Boy we had to work hard last month and the work of a letting agent is certainly varied, in this job anything can happen at any time !We did tie up 42 deals in June, 21 from Hertford and 21 from Hoddesdon so not bad and we are seeing very high levels of demand for property in all price ranges, our biggest rental being £ 2,750 for an executive Roydon property, stock levels are pretty good at the moment but we could always cope with more instructions ! Competition from other agents remains strong so I am pleased we are very much holding our own and producing our expected growth on turnover.

We are pretty close to having identified two new sites for expansion and I should be able to report completion on these deals with more information at the end of July.

The heatwave weather has been great and I have enjoyed my new weber barbeque. Although the bloke in the shop told me I only had to put the wheels on it it actually came in thirty two pieces !! Anyway I managed to put it together in three hours, Mrs D was impressed that there were no screws or bolts remaining ( I lobbed the remaining six or so and claimed hero status ) - lets hope it does not collapse on Chloes 12th birthday do next week.

July has already been very busy - I see no reason why the lettings market will not continue to do so and the rest of 2009 should certainly remain the same.

If you are off on your holidays have a great time and enjoy the weather.

Can’t believe it, we are half way throught June, Wimbledon next week, England out of the 20/20, the Ashes are coming up, Ronaldo’s off to real Madrid, Mrs D Gone to Iceland to stock up on ice lollies for the kids, Tony’s been to Norfolk camping ( true ) and I am 43 next week ! Where has this year gone ?

The rental market remains as my last report- we have put on more properties than we have lost and are on target for + 14% on turnover 2008. So, all is good, we have installed CFP winman lettings software in to both offices which we are very pleased with. We are also happy with the amount of instructions we have, currently nearly 60 properties to let. Feedback regards the new website is also very positive.

William H Brown Lettings in Ware are getting on my nerves, they are displaying rightmove properties as ‘Let By’ when we have rented them - I asked one of my clients to phone them to see what the bobby was and they told her they had hit the wrong button !!!

Anyway, lets hope we have some decent weather this summer and we give the aussies a game in the cricket..

I am launching a best kept tenants garden in Hoddesdon competition for the summer, unfortunately I don’t think that the garden pictured left will be winning - looks to me like one of the tenants has dug a grave and buried one of his housemates. Any landlord might be fed up with his garden being turned in to a cemetary and I would have to agree - but guess who is the landlord ?, yes yours truly. Mrs D gone chicken oriental !! But the tenants are paying the rent no probs and that is the no.1 priority for me !

The pain in the back of every landlord and letting agent - the rent dodger, not your normal tenant who might be struggling but who is working with you, but the nuisance who thinks that living for free is what he or she is entitled to do.

Now this may be controversial but I am thinking of naming and shaming Rent Dodgers or anyone who thinks we have come down off the last banana boat. I think I will set up a trial period for three months to see how things go……

I hope you like the look and feel of the new website version 4.0 which is live and up and running. The main brief to my website designer Ben Keogh and his team at zonica.com was to reflect the simplicity of the specialist lettings service that we provide, and to make sure that anyone looking for a property to let is only a couple of clicks away from property details and photographs. And lastly to give the site a contemporary and modern look/ feel, the guys have delivered on all these points. We are also adding further details on the areas that we cover and staff, together with more comprehensive details of our services for both landlord and tenants.

The whole site is also geared up for additional offices we may open…. watch this space…

Easter is over and the sun is shining, I had to carry out a final inspection in a flat at Paddick Close today, expecting some junior bordella, blow me over this flat came back immaculate, Jerczy take a bow, it is brilliant to see this standard of return, deposit cheque in the post !!

So, hows the first three months of 2009 in lettings ? Well we have a had a very decent first quarter from both shops and have completed on 85 lettings, down on last year but not too disppointing. There is a lot of stability in the market with tenants remaining in situation longer and buy to let properties not being sold.  We are seeing slightly less tenants around so rental prices remain slightly down but minimising void periods is key to successful lettings.

I understand from my estate agents colleagues that the market is improving with confidence so we can move in to the spring / summer months with much better property news.

Lets at least hope for some decent weather over over Easter , I am going to Spain with the family for the holidays for a bit of a junior relax….happy holidays.. 

 Wanted - For leaving 120 Plomer Avenue, Hoddesdon with landlords belongings- if you know the wheareabouts of this former tenant we are offering £ 100 cash for his forwarding address. Please e mail richard@anthonydavies24.co.uk with any information.

Dear readers, my apologies for my inactivity in January, I have had a problem uploading some photos that I need to uplaod but will be doing so shortly.Rich

Happy New Year - I was in Spain as usual for Xmas and New Year - boy has it become very expensive with the Euro Exchange Rate - not something I have been used to over there - it is actually cheaper to be at home.

So what’s happaening this year rental wise ? We have, as usual seen a very busy start to the year, plenty of enquiries and we have already tied up 10 new deals. We know the first six months is always busy but the crucial part of this year will be the second half, I do not have a crystal ball but I see no reason that we will not achieve growth on turnover of + 10-15%.

We achieved + 11% on turnover last year in a difficult period and obviously now face increased competition but I am sure we will hold our position as the largest independent letting agent in Hoddesdon and Hertford.

We should, however see a big return of buy to let investors this year, with gross yields improving, rents will remain about 10% down on this time last year for the time being but this should improve in line with the sales market in due course.

For the time being we are dropping our sales side of the business and concentrating on our position as specialist letting agents, we hope to grow the business by expanding further, I am looking at potential new premises in Loughton, Essex and the feasibility of another branch.

We also have new lettings software being installed at Hoddesdon and Hertford by the end of February and as we have renewed the lease at Hertford we will be having the office newly decorated and will be updating the exterior fascia and lighting to reflect our modern image.

Anyway happy New Year to everyone, yes 2009 will be tough but I am sure it can still be profitable in the property market.