In recent years, and also being expedited by global lockdowns, countless industries have turned to online spaces to better engage with their demographic, paving the way for previously unseen practices and a fresh business landscape. Yet, despite the widespread adoption of online letting agents, alongside a surge in tenants exclusively using online portals to find their next property, the rental market has remained linear in its execution.
Whilst many online agents claim to offer nothing short of full property management, the numerous financial obstacles they place in the way of aspiring landlords does little to develop the practices of their high street counterparts. Whilst platforms like Upad have received praise for offering these services at a fraction of the costs quoted by traditional agents, but how do you find a good letting agent and what is the best online letting agent for landlords?
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Is Upad Free?
Whereas with PropertyLoop hosting your rental property across the largest property portals in the market comes free with our service. When trying to match this exposure across Zoopla and Rightmove with Upad it will set the landlord back just short of £150 for each listing. This baseline “UChoose” package comes with a “tenancy compliance service”, hailing itself as a simpler way to serve tenants with the legally required documents. However, Upad must be first provided with these documents, ie: the energy performance rating and gas safety certificate for your property, which are then passed onto the tenant, essentially making landlords provide this paperwork to a middle man for added “convenience.” With this being said, if required, Upad will provide landlords with a gas safety certificate for a fee of £99.
The next available bundle “Uchoose Plus” is currently priced at just under £300, making this service almost double the cost of the introductory “UChoose” package. As you would expect, landlords have their rental property hosted on the usual large online platforms, alongside the “tenant compliance service”, with the extra charges giving landlords the “tenant sign up service”. Paying for this service on its own will set you back £189 and has Upad create the tenancy agreement on the landlords behalf, verifying the document in the process. Alongside this Upad will also collect the tenants deposit and their rent for the first month of their tenancy.
The final service Upad offer is the “UPay On Success Scheme”, with the major benefit being no upfront costs, but that doesn’t mean they have struggled assigning a price. However, this safety and reduced risk of not having to pay until a tenant has moved in comes at a significantly increased cost of £459. This huge premium is slightly offset as for this particular package a professional photography service is provided.
How Much Does PropertyLoop Cost?
Letting out your rental with PropertyLoop is, above all, transparent. There are no costs at all, seeing rental property owners list their opportunity, negotiate offers with tenants, reference tenants, register the deposit, curate a tenancy agreement and collect rent all completely free of charge. We are proud to be the world’s first commission free lettings platform and are delighted to see many landlords joining us in forging a new future for the rental industry. With PropertyLoop your rental is advertised across our own platform alongside the established industry names, Rightmove and Zoopla. If this is a landlords first time on the rental market, we have decades of experience within the sector to share, expanding the reach and appeal of their rental portfolio to find them the ideal tenants. Our dedicated team also reaches out to landlords currently searching for new tenants, providing them with a comprehensive update on the levels of interest their property has received and how best to move forward in the rental proceedings.
How Does Upad Work?
Whilst Upad may be cheaper than their traditional high street counterparts, they still have the landlords doing some of the heavy lifting if they are using the platform to find tenants for their rental property. This leaves the owners of the rental to create their own advertisements, descriptions and photographs of the property which after being approved by an internal team, are then listed across online property portals in the hopes of attracting tenants.
Once the landlord has found their tenants Upad claims that they will “handle the referencing for them”. Whilst the checks are outsourced to a third party, they will assess the chosen tenants right to rent status, of they are currently employed, affordability check and obtain a reference from their most recent landlord.
However, the luxury of vetting those that could soon move into your rental property will cost the landlord £75 for each tenant they wish to check. Meaning every landlords dream of having high interest in a property, could quickly turn into a financial nightmare.
From here Upad say they can oversee the establishment of the tenancy agreement, securing the deposit and collecting the first month’s rent. Whilst these are convenient, ultimately they aren’t re-inventing the wheel or really offering too much value to landlords. Additionally, with rental essentials such as a property inventory and a direct debit rent collection scheme are once again, another opportunity for landlords to depart with their earnings.
