Singing Pig

My name is Gary, I am 22 and live in Burton on Trent. I run a business called Shine 'n' Show, and my primary target audience are private landlords. 3/4 of private landlords work full time in another profession, and property is their retirement fund.

Working full time means that 3/4 of landlords are cash rich and time poor, so money is spent on letting agents who take a huge fee for doing little more than collect rent. Or do they?

 Do letting agents arrange and pay for repairs to property at the end of a tenancy?

Do they arrange and pay for a standard end of tenancy clean?

Do they arrange periodic electrical and gas inspections, test smoke alarms etc?

My business is fairly new, started dec 07. Will this put off private landlords, as far as I know there is no-one in the locality performing the same role as shine 'n' show, but do people (you guys) think that my business will indeed provoke interest from private landlords.

My service is as follows,

Private landlords of a single dwelling,

Maintenance of building, glazing, electrical safety, gas safety checks, replacing washers in leaky taps etc.

We clear and clean the property at the end of a tenancy and prepare the property to be re-let, again, including safety checks and certification. We undertake minor repairs ourselves and manage major repairs or specialist trades using our vetted sub contractors.

 Landlords or developers who require a similar service in developments with communal areas are also catered for. Regular cleaning of interior and exterior communal areas, testing emergency lights, replacing lamps, fire alarm break point testing and glass replacement, window cleaning, grounds maintenance including lawn mowing, leaf blowing.

 Ok, here is my problem. Am I inventing the need for this service in my head, is there anyone out there that would use my service.

If there is use for my service, is my website getting the point across? Are there other services that would make my business more appealling? How much would you be willing to pay?

 Any suggestions welcome

 http://shinenshow.com/

Hi Gary

Hope its going well. My advice is to target Letting Agents for this service.

At the end of a tenancy the property invariably falls back into the landlord's hands and he or she has to organise repairs and cleaning. The estate agent's fees do not cover this normally although they can arrange work to be carried out, sometimes at extra cost. Everyday cleaning companies often refuse this type of work because of regular clients and to be honest, a clean up operation of a rental property, in some areas, can be a unpleasant way of making money.

The more services you can offer the better as time is of the essence, the landlord wants to get a property re let asap. If you give out cards or call in on Estate Agents and explain your services, I would be surprised if you did not pick up some business and if the agents and landlords are happy with the work done, the chances are you will get more work. If you are dealing with Rental agents, you will probably have to provide quotations for work and be very fast with them, also be available to work at short notice. That may mean visiting a property, assessing the work needed and ringing them back with a quote there and then.

You may be under a slight misconception, that is that landlords are cash rich so depending on your area, you may have to offer good value or compensate price with a fast turn around to get the business model to work. I'm not in the Burton on Trent area so things may be different there.

Susan

hi gary,

I agree with susan, you target clientele should be letting agents.

good luck with the business.

regards,

pete