Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Important Notice ref Copy Cat Agent in Bournemouth

Tailor Made
Its spelt with an "I" its the mark of our Letting Agency and the Sandbanks estate agent in Poole Dorset a family business and an independant agency established in 1992.
Tailor Made Lettings is a dedicated rental agency trading from the Poole town centre offices at Poole end of Longfleet Road.
Tailor Made estate agency is located on the Sandbanks peninsula opposite the main beach car park.
Neither of these offices have any connection to the agent of similar name based in Bournemouth
I am making this statement as people are becoming confused by an agent in Bournemouth who has chosen to trade under the name Taylor Made spelt with a "Y" and has chosen to have estate agent boards a banner/logo that is blue and white similar to our Logo.
The reason the other agent has done this is very obvious and because of the confusion it is causing I have from time to time set the record straight on various social media including linkedin twitter and facebook.
websites for Tailor Made Letting agents www.tailormadelettings.co.uk run by Francis Payne
Tailor Made estate agents www.tmea.biz run by Adrian Dunford

Monday, November 10, 2014

Poole Dorset a few of my favorite things No longer the enclave for a sleepy retirement

Poole Dorset a special place to live and still very English. A few years ago I spent a year travelling backwards and forwards to Brighton. I had never been there before and for me it was a place that television programs have you believe Londoners dream of escaping for wonderful seaside weekends. Well all I can say is that those that are committed to Brighton as a resort for weekends or second homes have never been to Poole in Dorset. Primarily Poole has its wonderful Harbour
A harbour reported to be the second largest natural harbour in the World and Poole has surrounded the harbour with Country parks recreational playing fields, footpath walks from Upton Country Park, to Baiter park, Poole park lake, Whitecliff recreational ground and the landscaped evening hill walk down to the bay at Sandbanks. Then just take a look at the beach, it has to have the softest golden sand in the world who would swap that for the stoney Brighton beach. There is miles of beach from the tip of the Sandbanks peninsula find sand sand and more sand as far as Southbourne 10 miles away. Dispersed between these beach front take a stroll inland following the beautiful wooded chine walks Durley Chine, Branksome Dene Chine, Canford Cliffs chine. Take a walk through any of the tree lined Roads in districts approaching the harbour and you will be impressed by the results of Poole Local Authority Tree preservation control.
When I return on my regular visits back to Poole I am also impressed by the surge in people walking,jogging,cycling,windsurfing,kyte surfing and generally playing sport. There are so many tracks and trails to discover not to mention access across on the Sandbanks ferry to the trails across the Purbeck hills to Corfe Castle Swanage or Lulworth beyond or go 30 minutes East and spend the day exploring the New Forset around villages such as Fordingbridge, Lyndhurst, Bramshaw,Lymington
For those that like to Party Bournemouth offers Poole residents all the delights of a busy night life social scene and has become a mecca for stag and hen weekends add the University students to the mix and Bournemouth town centre area has become a young persons night life venue.
As you come further away from the upmarket suburbs that surround Poole harbour and beach you can now find trendy enclaves that once lay dark and dormant after 6pm most nights. Now places such as Ashley Cross, Penn Hill, Lilliput and Canford Cliffs Village compete for business with trendy cafes, bars, patisseries and restaurants. There is a definate a buzz in the air about the place with brand new designer homes being built and investment in business wherever you turn. Poole is no longer the sleepy town that is attached to Bournemouth and this is shown by the quality and value of property being built in the Poole area.
Tailor Made Lettings and Tailor Made estate agents have been part of this property scene since 1992 and have seen the demand grow year on year from people vacating Cities such as London, Manchester,Birmingham to enjoy this great lifestyle location
I myself have talked about Poole as a great UK town to many of my friends here in Sotogrande Spain and several have been back and bought homes there as well as a few buy to let properties. The most recent expat friend I took to Poole bought a house in Blake Hill Crescent, Lilliput for retirement in 10 years time paid just under 700,000.00 calculating a 100k refurbishment if he were to live in it. Presently property is rented out for 2200 per month on long term contract. Another expat friend whose daughter plans to go to Bournemouth University is now looking to buy an apartment in Poole / Bournemouth targeting an apartment on the border between the two towns possibly Westcliff, Westbourne, Alum Chine where the family can visit and enjoy themselves and once his daughter leaves the halls of residence she will have a ready made home. Of the expat friends I have shown around Poole in recent years there are now potentially 3 more looking to invest in the area a beautiful town in Southern England, its a case of seen it like it want a part of it.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Business Networking are you overdosing ????

