An estate agency covering lettings, sales and property management had a familiar problem. The people who should have been speaking to landlords and buyers were answering routine enquiries, copying dates out of tenancy agreements and chasing certificates the day before a move-in. The work had to be done. Very little of it needed a negotiator.
What the agents do
Enquiries come first. When one arrives from a portal or the website, the system replies straight away and asks what a good negotiator would ask. A buyer is asked about budget and timescale, whether a mortgage is agreed in principle, and whether there is a property to sell. A tenant is asked about move date, household, income and readiness for referencing. The negotiator receives the lead with the answers attached.
Viewings are booked the same way. The system finds a time that suits the applicant, the negotiator and the occupier, puts it in the negotiator’s diary and sends the reminders.
For a new listing, the negotiator supplies the property details, the floor plan and their own notes. The system writes the description, covers the local area and words it to be found on the portals. The negotiator edits and approves it before anything is published.
Paperwork is read into the agency’s records. From a tenancy agreement, a lease or a memorandum of sale, the system takes the rent and deposit, the start and renewal dates, any break clause and the notice period. A renewal date that used to sit in a PDF is now in the diary.
The last agent audits files. Each tenancy and sale is checked against the agency’s compliance list, which covers identity and money laundering checks, right to rent, deposit protection, gas safety, the electrical report and the energy certificate. If something is missing or unsigned, the system asks the tenant, landlord or solicitor for it and keeps following up.
What changed for the business
Administrative time fell drastically, and the saving went to the people whose time costs the most. Enquiries that used to wait overnight are answered in minutes. The compliance file, which is where an agency’s regulatory exposure sits, is checked on every transaction.
A member of staff still approves anything that goes out under the agency’s name.
All work