There are some surveys I just don't get, but I am a bit stupid.
A new survey reckons that letting agents and landlords think students make the best tenants.
The landlord survey conducted by Glide and Accommodation for Students reckons that the majority of letting agents and landlords think students make the best tenants.
According to their data, 69% of landlords and letting agent preferred letting to students.
Ok, but that seems a pretty high figure. I mean there are a lot of landlords that would argue until they were blue in the face why you should never let an eighteen year old, hell bent on hedonistic oblivion, near your precious rental property.
I had a closer look into Glide's claims. Maybe I wasn't looking harder enough, but I couldn't see any mention of how many landlords/letting agents they asked and where they sourced their respondents.
Was it three landlords they met in a pub, or thirty thousand and where did they find them?
I mean if they were all student landlords or letting agents that were already focused on letting to students, it figures that they like letting to students, but it is hardly a cross section of the private rental sector.
That's a bit like asking customers in a sushi restaurants if they like sushi, then saying 100% of Brits like sushi, but no they don't - I for one hate the cold, slimy, fishy stuff.
Can anyone from Glide or Accommodation for Student shine any light on their numbers?
Students are a 'known quantity'. They usually take a fixed 12-month rental (albeit possibly with half-rent for the first two months, when they are not actually in residence - but which gives you, the landlord, the chance to get into the house and repair, up-grade etc). This may well be extended for a further 12 month period. They come with Guarantors and are unlikely to drop out half-way through. You know exactly when are likely to be your busy periods and when you can take a vacation without too much worry. True, the properties may sustain rather more 'wear & tear' - but this is usually cosmetic & more than compensated for by the much enhanced rental levels. And if you pick your tenants carefully, and monitor the tenancy closely in the first few weeks (or beyond if necessary), you can knock a bunch of potential problems on the head, in the early stages. To me, it's a no-brainer
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