Telford 24 Seven

Former estate agent Aaron Manley has branched out on his own in the rental sector by launching his own property management company.

Rodenlet Property Services clients Brian Morris and Danielle Rogers in their Shawbirch home.

The 27-year-old, from Rodington near Telford, has 10 years of experience in the field, and decided the time was right to respond to a growing need for homes to rent in Telford & Wrekin, with growing mortgage problems caused by the credit crunch.

His company, Rodenlets Property Services, is run from home, and as Aaron is a sole trader, he is not VAT-registered and so his clients can expect to save on fees.

Aaron gained his Residential Lettings and Management certificate from the National Association of Estate Agents three years ago, and worked at Barbers for ten years after leaving college.

“I know it’s a bit of a brave move but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” he says. “And now mortgage lenders are really cutting down on lending and more repossessions are expected, I think there’s going to be lots of people wanting to rent.

“I think the problem will be getting enough properties available. Two and three bedroomed homes are needed at the moment. However, I think when property prices go down more people will be buying to let. So if anyone has a property that is vacant or about to become so, I’d like to hear from them.”

Aaron is planning to do “the odd sale” as well, but will be concentrating on letting homes in the Telford area. “The good thing is that I’ve got no overheads, being based at home.”

Cheaper fees are of course a good incentive to both landlords and tenants, but Aaron points out other benefits. “You can get hold of me seven days a week, as I’m not based in a high street office so don’t work office hours. I offer a personal service, offering personal valuations and advice on the current rules and regulations for landlords.

“I am also offering the landlords rent guarantee procedures and various insurance schemes and referencing companies. And we can possibly offer tenants where they don’t have to pay a deposit, they pay an insurance premium.”

Aaron charges eight per cent for property management for landlords. For this he will collect the rent, look after the property, carry out inspections of the property and deal with day-to-day issues and hold the tenants deposit.

“I’m also going to offer builder services for buy-to-lets that need attention,” says Aaron. “I can go to their current house and talk through their requirements, I can arrange viewings at a time to suit them.”

Aaron says the minimum ‘shorthold tenancy’ which tenants should expect to agree to is six months. “We can do tenancies for longer than that and then they just roll on month to month. If a landlord wants their property back they have to give the tenants two months written notice and tenants have to give a months notice if they want to move out.”

Aaron believes renting could be a much cheaper option at the moment, with a typical four bedroomed modern detached home in Shawbirch, for example, costing £750 a month in rent.

Young Telford couple Brian Morris, 24, a warehouse manager, and nursery nurse Danielle Rogers, 22, are among Aaron’s clients. They decided to rent their first home together earlier this year. They moved into their two-bed semi in Shawbirch over the Easter bank holiday, having previously been living with parents.

Brian says: “We decided to rent obviously because of the cost of buying a home, and we also wanted to make sure that we wouldn’t fall out.”
They have a direct telephone number to their private landlord in case of any problems, and have settled in happily.

“One day we are looking to buy, but we had looked at the prices and gone round the estate agents and decided it was best to rent first,” Brian adds

l Rodenlets Property Services can be found at www.rodenlets.co.uk