Mashroom Looks to The Future at The Landlord’s Investment Show
The Landlord Investment Show (LIS) is the UK’s largest residential property investment exhibition. Since its inception in 2013, more than 75k people have walked through its doors, with the aim of networking and discovering the latest lettings industry news. This year’s iteration took place on November 6th at London Olympia.
After recently attending MIPIM in London, we decided to host a stand at LIS, so we could talk directly to professional landlords and find out their expectations from the industry. These are exciting times in the lettings game, with a shift to digital opening new avenues for landlords and tenants to let and rent property.
We have put together a roundup of our time at The Landlord Investment Show and how our talks with professional landlords will help shape the future of Mashroom and the lettings industry in the UK. ?
The nitty gritty of The Landlord’s Investment Show
With so many businesses and attendees, it’s fair to say that getting the right spot for your stand is vital. As this was our first time exhibiting, we wanted to make sure that we made maximum impact. Fortunately, we were positioned right next to the sessions room, which was handy for meeting and greeting people throughout the day.
As a result, networking opportunities came thick and fast and, before we knew it, the show was already over. Or at least that’s how it felt with the so many people stopping by to talk to us about the concept of mashroom.
A lettings evolution
When you ask landlords what they want from the company that will let their property, the answer isn’t straightforward. Fees play a huge factor, but so too does the quality of service and expertise in the industry. Landlords we spoke to were particularly enthused by the idea of their current tenants helping with securing new ones.
No one knows the property and area better than the tenant living there. Which is why utilising them — while providing a reward in the process — for securing a new tenant makes sense. Letting agents are in constant dialogue with current tenants while arranging viewings. We see establishing direct communication between the incoming and outgoing tenant as a natural evolution.
Naturally, landlords were also intrigued by our fees, which we cap at 3% annually. There were many questions around how the fee structure worked, and we were more than happy to explain. Landlords that work with their current tenants to let the property pay 3% of the annual rent. 2% of that goes to the outgoing tenant for securing a new one, and 1% goes to Mashroom for administrative purposes — platform running costs.
If a landlord lists the property on Mashroom without utilising their current tenant, they only pay 1% of the annual rent. A property renting for £15,000 per year will see the landlord pay a fee that equates to £150.
These structures went some way to the high interest that was drummed up in Mashroom. The free goodie bags and keyrings we gave away didn’t do any harm either!
The wrap up
Unfortunately, we didn’t get an opportunity to attend any of the sessions; such was the demand at our stand. However, there were some great talks at The Landlord Investment Show, including the Government Insight seminar in association with Property Tribes. The panel discussed Government interventions in the sector and the impact they have. There was also a look at how to achieve common ground for all industry stakeholders and parties with the aim of working together to improve standards in the private rental sector.
As Mashroom hasn’t yet launched, our main purpose at the show was to test our messaging and talk to landlords to get their thoughts and opinions. We also signed up a large number of landlords who are interested in using Mashroom to let their property.
If you want to join them, paying lower fees and having complete control over the lettings process, sign up now.
