When you buy a second home, or a home with the intention of letting it out, you often want to focus on the exciting elements such as decorating. One thing people often do not want to consider is how they are going to manage their let or lets. Using a second home property management company can help you with this, and we believe Your Devon Escape is up for the job!
There are many advantages and disadvantages of using a second home property management company, and a multitude of things to consider when making this decision. This decision can often come down to simple things such as how far away you live from the property, how much spare time you have or your experience in the letting industry. Below we have considered what we think are the main pros and cons of using a second home property management company. Have a read and see whether you agree with why we think our services are worthwhile…
PROS…
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERTISE
You may have a second home that you want to let out but don’t really know how to go about it. Or you have bought a house to be a holiday let but feel overwhelmed with getting started. Well, a second home property management company can help you. They can offer advice on pricing, furnishings and how to maximise income. Your Devon Escape can offer guidance on how to price your property, and price it for the season. We are honest when we think a house could do with a ‘spruce’ and can offer advice on how you can maximise the income you receive from the property. Alongside this, we can help with holiday let rules and regulations. And just simply, we have the local knowledge which, if you do not know the area very well or do not live locally, can be very useful for the simple things such as quick maintenance jobs.
MARKETING POWER
When starting out with a new property for let, its often hard to know how and where to start with advertising and marketing. This can lead to money being spent unsuccessfully. A second home property management company can use their marketing power and do all of this for you. Your Devon Escape will use its social media presence to advertise your property to its growing followers, alongside having your house listed its own and associated websites. We use professional writers and photographers to write about and photograph your property to give you the best chance of being fully booked throughout the year. With constant content being posted to social media and our website, it will be easy to build interest for your property.
HASSLE-FREE HOLIDAY
Using a second home property management company can just save you so much hassle. They will manage everything for you from the day to day running of bookings, payments, and queries to cleaning. Yes, managing the property yourself can save money but think of the time you will save by handing the job over to someone else. If you do not live close, then Your Devon Escape will check on the property for you, so you don’t have to make the journey. We also hold all the local knowledge if Devon isn’t your everyday home; we can provide out of hours emergency cover and access to local approved tradesmen when needed, alongside providing guests with all the local knowledge they need.
CONS…
BOOKINGS ARE NOT GUARANTEED
Despite knowledge, expertise, and marketing power, using a second home property management company does not correlate to guaranteed bookings. Sometimes there will be days where you have no one in your property and sadly that is just the nature of the industry. However, to limit this as much as possible, utilise all the resources available to you to maximise the relationship with the company and your chance of success with lettings. Your Devon Escape is always on hand to advise and will do what we can for you regarding promoting your property because (lets be honest) it is in our best interest as much as it is yours!
LESS CONTROL
Some agencies may offer less freedom regarding when you can book out your property for yourself and when it needs to be available for letting. This is not the case at Your Devon Escape! We offer a flexible approach. You block out the time that you want to use your property and we work around that for when it is available for the public. We can advise for what we think are the busiest times to make it available, but if that correlates for when you wish to use it, then of course it is your property to use! Why have a second home or holiday let if you cannot also make use of it?
ADDITIONAL COSTS
A big con can often be the costs associated with using a second home property management company, with hidden fees and costs. This is not the case with Your Devon Escape. We deliberately keep all our fees and costs transparent because we understand the importance of needing your holiday home to be cost effective. Therefore, we use a one-off set up fee payment (or in instalments by request) and use a simple commission structure of a low flat rate of 13% + VAT per booking. We believe that this makes the process simple, and you always know how much you will be making out of bookings throughout the year, with no surprises.
Your Devon Escape believes there are many benefits of using a second home property management company. But, if you still have questions or simply want to get in touch, please check out our website and social media, or drop us an email at enquiries@yourdevonescape.co.uk. Get in touch today!