THREE out of four people would prefer to rent a property that is managed by an agent, according to Romans.

The estate and letting agent base this on a survey completed by 521 of its registered buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants.

Peter Fuller, managing director of Romans Lettings, said: “As a landlord, it’s important to think about what tenants are looking for as well as what works best for you.

“When choosing a buy-to-let property landlords are very good at focusing on what will attract the right tenants; such as the location, local transport links and amenities, car parking spaces and modern facilities.

“However, we’re encouraging you to look beyond the property and think about the service level and communication tenants are looking for during their tenancy.”

Peter said the result of Romans’ survey highlights how important service levels are to tenants. With a fully managed service, tenants have one point of contact at the agency, feel safe in the knowledge that the property will be fully maintained and if any disputes with landlord arise they won’t have to handle the communication alone. They also know their deposit it safe because if Romans is managing a property on behalf of the landlord, the deposit is bonded in an approved scheme.

Sarah Sanderson, a former tenant, knows only too well the problems that can arise while renting: She said: “I may have been unfortunate but my rental experience was not good, and if I were to rent again I would definitely only rent a property that was fully managed.

“Our landlord moved abroad a few weeks after our tenancy began and communication with him became very hard. A leak and a broken washing machine meant we needed to talk to him urgently, but unfortunately after leaving many voicemails we weren’t responded to until we stopped paying the rent.

“It was really unfortunate because we were very respectful tenants and it should never have got to the situation where we had to stop paying rent to get a problem dealt with.

“If the property had been fully managed we would have simply gone straight to the agency and everything would have been replaced quickly and efficiently.”

Romans offers a fully managed service that not only puts tenants’ minds at ease but also provides landlords with a hassle-free option, including regular photographic inspections, maintenance arrangements, check-in and check-out of tenants, annual property appraisals and rent collection.

All communication with the tenant is dealt with via the property manager and currently over 4,000 landlords opt for this service as it gives them peace of mind that their investment is being looked after efficiently.