Don't get me wrong I love a bit of networking particularly where it involves golf, food and drink
For many people business networking has become a way of life, the concept of meeting like minded entrepreneurs and creating trust in the hope of acquiring new business is wonderful and does work. Business network groups spring up everywhere and every month there is a new group/community inviting you to spend time in their meetings. The question I raise is do some people simply spend too much time at networking events at a cost to their own business.
There are people involved in this form of business promotion who live and breathe it. I can see that it does provide many people with more than just promotional value and can give people in business a needed confidence boost to be part of a business group, often once they become known in once circle these people join every network group around and often create a social life from their network contacts.I know a number of people who have little self confidence who thrive in these environments. Yet what is the true value to a business in pure time spent.
Networking face to face is a very good thing but I would ask you the question what are the alternatives to spending many hours a week sipping coffee and socializing on the slight chance you may get publicity and maybe a lead. There are people who spend up-to 15 hours plus a week maybe they gain maybe they don't but have they ever stopped to calculate
Some 15 years ago I took the decision to reduce my involvement in networking after my own experiment suggested i was losing business by spending a morning at such meetings.
The first step was to evaluate results over 4 meetings. My first task was to log meticulously who I met and what benefits I expected to gain as a result of the person to person meetings.
In 4 meetings I listed per meeting between 6 to 8 people that I engaged meaningfully per meeting of those 27 persons 5 were new to me.
So out of the 22 people, most I had known from joining 3 years previous. Of the 22 known to me I had converted 6 customers in 3 years and of the new introductions 2 were way out of my area. This meant that I had an opportunity to promote myself to new 3 local persons which I did with usual great enthusiasm. The 4 attendances took up 16 hours I never met or came across those 3 people ever again.
Yes Yes Yes I know i cannot measure referrals by members that go on out of my earshot and back in day to day life and obviously that is a factor in favor of attending
The following month I decided to set aside the same mornings as the networking events and try spend that 16 hours of my time in a quiet room with a PC revisiting old ground.
Day 1 spent 4 hours reviewed diary meetings back 2 years & contact info in diary
Day 2 spent 4 hours extracting info from old note books went to a period of 6 months from 3 yrs ago
Day 3 spent 4 hours reviewing old emails from a 12 month period 4 years ago
Day 4 collating the list of information and contacting ex customers/clients from contact database
In the 16 hours spent quietly working I sent out emails reconnecting with long lost clients, making phone calls, reminding ex tenants & landlords about us and saying hello to old business social contacts who had referred friends relatives colleagues to me in the past.
Result. Tailor Made re-acquainted with 300 persons. Responses from 140 and new instructions/inquiries 38.
These figures date back many years ago and are the only ones I have methodically measured. I still continue to practice these type of reviews of existing info. Yes some of those people I recontacted I did know through social networking for business but I do feel the harvest I reap that sits in my records can be more productive.
I am not saying do not go to networking events at all I am simply questioning the value of over attending with the same people.
As always there is a balance to be found and its often worth reminding one self about the options. I am off now to review my diary for Landlords we no longer act for from 5 years ago
article Francis Payne Tailor Made Letting Agency Tailor Made Letting Agency Poole Town Centre office 01202 770040

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Property Managing Agents Poole Dorset. A looks at best ways to upset a tenant

