The landlord has already spoken to your competitor. Here’s how to win anyway.
Why the agent with a data-backed doorstep appraisal wins the instruction – every time.
Kieran Slinger · Propalt · For letting agents
By the time a landlord opens the door to you on a Tuesday afternoon, they've usually already spoken to a competitor. Winning the instruction has almost nothing to do with arriving first. It's about arriving with something the other agent didn't bring.
That something is specificity. No landlord wants to hear that local rents are 'around' a figure, or that demand is 'strong at the moment.' They want to know what their property, on their street, will let for – and how fast. Those are answerable questions. Answer them with data and you win. Answer with a shrug and you don't.
What a doorstep appraisal needs to contain
The landlord conversation has a predictable shape. They want a rent figure, a timeline, and some sense of what kind of tenant they will get. Each of those is resolvable from data that is either publicly available or accessible through a property intelligence layer. The challenge has been pulling it together quickly enough to be useful at a doorstep meeting rather than a follow-up email three days later.
A useful instant rental appraisal contains four things. First, a predicted monthly rent based on comparable lets in the same area by property type and bedroom count. Second, the comparable data that underpins it – real addresses, real rents, real days-to-let – so the landlord can see the evidence rather than accepting the agent's word. Third, a demand indicator: how quickly is stock at this price point moving? And fourth, broadband speed data, which is increasingly a front-of-mind concern for tenants and something landlords are asked about more than they expect.
| Comparable let (3-bed, SE13) | Rent pcm | Days to let | EPC |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Loampit Vale, SE13 | £2,100 | 9 days | C |
| 7 Algernon Rd, SE13 | £2,050 | 14 days | B |
| 31 Courthill Rd, SE13 | £2,200 | 7 days | C |
| 19 Belmont Hill, SE13 | £2,150 | 11 days | D |
| Subject property (est.) | £2,100–£2,200 | – | C |
That table, printed or shown on a tablet at the doorstep meeting, changes the register of the conversation. The landlord is no longer being asked to trust the agent's judgment. They are being shown the evidence. Their property sits clearly within a range that four recent let-agreeds support. The discussion moves from 'what do you think?' to 'how do we get there?'
The broadband question landlords don't expect you to answer
Broadband availability is a detail that matters disproportionately to tenants and that most landlords cannot answer off the top of their head. Whether the property has access to full-fibre broadband, what the realistic download speed is, and whether it supports working from home are questions that come up in every tenant viewing.
An agent who includes broadband data in the appraisal card is demonstrating a level of preparation that most landlords have never seen from an agent. That small detail signals thoroughness in everything else.
The Propalt Instant Rental Appraisal Card pulls comparable lets, demand data and broadband availability together in a single output – ready for the doorstep, formatted for a landlord, and built on live data rather than last month's recollection.
The landlord who sees their property's comparable evidence on a card at the doorstep has already decided which agent they trust.
Win more landlord instructions at the first meeting.
Try the Instant Rental Appraisal Card → propalt.ai
Rental comparables and broadband data sourced via the Propalt intelligence layer. Predicted rents are indicative only. This article is general information for letting professionals.
Instant Rental Appraisal Card
One-page rental appraisal for any UK address: predicted rent, comparable lets, area demand and broadband speed – ready for a doorstep landlord meeting.
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Landlord instruction pitch
🔌 Propalt APIs used
get_comparable get_valuation_by_property_id get_brandboard audience_letting_property