Spread a little positivity,' says lettings chief

A cost-of-living crisis, higher interest rates and an increase in bureaucratic regulation might point to a bleak future for the lettings industry.

And stories of an exodus of landlords from the Private Rented Sector (PRS), might serve to second the motion.

But Spencer Lawrence, Lettings Director of Paramount Properties, sees it differently.

After 27 years in the business, Spencer remains positive about the future for property owners.

He says: “They are reading a lot of hyper negative press at the moment. And then they are making decisions based on that hyper negative press. But actually, every individual’s circumstances are different and our role as agents is to ascertain what they are.

“We’ve had lots of situations where owners will ring up and say ‘I’m done. I’m selling up.’ It’s our job to ask them what they’re going to do with the proceeds. Have they thought about capital gains tax? Have they thought about medium or long-term plans for pensions?

“Of course some of them are going to sell. But we’ve had lots of instances where people are nervous – scared about what they’ve read. Then after a 20 minute conversation they say, ‘thanks – I feel reassured. I didn’t get that quite right.”

And he goes further, encouraging colleagues to actively engage with clients to discuss their individual concerns.

He says: “Rather than join the club of reading the negative press, pick up the phone and see where they’re at because some of them have been through cycles like this before and they might realise they’ve got no gearing, no mortgage on their property. Others who are newer to the market may need more hand-holding but they don’t know what their options are. We need to spread some positivity.

“The majority of them with a bit of common sense will retain and we’ve got a high percentage of owners who are looking to buy at the moment because, guess what, it’s a good time to buy.”

Catch Spencer Lawrence’s interview with Estate Agent Today’s Nat Daniels in full below.

Just press ‘play’.