Who is Better Qualified to Show a Rental Property Than the Current Tenant?
The short answer to this post’s title is ‘no one’. But it wouldn’t make for informative content if we left it at that. Which is why this blog article is going to explain just why the current tenant of a rental property is better qualified than anyone else to conduct viewings to potential new tenants.
A traditional rule of thumb suggests that agents show tenants around a property listed on the rental market. Of course, agents do stellar jobs and have lots of information about the property to hand, so we’re not taking anything away from them.
But they also have multiple properties to market and many appointments during the day. Current tenants, on the other hand, live and breathe the place where they live. They know every nook and cranny.
Surely they are best suited to inform a potential incoming tenant about everything there is to know? We think so, and here’s why…
Agents can tell you the basics; tenants can give you all the details
Letting agents can give you a basic overview of the area and the property you are viewing. But tenants are much better placed to provide a well-rounded picture of every aspect of the property. That includes the area where it’s located and how things work in the home they are currently renting.
Most importantly, they can tell you their availability and arrange times for a viewing with you directly. There are many instances where agents have to play the mediator, checking with the outgoing tenant and the potential incoming ones about availability. Direct contact between outgoing and incoming tenants saves a lot of time and speeds up the whole process while adding transparency.
The modern-day renter has a busy schedule, and doing viewings during the working 9–5 time slots isn’t always possible. With tenants communicating directly, they can set times that suit everyone involved — especially as their schedules are more likely to align.
Tenants know how everything works
Inventories are great for when you move in, but what about knowing how everything works before you get the keys? On viewings with agents, tenants often have many questions — things that seem mundane but are in fact integral to the daily lives of someone living in a property.
Questions about gas and electric prices, how appliances work, council tax — these are all vital aspects that agents might have a vague idea about but, understandably, may also not know every single detail.
Current tenants can give incoming ones an overview of how much they pay on monthly bills, the quality of appliances, and everything in between.
Tenants know the local area
No one is going to know the local area like the current tenant does. That means they understand the vibe and what living there entails. Ask an agent about a local area, and they might tell you where the nearest stations are located and perhaps a few restaurants if they’re clued up.
However, tenants can tell you everything on a deeper level: what the neighbours are like, the best restaurants that fly under the radar, where the closest gym is located, the frequency of public transport, the best open spaces, and when the high street gets busy. There is so much that goes into the make up of a local area; tenants who have called it their home will know everything there is to know.
Tenants know the current landlord
If the property is looked after directly by the landlord, tenants will most probably have a better relationship with them than the agent. One of the key questions on viewings is always: ‘what is the landlord like?’.
Tenants can tell you how responsive they are, the speed in which maintenance issues are resolved, and about the landlord’s general friendliness. It helps to have an idea of the landlord’s personality before moving in, and a current tenant is better placed than most to tell you what to expect.
The multi-tasking tenant
With the current tenant conducting the viewing, you can get all of the information necessary to find out exactly what you need from the property and the area. In today’s world, where peer reviews take precedence online, why not move that method into the offline world and, more explicitly, to property viewings?
At Mashroom, we believe in the power of the tenant and are creating a community where they and landlords have total transparency involved in the process of renting. We reward outgoing tenants with one week’s worth of rent for securing an incoming one.
Join the lettings revolution today at Mashroom.