Tailor Made Letting agency are property managers for Poole & Bournemouth. This local Poole Business has continued to specialize in rental property and management of private residential accommodation. Established in 1992 Tailor Made have developed their systems and processes as well as staying upto date with advances in the latest Property Management software "Gemini"
Jamie Rolls of Tailor Made Lettings says "Residential management is all about minimizing risk and because we specialize, we are good at what we do" The biggest problems arise where Landlords look to manage property themselves and whilst some maybe good at it others create situations where everything turns to pot simply because both sides are too emotionally involved in the property. Its not surprising to us how many times landlords with direct contact get annoyed then situation results in all out war. So often Landlord owners visit our offices to discuss their problem tenants asking us for help in dealing with the issue of tenants who have become difficult as a result of arguments.
Finding a tenant is the easy part of our job advanced websites and various property portals such as rightmove and zoopla bring the right type of customers to our door. The key to a happy rental is to maintain good relations and not to let a dripping tap or a faulty lock turn into a debacle that damages relations. No property is perfect and much of the time occupants are frustrated by technology shoddy workmanship therefore such issues need to be tracked and signed off as successfully tackled. The other cause of potential problems can be the lack of information. For many issues simply providing info prior to occupation can take the sting out of issues when they arise. For instance where a Landlord has gone to the expense and trouble of cleaning a property prior to occupying it is always worth providing a copy of the receipt attached to the inventory. Then at the end of a contract when you ask the tenant to oblige the same courtesy and they begin to argue {as often they do} a simple production of the receipt and the contract clause stating they will oblige with a clean will turn a reticent tenant into an obliging one. At Tailor Made we have a word for managing expectations of Landlords and Tenants "preconditioning" if a person has been preconditioned then there is less likely to be an argument when a strong arm becomes necessary. Common sense really?
So many times its these small tricks of the trade that result in achieving what both tenant and landlord hope for "a smooth uncomplicated tenancy"
As a landlord once you have read this short article you must surely see the benefits of using a specialist letting agent as opposed to handing your property over to a sales agency who does rentals on part time basis. Many agents these days have turned to the rental market because times are hard and they have to find a second income stream.
For many sales agents dealing with issues are a nuisance, particularly when they are out selling property, so problems are often left to an inexperienced secretary or part time worker whose skill is to manage the phone and in response to a problem phones a manager who in turn tells the receptionist to ring a plumber,who then leaves an ansa machine message and there ends the matter. As property manager a water leak needs to be followed through to the end even if it means letting the plumber in ourselves. Its what we do. You can picture the scenario a very angry Tenant returns home to find plumber came turned water off in the Road because he couldn't get access and will not come out again that evening.
Tailor Made Letting agents

Letting agents Poole Dorset find a property in Poole Dorset & Bournemouth

Tailor Made Lettings are based in Poole town centre this office was opened in 1992 and has been a dedicated rental agent / property management business for 22 years. If you are seeking rented accommodation long term in the Poole or Bournemouth areas we can assist. Tailor Made letting agency maintains a good selection of rental property across all suburbs of Poole and West of Bournemouth town centre including Westbourne, Westcliff & Talbot Woods. The jpeg image attached details the main locations where you can find property to rent by searching our website.
If you would like to meet us and discuss finding a suitable property then please feel free to collect a rental list of flats and houses on offer from one of our locations click on the MAP LINK for Poole town centre office #MAPLINK
Alternatively why not pop down to Sandbanks beach and collect a rental property listing from Tailor Made estate Agents on the peninsula the office is next to Cafe Shore restaurant opposite the main Sandbanks beach car park.
Map of Poole /Bournemouth
Tailor Made rental agency 234 High Street North Poole Dorset BH15 1DY
www.tailormadelettings.co.uk
0044 1202 770040

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Letting Agents Poole Dorset need more rental property

