The Inventory Professional – Details, episodes & analysis

Recording of the Propertymark webinar presented by Approved Industry Supplier Inventory Base.

In an era defined by constant change, adapting how you work is not a choice, but a necessity. But how do you balance the challenges without being overwhelmed by the data and processes? How do you actually find the time to make the personal connections that will take you from instruction to completion? 

Here's what you can expect from the webinar:

• Unveiling the Impact: Why data hampers personal connections
• Streamlining with Proptech: Optimise your processes for efficiency
• The Power of Integration: Blending technology and personal connections for tangible benefits
• Elevating Success: How proptech boosts client satisfaction, referrals, and sales
• Striking the Balance: Effective strategies for merging technology and the human touch

Join Sián Hemming-Metcalfe in Proptech Unplugged and discover how making your tech stack work for you can help alleviate the stresses and barriers of complex data input and create the right environment to build meaningful and personal connections with your clients. 

Recording of the Propertymark webinar presented by Approved Industry Supplier Inventory Base.

The PRS currently comprises over 4.6 million rented homes in the UK, with 21% (986,100) classified as non-decent, highlighting the urgent need for action to ensure fair and decent living conditions for tenants.

Agents play a vital role in supporting landlords to meet their obligations but how do you navigate the ever-changing regulations while ensuring their properties meet necessary standards? How can you support positive tenant-landlord relationships amidst all these challenges?

Here's what you can expect from this webinar:

We'll discuss:

• Tenant challenges: Affordability and access to quality housing.
• Agent challenges: Maintenance responsibilities and regulatory compliance.

We'll shed light on the current landscape:

• Rental market trends: Rental prices and housing availability.
• Housing quality challenges: Substandard living conditions and lack of affordable options.

We'll examine the implications of Section 21 abolition:

• Impact on tenants' rights and housing security.
• Challenges and opportunities for agents in managing tenancies.

We'll explore how technology can support agents:

• Compliance tracking tools: Digital record-keeping systems and automated maintenance reminders.
• Interconnected solutions: Improved inspection protocols and investment in affordable housing initiatives.

Join Sián who will navigate you through these important topics, identify challenges, and explore solutions.

David asks - Why should you vote for Sián and what vision does she have for Propertymark's future? 

Where does she stand on the key issues effecting our industry and how is she going to help you? 

Supplier and agents - are we united as one, or is there a divide? 

Listen in and find out what Siȃn hopes to achieve for the supplier industry, her strong views on why the industry needs to work with inventory suppliers and that putting herself forward for the role is not about a title but about affecting change including setting standards and working collaboratively with agents throughout the sector.

In this episode Sián and Melissa explore why complaints are made and what constitutes a low, medium or high level complaint. 

Sloping shoulders is a term often associated with business practices however there is a growing feeling that agents and landlords are attempting to deflect responsibility when in fact most complaints could be easily resolved if only all parties talked to each other and inventory providers are included in the conversation. 

As Sián points out, if adjudicators do not have the right information then the dispute is often lost before it even hits their inbox so getting to grips with the issues or complaint early on can only benefit all the key people involved in the tenancy. 

Melissa refers to the tendency of some providers (and software!) to rely on terms such as Poor, Fair or Good (or The Good, The Bad and the Ugly as Sián likes to call them!) when reporting conditions in an attempt to be more 'time efficient' when in fact they are storing up a host of problems when it comes to the checkout where liability, damage and costs are levied against the tenant and their deposit. 

Melissa also points out the fact that it is often the inventory clerk who is the 'first port of call' when a complaint is made often bypassing the actual reason for the issues in favour of a 'quick resolution'. 

Another key reason for complaints being raised is the lack of detail in the report. Brief or 'stock comments' are often the cause of misinterpretation by the reader and so by the time the deposit goes to dispute its too late to rectify what could be minor issues or complaints leaving the inventory clerk holding the proverbial can. 

Both Sián and Melissa agree that the best way to head off any complaint is to first compile a detailed property report based on fact, evidenced by comprehensive pictures or video (not the bubble / 360 kind) and to then deal with complaints rather than leaving them to languish in the 'too hard to deal with' drawer. 

Finally; Sián shares her 6 top tips for managing complaints: 

• Respond - Don't ignore the complaint! 
• Take ALL complaints seriously 
• Don't accept blame - its not always that straightforward 
• Set out time frames for your response and keep to them!
• Keep everything professional - it's easy to get emotional so take a breath and give yourself time to think 
• Learn from each complaint

Have an important topic you want to share? Want to join in on our next podcast? Email sian@inventorybase.com

If you have established yourself as a property inventory clerk you’ll be well aware of the very specific skills and abilities the job demands. If you’re at the start of your career you’ll learn about them very quickly as you develop your service.

A successful inventory clerk balances very strong interpersonal skills with a highly organised approach and precise attention to detail.

Most clerks are self-employed; your livelihood often depends on getting as many jobs as possible, which is why both in slow periods and as part of your business planning, you should really think about how the skills you use in your primary work can be transferred to other vital processes and opportunities.

The is why I want to talk to you about why you shouldn't meet the expectations of others, why you need to redefine yourself and your service, why you should make the most of what you’re good at, why you should extend yourself and why I say - 'Don't stay in your lane!'

This short podcast (which can also be seen in webinar format) is about getting you thinking about your options.

