I am seeing a couple of trends amongst our Edinburgh landlords – both understandable and, I suspect, likely to continue.  On the one hand, the more serious landlords are investing and buying more properties on the basis that, despite the recent changes and hassles in the Private Rented Sector, buy to let property investing is an attractive proposition.  However, on the other hand, the ‘hobby’ or ‘accidential’ landlords are throwing up their hands in horror at these changes and are selling their properties. It was interesting for me to have this anecdotal trend borne out by evidence ..read more

The Edinburgh Property Blog today features an article from a guest contributor, Jake Ryan of Wise Knotwood Solutions all about Japanese Knotweed ….. something that all landlords need to be be aware of.  Over to Jake ….. Spring begins with a warning for landlords It has been estimated that Japanese Knotweed costs the British economy an astounding £166 million each year. The invasive plant has been listed by the World Conservation Union as one of the worst invasive species globally so it is critical that landlords familiarise themselves with the destructive plant, especially in spring. The spr ..read more

All letting agents are required to be registered with, and regulated by, the Scottish Government.  It has been a criminal (not civil) offence to trade as a letting agent after 1 October 2018 if you are not registered with, and regulated by, the Scottish Government. Registered letting agents require to adhere to the Scottish Government Letting Agent Code of Practice which means that, amongst other things, they have to have suitable policies and procedures in place, there staff need to be appropriately qualified, and they have to control their clients’ money sensibly and they have to have profe ..read more

I recently attended a local meeting in Edinburgh where I got recognised as being The Edinburgh Property Blog chap (well you have to be recognised for something, why not that!).  A question I was being asked repeatedly was ''What is the ideal property to invest in in Edinburgh?''.  So I thought I would share my thoughts with you. When considering a buy-to-let purchase what is believed to be a good deal will vary from person to person.  Everyone will have a different budget and varying preferences on location, style of property, condition etc as well as having different financial situations. T ..read more

Landlords often ask us what goes on behind the scenes at The Key Place and so we thought we would share our experiences, and what we have learned from those experiences, with you. If I had a penny for the number of times that I had rolled my eyes in despair at something a contractor had done, then I’d be a rich man by now (of course that is with the exception of our regular fantastic trades guys and you know who you are!). We sent Ron the painter to do some work in a property we manage in the borders.  The tenant was able to go and stay with friends for the weekend and so it suited her to hav ..read more