What Are Property Services and How Can They Help You?

Property services imply all those actions that, in some way, contribute to the property improvement, whether its appearance or functionality. Landlords must realise the importance of preserving and possibly increasing the property value and the renal profit it brings.

Managing, maintaining, and preserving the value of rental real estate can be challenging. Both residential and commercial properties “have their needs,” which you probably can meet to a certain point. But if you want to do it right, you’ll use professional property services.

Why Are Property Services Important?

By utilising property services, you can have peace of mind knowing that your property is well-maintained and tenants happy. Here’s why proper real estate maintenance and management matter:

• Preserving property value: Regular property upkeep, repairs, and upgrades keep the value of your real estate. These can save you from the consequences of poor maintenance.
• Boosting your rental income: A well-maintained and marketable real estate will attract tenants. Also, you can set higher rents by offering better value to leaseholders than other landlords.
• Communicating with renters: You don’t have to overthink leaseholders’ rights, obligations, and requests. Tenants will keep their communication with a property manager, who’ll reach out to you only when necessary.
• Keeping healthy relationships with leaseholders: Addressing common tenants’ issues and concerns is of utmost importance if you want to keep them. When everything in your real estate is in good shape, people want to stay there.
• Making your property marketable: It’s good to know that you can sell your property fast if you ever decide to do so. With property services, you can make your real estate marketable.

Who Needs Property Services?

Both commercial and residential real estate can benefit from property services. Owners and investors can outsource many tasks to companies specialising in property management, maintenance, remodelling, and trading.

Commercial Property Services

These property services include everything that has to be done around offices, shopping centres, retail and storage facilities, and industrial buildings. Commercial real estate needs continual upkeep and management, and some of the tasks included in these services are:

• Commercial-grade maintenance, from answering the tenants’ requests to performing required real estate upkeep and upgrades. 
• Rent collection, accounting, and negotiation, since commercial tenants usually have longer leases and higher rents.
• Property marketing, which ensures tenancy most of the time, bringing you more profit.
• Tracking finances and day-to-day operations of your commercial real estate, as these tasks can be too much when you have no time or managerial skills.

Residential Property Services

These services for residential objects (houses, apartments, multi-family buildings, condominiums) imply property care and management and navigate the legal and financial responsibilities you face as a landlord. You can hire specialised agencies or managers to take care of property-related tasks, which can be:

• Attracting new tenants by upkeeping and marketing your property.
• Handling and communicating with tenants about their problems, concerns, and suggestions on your rental property.
• Financial tasks like rent collection, contractors’ payments, tax issues, etc.
• Property upkeep and repairs, whether by hiring in-house staff or outsourcing these tasks to agencies and specialised contractors. 

What Types of Property Services Are There?

Property owners and investors have a lot of work to keep their real estate functional, good-looking, and attractive to prospective tenants or buyers. With different types of property services, you can take care of your property in the best possible way, from regular maintenance to handling daily tasks, leaving nothing to chance.

Property Maintenance

Property maintenance is a set of tasks on and around your property, scheduled or ad-hoc. These can be daily, weekly, and monthly jobs, so as urgent interventions for unexpected breakdowns and damage. Upkeep services include:

• Taking care of electrical, plumbing, and HVAC systems within the property.
• Preventing roofing and flooring issues leading to property damage or tenant dissatisfaction like leaky roofs, squeaky floors, and poor damp and noise insulation.
• Improving property aesthetics to maintain its marketability.
• Regular pest controls and infestation prevention.

Property Management

Property management is a bond between freeholders and leaseholders. The manager is a point of contact for both parties in charge of property safety, tenants’ rights and duties, taking care of proper upkeep and rental issues. Your property manager can:

• Collect deposit, rent, and service charge collection and keep track of maintenance costs. 
• Schedule regular property maintenance and hand ad hoc repairs.
• Perform safety checks of alarms, fire distinguishers, and smoke detectors to ensure your property and tenants are well-protected.

Real Estate Agency

The role of estate agents is to help you with property sales and letting. They oversee real estate buying and selling and handle rental duties. Here’s what you can expect from estate agents:

• They find, screen, negotiate, and go through rental procedures with tenants.
• They handle real estate sales or purchases.
• They help landlords to keep the property marketable by suggesting necessary repairs and upgrades to meet the market needs.

Property Renovations and Remodelling

Renovations and remodelling are necessary to preserve the real estate value, and that’s a job you should leave to property service providers. They take care of projects like basement conversion, following your instructions and deadlines. They will:

• Arrange a building survey before renovation.
• Find and hire general contractors to do remodelling.
• Work with your budget.
• Take care of property insurance during renovations.

Property Valuation and Appraisal

You need these services when you plan to sell your property. Estate agents or licensed valuers can do an appraisal of your real estate market value. When they put that in writing, it’s valuation. 

These experts can:

• Give you a clear picture of how much your real estate is worth and which sale price you can expect.
• Suggest how to improve your property for better marketability.
• Help you with property financing.

Property Inspections

Regular property inspections are necessary for all properties to ensure they’re in good condition. It’s more than desirable for rental properties, so you can check how leaseholders take care of your real estate and whether they breach tenancy contracts. 

Your full property management will:

• Arrange the inspection date with the tenant.
• Inspect your property and record the existing situation
• Keep track of possible property issues between the two inspections during the current tenancy.

What Are Some Common Property Service Issues?

When hiring property service providers, you can face many issues. Sometimes, you or your tenants will disagree and dispute their decisions. Some common property service disputes are:

• Poor quality or incomplete property maintenance work.
• Delays in property repairs or maintenance tasks.
• Service charges or billing discrepancies.
• Lack of responsiveness or communication from property service providers.
• Inadequate property management.
• Issues with property renovations or remodelling projects not meeting expectations.
• Incorrect property valuations or appraisals.
• Unsatisfactory property inspections, missing crucial defects or hazards.
• Problems with property marketing or rental listing services.
• Ineffective or insufficient property management software or systems

How Much Do Property Services Cost in the UK?

You’re expected to pay £119 – £380 per month.

* Property managers charge between 10 to 15% of your monthly rental income per unit.

** The average rent in the UK in 2023 is £1,190. The minimum cost is taken based on this amount. The highest property service fee uses higher rent prices (London with an average of £2,501) and the highest percentage charged by property managers.

Does Insurance Cover Property Maintenance Fees?

No, your insurance only pays for unforeseen and accidental damage and emergencies. On the other hand, property maintenance is a planned action. If you suffer damage due to normal wear-and-tear and lack of maintenance, all costs will be out of your pocket.

Are There Any Regulations or Legal Requirements for Property Services in the UK?

Yes, there are some legal requirements property service providers must meet, usually related to Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Laws on letting agents differ throughout the UK, but, in general, there’s no specific regulation on conditions they must meet to perform this job.

To Sum Up

As a property owner, you must understand the importance of property services. They ensure efficient real estate management and upkeep to preserve its value and boost your rental profit.

You can rely on seasoned service providers to handle everything from regular maintenance to property valuation. And if you have water issues, contact a professional damp-proofing company to protect your investment and create a healthier living environment.