Tailor Made Lettings the rental agents & property managers for Bournemouth & Poole urgently need more property to offer applicants.
Jamie Rolls of Tailor Made says "there has been a real upsurge of inquiries from applicants registering with us via web portals rightmove.com & zoopla.com Poole really has become a lifestyle destination as more people migrate from other parts of the country to work in Poole & Bournemouth. There is a tendency for people once living here to try and remain in area permanently, a reflection of the superb manner in which both towns have evolved socially as well as environmentally & sympathetically around its beaches and Harbour"
The good news for landlords is that so often you land a good tenant who feels settled and remains renting long term. The main demand is for unfurnished as people working in Poole tend not to be so transient. Tailor Made Lettings of Poole town centre is proud of the fact that they have remained a dedicated lettings specialist.
Landlords contact Tailor Made Lettings and ask for their Rental Report Analysis for the properties in the same Street as your own or if you want a wider report we can create by postcode simply supply a brief description of the type of property you have to rent. Francis Payne www.tailormadelettings.co.uk

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Social media big boost to Tailor Made Lettings 3 years of intense promotion and still learning

Our Letting agency uses Social media to promote property and letting services as well as promote the beautiful town of Poole Dorset.Unfortunately its no longer possible to simply sit back behind a shopfront and wait for the customer.
If your going to live in the UK then Poole on the South Coast has to be one of the best lifestyle moves a family can make. The town has been carefully developed and great care has been take particularly around the harbour areas to maintain recreational grounds and in particular trees and tree lines, a great feature of the town is its leafy roads and stunning beach,harbour locations.
Three years ago I set out to work hard on social media promotion of my business in the knowledge that the biggest asset i had available to promote are the town's of Poole & Bournemouth. By this point in time having worked hard to gain a good presence on various media including facebook, twitter, linkedin, pinterest, google plus,flickr, panoramio & blogger the results have been very effective.All the social media are of course all used in support of the two websites we operate tailormadelettings.co.uk and sandbankslettings.co.uk yet they are there to create a public interest in what you have to say and I find myself very well supported when pointing out what a great towns Poole & Bournemouth are. Just stating this fact is an attention grabber
The results of plugging away at this form of promotion has shown a steady growth year on year and now within a time span of 24 hours a single promotion put out on the world wide web by Tailor Made will be seen not only by our followers but often by the people we follow. The results in 24 hours are around 400 views per feature or property either directly promoted or indirectly featured via links. Throw in a regular run of Photographic promotion of the area as well as our physical literature scanned to the internet and coverage is immense particularly when items are sent out daily, from early morning until late night.
In our industry there is a tendency not to train for internet promotion and often many source the job out resulting in regular robotic promotion done by persons who do not understand the industry or the business they are assisting ,therefore there is no message, instead they put out news items of national and local property interest where maybe a prospective customer raises an eyebrow then forgets within a few minutes. Most of the time the reports submitted contradict each other and are not in keeping with the message your business wants to get across. Do these agents think that retweeting every news property item in the UK will get people on board. In my opinion such practice is more likely to be viewed as spam.
In addition to social media agents use web portals. Tailor Made Lettings use Rightmove and Zoopla, property information for these portals is automatically fed from our own websites directly into the portal feed which in turn provides a good source of inquiry. Tailor Made lettings are seeing possibly 18 to 26 inquirers a day from these alone. The key at the moment is to target the Landlords as demand out strips supply by far. Agents struggle to provide choice of property for the variety of inquiries that come in. Its here that Social Media works best and the larger the following the clearer the message the better chance of attracting the Landlord with the property you need. All said and done finding the Landlord then matching property with tenant is the final result where personality rules yet spare a thought for the amount of time effort and process that goes into the many forms of promotion that an agency follows to achieve the end result.This next photo shows a cheeky promo on a friends Ferrari our magnetic promotion was on there for couple hours outside the tennis club then once we mentioned it to him, it was ordered to be removed immediately
Gone are the days where an agent sat on a busy street with a sign saying property for sale and a bunch of keys. Social media web promotion newspaper advertising need an expertise and for people like myself it has become second nature to follow internet trends and look to stay ahead or keep up with the game yet continue with physical processes to gain public awareness Francis Payne Tailor Made Letting agents The dedicated rental agency in Poole Dorset