Property Inventory Business ?

[TS1940]

New year, new start. I'm looking at other business opportunities to get into and an area Im interested in is property. Has anyone started up a property inventory business? I am looking at training of course but looking for advice to see if its a viable opportunity.

 

[PaulJacobs]

What's a "property inventory business"?

 

[TS1940]

Third party service for landlords/letting agents that inspects properties prior to tenants moving in and out. Taking notes on condition of the property, furniture etc and delivering a report that would be helpful in settling any potential disputes between Landlord/Tenant.

 

[Mark T Jones]

In a nutshell, yes it is out there and it is a viable business

The key will be cracking letting agents (and getting paid promptly)

You really need to be doing full webcam appraisals

 

[TS1940]

What equipment would I need to do webcam appraisals ( on a serious budget! )

 

[Alan]

I would say a decent smart phone.

Link it up to Google Apps and set up up to autobackup to Google Drive. Then when you take images / videos they will be saved for you, ready for you to simply edit into your standard template 'report'.

A business ideally suited to the current technology.

Costs - half decent smart phone £180
- 4G phone/data contract £15/month
- Google Apps for Works, one user £3.30/month

Thats all you need to be in business, and you probably have two out of three already

 

[TS1940]

I never thought about video as I assumed that a camera would suffice for inspections. Thanks Alan, thats all within my budget ;-)

 

[Alan]

I think you need mainly static photos of specific items, especially damage, however when ever I inventory anything for my self I do a quick video too to get the general condition.

 

[TS1940]

Are there online accreditation courses available?

The next step after that would be contacting Agents who are in my experience a closed shop at times.

 

[Alan]

Google found this for me http://www.apip.org.uk/training-cou...fopp-official-technical-award-support-course/

 

[TS1940]

Thanks Alan.

 

[TS1940]

To add, which software/app is the standard for clerks?

 

[Krprop]

My family owns a letting agent and we use a iPad with a inventory app for property inventories.

You go through it room by room taking photos and a in depth description, then it automatically produces a PDF document with your own branding.

There's lots of inventory software company's out there that can help.

It does take time in each property, so you need to work out travel costs, time in each property and how many you can do a day.

 

[Mfc1988]

Hey, ts1940 did you ever start this business, ive been considering a similar venture

 

[Dmitri Fantastic]

Hello there TS1940, I've spend quite a while researching this niche on my own. Before running into search engine optimisation I used to handle handyman and cleaning jobs and i was really impressed how simple property inventories seemed to be, BUT.
When I started to dig in deeper, I realized it does not pay as good as it might seem, plus competition is a killer. The landlord-tenant-housing niche is crazy and if you lack good connections you'll have hard time finding landlords to work with. You should really, really research all the pros and cons of property inventories, before you bet your tenancy rent on it.

 

[TS1940]

I decided not to go ahead with this. In my area it was a closed shop.

 

[Ava Williams]

Ah too bad. It sounded like a viable business. Best of luck with your next venture.

 

[Krprop]

We now use a Inventory Company.
Works quite well, they've got a online booking calender. We usually get the date we ask for, they then carry out a inventory and take plenty of photos. This is then emailed to us. The photos can even be zoomed in which other companies don't allow.