Letting specialists Leaders are proud to be the largest independently owned letting firm in the UK, having opened branches in a number of new areas in recent years.
With new branches in Godalming and Cranleigh, and their well established Guildford branch, Leaders offer an unrivalled coverage of the area but are keen to stress that despite their growth, they remain a family business, with a strong focus on delivering a very friendly, personal and local service to landlords and tenants.
Says area manager, Neal Ball: “Leaders was established in 1983 by the co-founder of ARLA, with the philosophy of providing a truly personal, high quality letting service. Today, Leaders is run by the founder’s son-in-law who has ensured that same philosophy remains at the heart of our business.
Our teams pride themselves on their professionalism, expertise and friendly service, but more than that, we are able to offer our clients unparalleled knowledge of lettings, drawing on more than 29 years experience in the industry, during which time we have always been at the forefront of best practice.
“We provide our staff with comprehensive training so they are fully competent in the complexities of letting and property management, and have an in-depth understanding of the many laws and regulations that govern letting and that all landlords are subject to. And of course, as members of ARLA and SAFEagent, we comply fully with a strict code of conduct when it comes to holding our clients’ money safely in protected, ring-fenced accounts which are audited annually.”
Neal points out that, despite the many regulations governing letting, letting agents themselves remain unregulated, meaning anyone can set up as a letting agent, with no qualifications, knowledge or experience of lettings, property management, the market, or Landlord and Tenant law, and no client money protection in place.
Landlords and tenants must take care when choosing their letting agent as the consequences for getting it wrong can be extremely serious. For landlords this can lead to huge legal expenses, loss of rent, long void periods, loss of tenant’s deposit and penalties for not complying with legislation. For tenants it can be a matter of life and death if legislation regarding the safety of the property and its contents is not complied with.”
Says Neal: “When dealing with Leaders landlords and tenants can be confident they are in capable and trustworthy hands. Our branches are run by experienced managers, each of whom knows their local lettings market inside-out. They are given the freedom to run the branch as if it were their own business, with control over their own budgets, marketing, recruitment and relationships with local employers, relocation companies and contractors. We believe this is the key to successful letting and to providing a truly personal and local service.”
And, as Neal points out, being part of a large company benefits landlords and tenants in many ways: “We always have the widest choice of properties to rent; we are able to give our landlords much wider coverage through our marketing, greater efficiency through our cutting-edge IT, access to the best local contractors, and the peace of mind that comes with dealing with a solid, well-established company.”
Leaders are proud to be able to offer their clients the best of both worlds – a locally delivered personal service with the backing of a large family firm with branches across the South.
Demand for rented property in Surrey – including Godalming, Cranleigh and Guildford - is exceptionally high with good quality flats and houses being quickly snapped up by waiting tenants. For advice you can trust on all aspects of letting or renting in your area please contact the friendly team at your local Leaders branch:
Cranleigh: 01483 274444
Godalming: 01483 424040
Guildford: 01483 455990
ENDS
Posted 06-06-2012
