What is a Human agency?

The quest for efficiency is driving agencies to outsource most of their work, and lettings are becoming impersonal. Agents can manage a property they have never seen, with tenants they have never met, and deal only with the intermediaries who do the work.

While the lettings sector is embracing one-size-fits-all solutions, at Rent Happily, we stand for a personalised service, one that fits you.

The depersonalisation of Lettings

The role of the agent is to mediate between the requirements of the landlord and the needs of the tenant. This relationship is being damaged by two trends: outsourcing and the extensive use of AI.

1. To be more productive, agents are expected to manage up to 200 properties.  To cope with this workload, they outsource most of their work. Viewings and inspections are given out to third parties, and maintenance is handed over to large subcontractors. The same applies for inventories, references, safety certificates, etc. Even the phone calls are handled by virtual assistants, sometimes given to a machine. 
2. The lack of qualified agents and the pressure to reduce costs pushes agencies into AI and automation. The result is that agents are even more disconnected from their role and the people they are meant to serve. 

Ultimately, agents only get second-hand information to relay to their clients. When large contractors dictate their terms to small agencies, when AI makes decisions in a black box, and when agents are watching it all behind a screen, the market becomes impersonal.

Less is More

A human agency means that the agent deals personally with tenants, landlords, contractors, authorities, and third parties. Agents take time for personal contacts, in-person meetings, and human touch. 

At Rent Happily, each agent manages around 50 properties. They meet the tenants at the viewings, they draft the contracts with the landlord, they compile inventories at the property. And the same goes for safety certificates, inspections, maintenance, changeovers, all is done in-house.

When agencies focus on quantity, quality becomes a rare commodity. If you value a personalised and hands-on service, choose a human agency.

Boris Drappier

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