Five Years of PropOp: Their Story So Far
PropOp provide Property Management and Investment sourcing opportunities across Scotland and specifically Edinburgh, Dundee, Glasgow, Stirling and St.Andrews.
In June, it will mark five years since the launch of the business in 2021. The Property Management and Investment Sourcing company was launched by myself and Emma Finnie, with co-owners Ben Gettel and Katie McIntosh joining in 2022 and 2023 respectively. Each of us holds significant experience from working in the industry in different capacities over many years, and during Covid the four of us discussed and put a plan in place for setting up PropOp. The motivation for doing so, was to provide a service-led property management business, which focused on the landlord and tenant experience. We felt this was being missed, particularly by the bigger established companies due to the significant portfolio sizes that they were looking after.
With our company values of Approachable, Dependable and Honest, we believe we have shown ourselves to be a strong and viable management alternative to the well-known established organisations.
PropOp’s Directors: Andrew Hutton, Emma Finnie, Katie McIntosh and Ben Gettel
Growth built on service
We are very proud of our growth and what we have achieved in these first five years. Our team has grown to 12 members of staff, including the four directors. One of the key challenges within the industry is managing volume and we quickly identified this during our development build, and it will always remain at the forefront of our business strategy. Our portfolio size under management has grown ahead of our own expectations within the five years. Much of this being through referrals and attracting clients from other agents, who had become ‘lost in the system’ and sought the much desired fundamentals of property management, such as, one point of contact, specific property and client knowledge, as well as a proactive management plan – all of which brings reliability and reassurance that has sadly eroded over recent years within the industry. It was clear, “volume management” was overtaking “service management”, with the landlords and tenants on the receiving end of this. Ultimately the impact of this could be seen, with lesser focus on the asset, with fewer property inspections and resulting higher maintenance costs, just one example.
At PropOp we put a big focus on client relationship building and opening up communication channels, with landlords and tenants. There is a real passion shared within the team to ensure client’s properties/portfolio are being maximised in terms of the return on income and matching the initial investment strategy that first led the client to the industry. A key focus of this is to ensure the properties/assets are kept to a high standard, well maintained, and minimise maintenance costs. This allows rent achieved to remain at a high level in line with the market, and a fully compliant and comfortable accommodation for the tenant. A big part of this is simply based on inspecting the properties, liaising with the tenants and encouraging them to contact the team. We pride ourselves on our prompt level of response, aided by our Whatsapp facility which we have for each tenancy under management, seven days a week, as well as developing our out of hours AI chatbox function via the website. Both of these offerings enable common faults to be resolved efficiently, with guidance provided by the team, without the need of a contractor call out cost or with a delay experienced by the tenant to that point. Both sides benefit.
Supporting property investors across Scotland
On the Investment side, headed up by Emma Finnie, we provide a sourcing service to allow new investors to enter the buy to let model, or clients to add to their existing portfolio. PropOp listen to the clients investment requirements and motivations and we offer a very flexible option catered to their budget and intentions. Whether it is a turnkey property ready to go with tenants in place, or a property requiring differing levels of repairs, from minor cosmetic work, to full renovation throughout, options will be sourced and provided by the team. On the back of a strong network, experience and contacts, off-market opportunities can also be provided, as and when they become available which helps avoid competition and potentially enable a quicker transaction with other benefits. Let only services, property staging and furnishing are all additional services on offer.
It is incredible that we are approaching five years of business. Property Management has always been a fast paced, busy, active and ever-changing industry to work in, so it is not uncommon to experience busy weeks, months and years, however whilst cliché, the five years has absolutely flown in. It has been an incredible journey, which has been both challenging and very satisfying. When my co-directors and I initially floated the idea of setting up ourselves, there was always the confidence that we could run a successful management service. The real trepidation was how do we attract landlords initially and obtain the portfolio levels to be sustainable. It is with enormous gratitude and thanks, that friends, family, colleagues and partners within the industry, gave their vote of confidence and referrals that allowed us to hit the ground running and overcome the most obvious first hurdle. No sooner do you overcome one challenge, than the next one arrives and it is with a constant drive and passion to deliver a strong service that allows us to meet and achieve each one and continue to move forward. We are very proud of what we have achieved in five years and we are so motivated to continue to grow and improve. We want our tenants to feel comfortable and safe within well maintained and compliant properties, whilst the properties operate and perform to the landlord’s satisfaction.
PropOp offer a competitive management fee within the industry. If you are looking to Let out your property, or move an existing one from another agent, the team at PropOp provide an attractive opportunity and proposition.
Andrew Hutton, Director at PropOp
