Saturday 14 April 2012

The business of short term lets for the Olympics

It is estimated that in the next three months over 100,000 home owners in London will be cashing in on private letting of rooms, flats and whole houses. With rents running up to 35 times the norm, is anyone surprised?

Not that renting a property is straightforward. There are legal obligations, finance, tax, insurance and safety issues to consider. For many this can be daunting - which is where Olympic Short Let hope to help.

Jeremy Lee, CEO of Olympic Short Let (OSL), points out that Olympic rental websites only go so far as to list properties, find tenants and hold deposits. They do not provide managed tenancy services. A recent customer stated their situation like this...’We were surprised to find a tenant - now we have to learn how to be a landlord’.

Jeremy says "We created OSL to simplify the process and offer common-sense advice, templates and essential services all in one package. To demonstrate, OSL provide a free rental agreement and advise on the cheapest way to secure public liability and contents insurance through existing policies."

OSL began by securing service agreements with London’s best property service partners. We realised that our reputation stands or falls on the quality of service that people receive. We elected Aspect to provide 24hr Emergency Call-out Services, and BLC property services for testing and inventory services.

OSL have distilled their range of services into three service plans (from £95.00) created to suit typical landlord types - from low budget DIY to a comprehensive plan for those who prefer to leave everything to the experts. Unique to OSL, all three Service Plans automatically calibrate to the customers property profile - made in just a few clicks. Jeremy says "This is one way we can help people quickly assess products according to their budget and needs".

OSL claim to make every effort to remove jargon from copy - it is important you know; what each service does, what it costs, and a guide to whether it is essential or merely an optional extra. This distinguishes OSL from other property management services - where products can be complicated, inflexible and expensive - especially for shorter lets. "I believe the 2012 London Olympics will kick-start a trend for ongoing private home rentals and for this reason OSL plan to continue long after 2012" Jeremy is a property consultant with 15yrs experience and a personal interest in simplifying home rentals. He says "OSL is an idea started by friends and family who are all renting homes - our collective experiences helped shape this business."

So will the London Olympics create part-time landlords as a new breed? Olympic Short Let certainly believes it will - and their views are shared by the leading Olympic letting agent www.AirBNB.com whose bookings in the UK have increased by 748%. Only time will tell - but it is good to know that OSL are here to help Londoners through this stage.

Olympic Short Let (OSL) is a trading name of Art & Industry (UK) Ltd. 5 Albemarle Way, London ECIV 4JB. Tel: 0800 298 7061.

1 comment:

  1. A business niche that is very profitable especially in time of Olympics. Those who rent out their properties for the Olympics, definitely will need good house inventory London services.

    Regards,

    ReplyDelete