For more information on training to become an CPD accredited inventor provider visit Inventory Base Academy to explore the available courses and get your business in the spotlight with Inventory Base property reports and inspection templates.

To read the full blog please visit: https://inventorybase.co.uk/blog/dont...

To view the webinar recording please visit Inventory Base YouTube Channel

In this episode, our webinar panellists discuss 3 key subjects affecting the property industry:

• Sustainability in the lettings sector - impacts and options
• Effects of the levelling up white paper - the repeal of Section 21 and what that means for the service industry 
• Contracts and SLA’s - are they a realistic option or do clerks just need to act like a service business to affect change?

 Our industry experts are:

Ben Shaw - representing Trust Inventory 

Emily Joyce - Director of AJPS
Mark Lazarus - Director of Storm Inventories 

Melissa Guthrie-Noyce - Director of MGN Inventories

Charlie Saunders - Director of Assist Inventories
Sián Hemming-Metcalfe - Director of The Metcalfe Partnership and representing Inventory Base Academy 

Listen in as we share our thoughts and offer expert views on the future of the reporting industry.

Join in, learn and share your expertise; Inventory Base Academy

In this podcast John and Sián discuss three key topics:

1. Being a mentor for the real estate industry - what attracted John to that particular role
2. RoPA - Regulation of Property Agents - how it can improve the property industry
3. The role inventory professionals play in supporting the industry

John talks about his mentoring, how people buy from people and the trust needed to be able to complete a transaction in a world where technology can de-personalise the experience.

Sián asks John whether external inventory suppliers (who are not included in the initial RoPA guidelines) if inventory professionals can be part of the conversation rather than just the afterthought they often are when it comes to shaping the industry.

Disrupter or disruptive - both John and Sián feel that the terminology comes across as aggressive and that using the word 'improvement' is a more inclusive term when talking about all the changes to the industry. 

Sián comments that the wealth of knowledge and skills in the industry can help form a more standardised reporting format and the benefits of using the term 'professional' when it comes to referring to clerks in order to change the industry's perception of the role.

And finally, John talks about his experiences in an adjudication and how a judges words made a lasting impression.

For more information and to connect with John: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnking56/

Link for further information on RoPA - https://www.propertymark.co.uk/professional-standards/uk-regulation/ropa.html

Have an important topic you want to share? Want to join in on our next podcast? Email sian@inventorybase.com

Sián and Zoe discuss how service and acting as an extension of an agents brand plays a huge role in supporting clients, keeping landlords engaged and more importantly, happy!

We also talk about the need for transparency and honesty; we may get things wrong but it is how we manage our mistakes that can make all the difference to your service delivery.

Zoe comments on how happy she is to have Inventory Base and the support team behind her services, how their developers provide everything she needs to keep exceeding her clients expectations including training with Inventory Base Academy to support her clerks and keep them up to date and safe whilst out in the field.

Sián asks whether there is more inventory providers can do to add value and celebrate Zoe's success at the recent ESTA's where she was nominated and has received an ESTA Peoples Award, 2021.

Finally; for Zoe's top tip she highlights that, as industry suppliers, we all should remember that agents, landlords and tenants are people and why its important (now more than ever) to be kind to each other and ourselves.

For more information on Assist Inventories visit their website: https://assistinventories.co.uk

Have an important topic you want to share? Want to join in on our next podcast? Email sian@inventorybase.com

In this episode we discuss the volume of student property reports carried out each year and whether there is a need to have a conversation with agents about the quick turnaround of properties which can mean a lack of detail in the inventory / check out report or employing less than robust reporting methods 'just to get the job done and turned around'.

Sián highlights that at some point inventory providers are likely to be 'held to account' or have more industry oversight when ROPA comes in for letting agents so is now the time to tackle the thorny issue of standardisation and qualifications within the inventory reporting industry?

Sián also points out that there is no one in the industry really fighting the corner of the industry professional and support from the two main self styled inventory associations (ARLA Propertymark / AIIC) is very lacking.

On the issue of COVID - both Melissa and Sián highlight the potential for restrictions to be reintroduced as infection number climb and why many in the industry are concerned that the lack of stock and number of inventory providers available to carry out reports and how they are being impacted by the economic affects of the pandemic.

Sián and Melissa discuss the need to plan for any downturn in work including contingency planning for business owners if they become unwell and unable to manage the business.

And on a lighter note; Melissa talks about inventory clerks and business owners using the quieter winter months to start the planing process for 2022.

She highlights the need for us all to take time out to recharge batteries, meet family, relax before getting the spreadsheets out and starting to plan out what the next 12 mths will look like both from reporting numbers and potential revenue. She does like a bullet point list and action plan!

Finally; is now the time to use the winter months to not only plan for 2022 but also to review report rates? #FoodforThought

Read Inventory Base's latest blog - Is the Private Rental Sector ready for a COVID Winter?

Have an important topic you want to share? Want to join in on our next podcast? Email sian@inventorybase.com

Virtual property viewings are the inevitable technological next step in securing a rental in today's modern, fast paced market but how effective are they in enabling potential tenants to assess the properties they are considering making their home? How does the mechanism work, what are its advantages and disadvantages, and how can a renter get the most out of the virtual experience?

Join Sián as she walks you through the processes involved in viewing property virtually and what to do to avoid making the wrong choice.

Have an important topic you want to share? Want to join in on our next podcast? Email sian@inventorybase.com