We ensure that you are looked after because you are important to us. You receive excellent service at all times because our letting process is simple & hassle free.
We find you property that suits your needs and budget and you reap the rewards from our ample experience & friendly staff. Viewings are scheduled to times to suit you, not us. Our properties are in a good condition and we deal with the landlord so you don't have to. We take care of all the legal stuff for you.
Renting is easy through us, don’t just take someone else’s word for it come and see for yourself...We don’t believe in using jargon or making things more complicated than they need to be.
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1. Initial Enquiry
From your initial point of contact our dedicated team will be there to guide you through the rental process.
Once we have captured your property requirements we will keep you regularly updated with property details and information as and when it happens with the option of both email and Text Updates.
If you want more details our contact us page gives you the option to email us an enquiry or lists the phone numbers you need to talk to us directly.
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2. Property Viewings
Our team of expert property viewers is on Hand 6 days a week to show you properties that have caught your eye. We know many of you are busy and so we are able to show properties at flexible times to suit you. We have evening and weekend appointments available and we can normally get you in too see property within 24 hours!
We want to ensure you never miss out on the best property just because you could not get too see it.
You can also book viewings on-line on our website – just press the book viewing button when you are looking at the property pages – the rest is simple.
All our viewings are booked and confirmed with TEXT and emails; this means you always have the time of the appointment and address of the property to hand.
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3. On-Line Application & Sign Up
3. On-Line Application & Sign Up
We know that filling in dozens of forms can be a bit of a ‘bore’.
Our on-line application system means that once you have viewed and selected a property you wish to rent the application process is swift, simple and hassle free.
A typical application will take between 5 & 10 minutes to complete!
Once you have completed the on-line forms you simply print, sign and post back to us.
There is no need for you to come to the office to fill in forms, or drop them back to the office, our centrally based application team will process your application in a smooth and customer friendly fashion.
You will receive email and text updates of the progress of your application and the team are always on hand if you have any specific questions you wish to ask.
Once you have signed up, the property is allocated to you and no more viewings would be completed on the property.
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4. Credit Checks & References
Our credit check process in instantaneous. Once you have submitted the on-line forms we will get an instant credit check result and will immediately send out references to your employer.
We know that companies can be busy so from time to time so we may ask you to help chase your ‘Boss’ or ‘HR Team’ to ensure we get the reference back in a timely fashion. We know that some tenants can find waiting an anxious time, so the quicker all the information is back the quicker we can get you checked-in to the property.
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5. Payments & Money
To help spread the costs of funding administration fees, rent and deposits we have a simple 1-2-3 process to support paying all the money that is required for the tenancy to commence.
Step 1 – On day of sign up you will pay your tenant administration fee (this is all done as part of the on-line application process). This fee covers your credit checks, reference checks and contract administration. Once this fee is paid the property is allocated to yourself. (As all payments are made on-line fees are paid using debit/credit cards).
Step 2 – Approximately 7 days after the date of sign up you pay £500 towards your first months rent (if your monthly rent is lower than £500 the balance of this money goes towards your deposit).
Steps 3 – Approximately 10 Days before you move in to the property you pay the remainder of your first months rent and the deposit for the property. Deposits are typically 1.5 x a months rent. This may go up a bit if you had special request such a request to allow a pet to live at a property.
All deposits are registered with an approved government scheme and certified against you and your tenancy. The deposit is your money and is certified accordingly.
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6. Insurance
We are aware that your contents are very valuable to you and therefore we ensure that a tenant insurance policy is set up to cover your contents against theft or loss before you move in. This policy also covers accidental damage to the landlord’s fixtures and fittings. This policy is specific for a tenant in a landlord’s rental property so in the event where a tenant causes accidental damage to the landlord’s contents the tenant can make a claim on their insurance. This protects the tenants deposit.
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7. Rent Payments
Once you have moved in your on-going rent payment are made by Standing order. There is no need to come in to the office to pay by cash, cheque or debit/credit card.
A standing order will be completed and set up as part of your application pack.
Unlike a Direct Debits, Standing Orders are set up by the Payee and your bank sends us the money we do no request it on your behalf. Rent is always paid in advance e.g. October’s rent would be paid in advance at the end of September.
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8. Day of Check In
We know you that you will have a very busy one of the day you move in, therefore all you need to do is pop into the office for 5 minutes between 9am and 12pm to come and collect your keys and your Inventory. No need to book an appointment or wait in a queue.
