Inventory services for landlords and letting agents in Birmingham

Inventory reports are compiled on-site to ensure greater accuracy. These are a comprehensive inventory of your property that makes a full record of all contents, fixtures, fittings and decor including detailed descriptions and their condition.

The detail that they contain leaves nothing to chance and significantly reduces the potential for tenant disputes.

Inventories include details of walls, ceilings, floors, carpets, paintwork, light fittings, woodwork, windows, radiators as well as all contents. Many reports fail at dispute because they don’t contain enough evidence.  To date, we have never lost a dispute due to lack of evidence.

All of our inventory reports:

• are detailed and comprehensive
• are completed onsite to ensure greater accuracy
• contain date and time stamped photographs
• no abbreviations – easy to understand
• include make and model numbers of all kitchen ‘white goods’ such as a fridge freezer
• measurement of mattresses

E-signed inventories:
All reports are returned the same day and once we have uploaded your report onto your online client portal you are able to send this directly to the tenant if you wish. The tenant is then able to view the report online, add comments and provide a digital signature, using their internet browser and mouse (or finger if using a mobile device), which is then embedded into the report – paperless inventories are now possible.

The result in an extremely detailed report of your property.  A check out can only be as good as the inventory that was supplied at the start of the tenancy and both documents give you peace of mind that can be relied on if there is a dispute at the end of the tenancy.

Our Check-In reports note any variation between the inventory and the contents or condition of the property on the day the tenant moves in. Our inventory clerk also reports on the condition of the property, the cleanliness, takes meter readings, details of any keys/fobs provided and ensures the check-in report is agreed and signed by the tenant. The check-in reports are performed using tablets enabling us to digitally capture tenants’ signatures on-site which are then appended to reports for online viewing or as a PDF. We provide a professional and friendly Check-In service tailored to our clients’ needs, always ensuring good representation of our clients. All Clerks have good knowledge of the local area and are happy to advise tenants new to the area of what the city has to offer as well as running through the full Inventory with them.

Interim or mid-term reports are quarterly, yearly or ‘one-off’ mid tenancy rental property inspections that record the cleanliness and condition of the property during a tenancy.  This will help you to have the confidence that tenancy is running smoothly – or highlight any issues well before the tenancy ends.

Check-out reports detail any changes or dilapidations (to give them their official name) that have occurred during the tenancy. The aim is to make sure that the end of tenancy runs as smoothly as possible for all parties.  You will receive an impartial and accurate report that contains a detailed and comprehensive breakdown providing a clear comparison to the original Inventory report.  Any differences are highlighted – allowing you to fairly apportion the deposit.

All items are checked and re-photographed and any damaged/missing items are listed as well as the condition and cleanliness of items. The check-out report helps you see clearly whether any maintenance, cleaning or redecoration is required prior to the next tenancy. Utility metre readings and details of keys/fobs that are handed back are noted and compared to those during the check-in process.

As a landlord it is now a legal obligation for you to carry out regular Legionella risk assessments on your properties. This should be carried out by a competent and experienced person and Skribes staff have been trained to help landlords and lettings agents to meet the ‘duty of care’ under the ACOP legislation. The risk assessment report that we produce will identify and assess potential sources of exposure to Legionella bacteria, which can cause Legionnaires Disease.

As a Landlord, failure to comply with the new legislation can result in heavy fines or even imprisonment. You can be prosecuted if there is an exposure to risk – even if nobody has become ill. The law clearly states that it is your responsibility to ensure tenants are safe.

Properties are required by law to have a Domestic Energy Assessor complete a Domestic Energy Performance Certificate every 10 years

Changes to Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard meant that from April 2018, landlords and property sellers are required to achieve a minimum EPC rating of E for their rental or sale property.

Skribes’ accredited team of domestic energy assessors are able to provide a detailed domestic energy assessment to produce an EPC for you including an accurate rating and recommendations ready to get your property on the market.

Detailed, well-designed floorplans are becoming increasingly popular and indeed essential, with a Rightmove survey finding that 1 in 5 prospective tenants would simply ignore a listing that didn’t include a floorplan.

The dedicated team at Skribes is able to provide landlords, letting agents, estate agents, developers, relocation agents and other property professionals with detailed floorplans in a choice of formats. This can be done in as little as 24 hours in order to increase any residential property’s saleability and increase the chance of a residential property being let out more quickly to prospective tenants.

Learn more here

There has never been a better time to investigate using Virtual Property Video Tours to showcase your property listings across social media, advertising portals and your website.

Videos are far better at gaining more interest than photos alone and can be used as an alternative to onsite viewings for potential renters or buyers that:

• are overseas
• live far away
• don’t want to visit in person
• want to see a video first before making a long trip to view in person.

Learn more here