Wednesday, 7 July 2010

Even More Profits for Letting Agents / Estate Agents? (Property Inventory)

Even More Profits for Letting Agents / Estate Agents? (Property Inventory)


Since the Tenant Deposit Scheme (TDS) came into play, inventories have become more instrumental within the industry. With this shift of necessity the property inventory market has boomed and opportunities have grown for those who know where to look for them. Even despite the recent recession that has hit globally, lettings have stayed stable leaving the property inventory market widely unaffected.

A lettings agent can either do the inventories within their company or create a second company. Both options have benefits. Keeping inventories inside your property lettings company allows you to consolidate your accounts and make business accounting more manageable. Creating a second company allows you to advertise your services to your competitors (tapping into their cash flow) without implying a conflict of interest which might stop them from using your company. It is also beneficial for estate agents who are part of a franchise. A separate company allows them to separate the profits accrued from inventories into a separate account, which remains separate from any franchisee fees.

Again if you choose open a second company, there are even more opportunities to further expand into other related services such as managing maintenance, providing photos, floor plans and any other service which is required by the estate agent themselves.

This allows them to reduce the cost in their own company or maximise the profit in the second company and maximise their success and profits by doing jobs for other companies (your competitors).

It is however always recommended to do a business plan and investigate how the latest technology can help achieve the right business goals.

For the latest technology platforms for inventory software:

(I am slightly bias toward tablets, because I prefer having the power of my PC wherever I go).

Tablet software:


Property Inventory Tablet Hardware Pros:


  • It provides the beauty and power of a pc, has a rich user interface.

  • Providing you're using the leading technologies shown in the links below you have highly intuitive graphical interfaces in the property inventory software.

  • You can also run all your normal applications i.e. email editor, ms word, excel etc.

  • You can use touch screen technology if you purchase tablet enabled units.

  • You can use GRPS dongles for email on the move.

Property Inventory Tablet Hardware Cons:


  • Heavier than their competitors. However the latest technology delivers units which weigh less than 1 KG.

Useful Links:


PDA software:


Property Inventory PDA Pros:


  • The technology lightweight and more mobile.

  • GPRS SIM technology built into some units so you can send emails on the move.

Property Inventory PDA Cons:


  • Limit to power and functionality, small screen, slow speed.

  • User Interface is much more limited than tablet laptops.

Useful Links:




Dictaphone recorder:


Dictaphone Recorder Pros:


  • The technology is lightweight.

  • Inventories are dictated on a Dictaphone and the tape or file is sent off for typing, larger companies outsource the typing to countries such as Australia,. The idea being, while the UK sleeps, Australia works or types and the reports are ready the next day.

  • If geared correctly the Dictaphone approach can minimise your time in the property but overall turnaround times are similar to the above solutions.

Dictaphone Recorder Cons:


  • No integrated photographs or plans can be attached.

  • Editing reports are a hassle.

  • Consistent formatting can be an issue.

  • No continuity between reports by comparison to systems that use databases that can retrieve information from previous reports etc.

Useful Links:




We will be doing an in depth blog on these technologies this month.

Useful link Property Inventory Reports 101
Posted by bloggerpro at 05:18

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