up their own lettings business.
5. What do you think are the greatest problems facing the private rented sector today?
Legislation. The decision the present government have taken to modify the recent change of use legislation brought in by Labour just before the election was wise and I hope paves the way for a smoother ride for landlords in the next 4 years. Lack of mortgage lending, extortionately high fees for buy to let products, higher percentages charged for consent to let – all these will affect landlords decision on whether to sell up in the near future. Many accidental landlords are now exiting the market as sales have improved causing a shortage of housing in the private rented sector – this will get worse if more legislation is brought in.
6. What do you think are the greatest opportunities?
I believe property is a great long term investment, many landlords who got stung by Buy to Lets and gave it bad press invested in the wrong type of property/location. Property is not a get rich quick scheme – You need to think Pension Plan – at least 10 years to ride the peaks and troughs of the housing market. There are opportunities for renovation to add capital value and there are still plenty of people needing to sell quickly for a discounted price due to the job market, but again you need to have the time to commit yourself to a project – leaving your investments in other people’s hands for too long is risky!
7. We have a new government. What would you like them to do for the private rented sector?
Not to over legislate landlords. Although I’m disappointed they scrapped plans to regulate Lettings Agents. No honest agent with integrity would object to this. There are a number of rogue agents who set themselves up offering extremely low fees, but have no idea what they are doing. This is open to abuse from unscrupulous individuals disappearing with landlords’ and tenants’ money. The government also need to look at the Local Housing Allowance and to go back to paying landlords directly. None of our landlords accept DSS tenants. Giving social housing tenants responsibility for money is not what either the landlord or most of the tenants want.
8. Do you use social media (blogs, twitter, LinkedIn etc)? What place do you think it has in the future of the property industry?
Yes, we are on Facebook, Twitter and I’m personally on Linked in; we actually get a surprising amount of leads from Facebook. Blogging is something we need to add to our site on the next update too. . We live in the age of the internet, smart phones and now the ipad. The current generation communicate mostly via these means even if they are physically in the same room sometimes! Agents that do not embrace new technology will get left behind!
9. What is the most important lesson you have learned during your time in property?
Whist filling a vacant property swiftly and at a good price is important, nothing is more important that getting a feel for the person that wants to rent someone’s home/property and making sure we pick the right tenants for the landlord. Referencing is everything and we always ensure that we contact previous landlords, employers and run credit checks ourselves. A good tenant makes for a happy landlord!
10. What advice would you have to someone thinking of entering the property industry today?
To anyone starting an agency: not to over charge. I made the decision when we started the business that we would not charge renewal fees to landlords. Landlords appreciate honesty and quality of service and will stay loyal to you because of it. If you run a lettings agency you should have personal interest in finding decent tenants for what is or was often the landlord’s own home at one time. It’s not just about keeping the landlords happy – the tenants need to be safe and happy too.
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Thank you Claire for your wise words. I wish you all the best for you and your company.
To find out more about Claire’s agency (and see her lovely pink daisy web-site) visit www.daisylets.com.