How Does Propertyloop Work?
Signing up to PropertyLoop as a landlord and listing your rental property is completely free. We don’t charge for the essentials, creating financial roadblocks for rental owners, but instead endeavour to find the ideal tenants for each agreement. To ensure that every property is captured looking its best, professionals are also available to photograph your rental, showing each room in the depth and detail it deserves.
Once the property is listed on not only PropertyLoop’s dedicated online space, but leading property portals, Rightmove and Zoopla, we will provide bespoke feedback on the performance of your property, how it has been received by renters and how they have engaged with the listing. The PropertyLoop platform also allows for the direct comparison of the offers you receive, making negotiating offers directly with the potential tenants seamless. Not only can the landlord speak with potential tenants during the vetting stages but PropertyLoop will throughout verify the identity of each applicant, ensuring you’re amongst friends. Throughout your search for tenants our dedicated support staff are available to answer any of your enquiries via the phone or our online chat portal, establishing a support network for all parties of each rental agreement. As we look to evolve the renting industry our integrated platform will make this contact instantly available at the touch of a button.
At PropertyLoop we endeavour to be more than a letting agency that brings the traditional brick and mortar mentality to an online space. We can provide all landlords with a fully immersive, professionally captured, photorealistic 3D tour. These tours give potential tenants a viewing experience like no other, allowing them to enjoy the rich detail of each property at any time, in any place. This complete property viewing package allows landlords to utilise a sweat of new media, being able to highlight the true character of their property through seeing the property from a floor plan and ‘dollhouse’ perspective, alongside a captivating ‘explore’ function, utilising AI to map bullions of reference points around the rental for the most engrossing walk through experience.
Referencing tenants with PropertyLoop allows you the complete freedom to find your ideal tenants. We don’t charge an a fee for each reference check performed, instead only taking a small fee after you have you first month’s rent. The compressive vetting process provides landlords with the fullest picture possible before choosing who to let into their rental property. Whereas our competitors such as Upad or OpenRent will merely check the tenant’s relationship with their most recent landlord, PropertyLoop recounts a prospective renter’s entire letting background, obtaining a reference from each tenancy each tenant has entered, allowing tenants to truly know who they are renting to. The identity of applicants is also rigorously assessed, with their government and photo ID’s and contact details being verified.
Upad or Propertyloop? Which Is Best for Landlords?
Whilst Upad offers a range of services to entice landlords, these basic needs for the renting process to be completed are held at an increased cost, with the components landlords would most appreciate whilst finding new tenants such as referencing checks, the transfer of documents and the help of professional photographers coming behind a steep pay wall. This isn’t the transparent service that offers security and confidence to landlords.
PropertyLoop works to create a new dynamic between renters and landlords. A space that facilitates direct communication between the involved parties, for a clear and hassle free tenancy. Our PropertyLoop Guarantee extends an industry leading safety net to landlords, ensuring they not only find a secure tenancy but have the means to seamlessly oversee their entire portfolio. But landlords are not just choosing to rent with PropertyLoop because of our streamlined approach. Through the online PropertyLoop Portal landlords are able to receive secure rental payments directly into their bank accounts on the very same day the tenants pay.
Whilst Upad does offer a no upfront cost approach, if you pay for the right package, it still doesn’t provide the encompassing service given by PropertyLoop,
Why continue paying thousands each year in commission to let your property? With 97% of landlords recommending our services, and with over 50,000 tenants joining our rental community in the last year alone PropertyLoop is welcoming a new era of renting.
The PropertyLoop platform establishes the trust, transparency and personal service that has been lost from the renting sector. We are anything but another faceless corporation looking to profit from your investment, but a community founded on expertise and ambition.
We offer landlords complete clarity on available specialists through a landlord controlled rating and review system, giving users complete confidence of your PropertyPro’s proven results in finding owner’s ideal tenants faster.
With PropertyLoop landlords will have everything they need to let out their rental from start to finish, with no hidden fees, financial barriers or catches; only a revolutionary new way to let.