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9. Move-In Box
If you have opted to receive our complimentary Move in Box this will be at your new home when you move in. This will include essential goodies such as toilet paper, coffee, tea etc. Enjoy it!
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10. Inventory
The Inventory that we provided you with is detailed Word Document & Photo CD that is given to you on the day that you move in. This will need to be signed and you also take a copy with you. We ask that you kindly check the property when you have collected the keys to make sure you are happy with the condition that has been recorded on file and to contact us if you are not satisfied. Your dedicated Property Manager will be available to assist you should you have any questions or queries.
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11. Utility Switch
Sit back and relax …we contact the Council, Water Company, Gas & Electrical suppliers for you , so there is no need for you to worry about contacting them. This is a service that we offer to all of our tenants to save you time and hassle. We provide them with your details, move in date and appropriate readings for them to set up your new account.
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12. Inspections
We carry out a Property Inspection on behalf of your Landlord 3 times a year. There is no need for you to be at this inspection as we know that you may be busy at work or may be away on holiday. Our experienced and trained members of staff visit for only for a few minutes to ensure that you are looking after the property so we can update your Landlord and ensure you are happy.
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13. Maintenance Items
No matter how big or small always give us a call. We appreciate that life can be fairly busy however we do ask that you let us know as soon as you become aware of any issues at the property that is causing you a problem. Our experienced and trained members of staff will walk you through the issue to see if there is anyway we can assist before a contractor is booked to attend.
For Emergencies…we have a 24 hour out of office hours contact number.
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14. Tenancy Renewals
All tenancies start as a fixed term basis of either 6 or 12 months. 3 months before the end of the tenancy you will be asked if you want to stay beyond this initial fixed term of which you have the option to choose (unless your Landlord has any specific requirements). The reason we contact you three months before is because if you do not intend on renewing your tenant your Landlord has to give you 2 calendar months notice to comply with the law. This is all done on-line to save you time, it is hassle free and quick to use.
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15. Ending the Tenancy
If you decide to move onto a new property then all you need to do to end your tenancy is log onto your Renewal Offer. This is sent to you via email with a log in details and password. This is an online system to make things easier and quicker for you to use as we know how busy life can be. On the renewal offer screen press the red button that says declined. This will notify us that you wish to end your tenancy. We will contact your Landlord to make them aware and also make arrangements for the Sales Team to start arranging viewings.
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16. Property Remarketing
Once we have been made aware that we now need to look for new tenants because sadly you have decided to move onto another property, the Sales Team will arrange for viewings to take place at the property at a time that is suitable for you. We know packing and moving home can be very time consuming and busy for you!
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17. Check-out Process
8 weeks before you are due to leave the property we send you a countdown which means for 8 weeks up until you move you out you will receive tips and tools from our experienced Team to help ensure you will get your Full Deposit back. Once you have left the property an Independent Check out Inspection is completed and the Report is sent to your Landlord to review.
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18. Keys Return on your move out day
18. Keys Return on your move out day
To save you time and hassle on an already busy day for you, all we would kindly ask is that you leave the keys at the property before you leave. There is no need for you to come to the office to drop them off. If you have to lock the front door with a key when you vacate, please post the key through the letterbox. If you do not have a front door letter box but you do have a lockable post box, then please ensure the post box key is left in the kitchen and ONLY the FRONT DOOR key is deposited in the post box.
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19. Deposit return
The Independent completed report is then sent to you Landlord to approve and then a copy is sent to you to look over! We aim to ensure you are reunited with your Deposit within 14 days after your Check Out. Don’t worry no deductions will be made from your Deposit without your consent. We are regulated by the NAEA and the appropriate Deposit Schemes DPS and TDS.
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20. Customer Satisfaction Surveys
20. Customer Satisfaction Surveys
We send all of our customers a Customer Satisfaction Survey because it is important for us to know how good our service is to you. We appreciate your time to click on the button (this will only take a few seconds ) We also provide you with the opportunity to let us know what your feedback is and what sort of action and suggestions would you like to see from Gatekeeper in the next 12 months. We regularly review any feedback and where possible implement changes and improvements. We are passionate about developing our business so that all our customer's expectations are met to the highest of standards so your feedback really is important to us.