Pictured above: Richard Jones

The property investment experts at Ilkestonproperty.com are celebrating a successful first year in managing working tenants, and becoming experts in dealing with Local Housing Allowance tenants.

The brainchild of both Richard Jones and Carol Fletcher, Ilkestonproperty.com officially opened its offices on Stanton Road nearly a year ago, and attributes its big business success to an in- depth knowledge of the rentals market gained from first-hand experience.

Taking on 150 rental properties over the last year and moving to larger premises, Ilkestonproperty.com is now the only Derbyshire letting agent to specialise in providing homes to rent for those on local housing allowance.

Richard Jones, who has accumulated a multi-million pound buy-to-let portfolio, said: "I have lived in Ilkeston all of my life and have invested in Derbyshire properties for over 20 years now. 

"During this time I have gained hands on experience in all trades relating to property including sourcing, refurbishing, repairing and managing property.  I have of course made some mistakes and experienced many successes along the way and it is these successes that Ilkeston property.com aims to pass on to landlords who want to add massive value to the properties they rent, either single or portfolio landlords.

"In this current climate many landlords are fully aware that they need to expand their horizons and deal with housing benefit clients but are unsure of how to deal with them. There is certainly a stigma attached to this area of the rentals market, but this need not be the case, here at Ilkestonproperty.com we have worked closely with the local councils to put in place a system to reference Local Housing Authority (LHA) tenants, to increase landlord confidence."

Offering a full property management and portfolio building service, which can source, purchase, repair and refurbish properties, the team at Ilkestonproperty.com also work to mentor other landlords in the art of property management.  Richard Jones has over the past 20 years become a thought leader in the buy-to-let sector, with many other agents in the area actively seeking his advice.

Aiming to help landlords who are encountering common problems but are unsure of how to solve them, the Rent Doctor service launched in the early days of the business has proved hugely successful, acting as a neutral party between the landlord and tenant in the event of a dispute, to prevent a breakdown in communication.

Richard added:"Many letting agents in the area have no property investment interests of their own.  I firmly believe that until you have owned multiple rental properties and encountered the ups and the downs  first hand, it is very difficult to offer professional advice and guidance on the issue."

Looking forward to a bright future, Richard continued: "In the next few years we hope to increase the amount of rental properties we manage to over 600 and develop further the portfolio building products for landlords and investors, while providing an ethical service for tenants.

"We are also introducing a brand new product to the market very soon, which is a solar powered light for  'to let' and 'for sale'  boards. Available for purchase at www.sola-view.com this product has so far received a lot of initial interest. These are exciting times for Ilkestonproperty.com and we are keen to continue down this path of expansion and growth."