Plymouth Estates – Business Profile

Plymouth Estates are a letting agent covering Plymouth and the surrounding areas. Having been established for over 11 years, we visit the owner, Michael Mann at his showroom in Plymstock, to see what services they offer for landlords and tenants.

The property market has changed dramatically since the evolution of the online platform. 90% of people searching for a property will log in to their phones and all the information comes rushing to their fingertips. Plymouth Estates are a forward thinking business, and have fully embraced this. They constantly keep up to date with the changing market, updated legislation, and government laws.

Michael Mann has an interesting background. At the age of 19, he joined the army in the Royal Logistics Corps. “I joined in 1984 and I was 19 years old. I was in college at the time and they were advertising vacancies. It was a very ad hoc decision!” Michael tells us that he enjoyed it, and he considered himself extremely lucky. “I got to travel all over the world. I’m Para trained, Commando trained, and I was a mountain expedition leader”. Michael explains that he has jumped out of planes, scaled mountains and been dumped off in the middle of nowhere with nothing but a compass!

“I like a bit of a challenge, so I asked for all this training” Says Michael, but t didn’t come easy. With 8 hours physical training a day, it had a high failure rate. At the age of 30, Michael got married. This change in personal circumstance helped his career progression massively. He became a Technical Sergeant Major not long after, and between the ages of 31 to 37 he climbed 5 ranks.

5 or 6 years before he left the army, Michael knew that he wanted to leave and run his own business. “I left in 2005 when I was 41 years old. I was a landlord, and I had a few properties”. Because Michael spent most of his career abroad in Germany, he let out his properties back home.

Being in the army is a bit like running a business, it’s very similar

So why Plymouth? Michael says that Plymouth has got a lot to offer. “You’ve got the sand, the sea and it’s just a relaxed way of life.” Michael moved from Germany to Plymouth with his wife and three children. “Because I spent most of my time in Germany, I set up the business with very little experience”. But in 2006, in a matter of a few months, Plymouth Estates had been formed.

Michael ran it from home for 3 years. He set up a website, sent out a couple of local adverts and that got the ball rolling slowly but surely. “It was a bit of a slow start, but I had some money behind me leaving the forces. I held down another job for 2 years alongside Plymouth Estates in Security”.

It got to the stage where Plymouth Estateswas doing well enough for Michael to leave his full time job in security, and focus all his attention on growing the business. This is where business partner Jason, came into the picture.

Jason tells us “We already knew each other- through our wives!” Jason was a service engineer for 19 years, when he decided to make the switch and work permanently with Michael. At this point, Plymouth Estates was still running out of Michael’s home, so this was a big step for Jason to take. “I like meeting people, I’m a people person. After helping Michael out I realised that I really enjoyed the job and wanted to pursue it further”. Jason came on board in October 2009. Once Jason joined, the business continued to grow. “There was a lot to learn. Michael basically taught me everything. I learnt on the job!”

Property is an ever changing market. Jason tells us “lettings in particular change all the time. When I first started there was little to no regulations at all. Now it’s probably one of the most regulated sectors in business”.

Plymouth Estates ensure they keep up to date with all the changes in regulations, whether they are contractual, health and safety or new government initiatives

Landlords who are looking to rent out their property need to be aware of certain measures they need to take in order to do this. Jason tells us that most landlords aren’t aware of the Legionella Risk Assessment. This has to be carried out on the property before it can be let, as the landlord has a responsibility to combat Legionnaire’s disease. This, alongside other health and safety measures such as a smoke alarm on each floor and a gas safety certificate are all mandatory.

Plymouth Estates have a unique and clever way of carrying out inventory on their properties. About an hour before a property is handed over, Plymouth Estates video the entire property from ceiling to floor, to support their detailed written inventory.This covers themselves, the landlord and the tenant in any disputes that may arise. “We’ve never gone to arbitration through a dispute because of the videos. We’re very much the middle man, and if any problems arise- we have proof of the properties original state”.

Michael and Jason tell us how the online market has affected their business. “Plymstock is one of the few places where people actually come in and register”. They explain that everything has moved online. People just tap in all their specifications, their price range, location and all the properties come to their fingertips.

Plymouth Estates have over 150 properties under their management, and they are listed on both Rightmove and Zoopla. “The property advertising market is dominated by those two big competitors. And at the end of the day, you need to know that your agent is on both”. Jason tells us that they have had times where they would list a property on Rightmove, and seconds later a call would come through to their office asking for more information. This shows the power of online marketing, and this clearly works for Plymouth Estates.

People have changed the way they search. No one really looks in newspapers anymore

Michael and Jason have recently updated their website. It has general information for both landlords and tenants, and serves as a fact sheet for basic knowledge at a glance. “We get general enquiries from our website. If someone doesn’t see a property that they like, they will give us their specifications and wait for something to come up”. Michael tells us that they are eagerly searching for properties to let in the Plymstock area. “We actually have a waiting list! I think it’s because there are 7 very good schools here, but we have a shortage of houses to let”.

If a new landlord comes in, Plymouth Estates helps them through every step of the process. “We have a tenant finder service, which we offer for £325 including VAT. All of the documentation is included in this, as well as all of the marketing, viewing, contracts, inventory and deposits”. The only difference is, who tenants report problems too and who they pay their rent too Michael tells us that their percentage fee for managing properties is 10%.

It is important to note that Plymouth Estates biggest period of growth was during the recession. We ask Michael why he thinks this was; “I think it is because our reputation was so good, and we don’t charge a lot for what we do”.  An impressive 90% of business comes through referrals for Plymouth Estates, which proves that reputation can go a long way in business.

CALL: 01752 407774| EMAIL: info@plymouthestates.co.uk | VISIT: 45 Springfield Road, Elburton, PL9 8EP