We’ll Help You Rent Out Your Home
Start the ball rolling by requesting a free, online valuation. We can then arrange to see the property and provide a personalised valuation. By choosing to work with us, you give yourself the peace of mind that your home is being well looked after by a local, Edinburgh team while you are away.
Our clients appreciate the high quality of service provided and having a contact that they know on first name terms.
Here's How It Works
Once you receive your free valuation we can arrange to visit the property to give a more detailed and accurate valuation along with initial advice on what you could expect in terms of rental income. This is completely free and with no-obligation. Merely an information gathering exercise for you to make an informed decision.
If you decide to go ahead, we'll allocate you to a Trio Team of three dedicated staff members who will look after all your requirements and who will quickly get to know you and your property.
After we complete our onboarding checks and ensure all safety certificates are in place and in date, which we can arrange too, we'll get on with any repair works agreed, in preparation for bringing your property to market.
To attract tenants, we'll take high quality professional photos, videos, including drone shots were possible, and a virtual tour, and put it out on all the main lettings websites.
Your dedicated property manager will personally manage and attend the viewings and find you reputable tenants, taking care of all references, deposits and lease paperwork.
Your property manager will also compile a photographic inventory, and a check-in report ready for your tenants to settle in to their new home.
From there, we take care of any repairs, maintenance, rent collection and ongoing checks and certificates, leaving you to get on with your life, stress-free.
Here’s a checklist of the main actions which need to be taken care of before you can rent out your property. We will make sure you are compliant with all the financial and regulatory requirements before any tenants move in.
- Inform your mortgage provider and switch to a buy-to-let mortgage if required
- Register with HMRC as a non-resident landlord if you are moving abroad
- Register as a landlord with Edinburgh City Council
- Obtain Safety Certificates
- Obtain an EPC certificate
- Request a Valuation
- Market Your Property
- Conduct Viewings
- Vet potential tenants and check references
- Provide a tenancy agreement
- Lodge tenant’s deposit with deposit scheme
- Maintain the property to a good standard
- Address repairs and other issues promptly
- Keep safety certificates up to date
- Carry out regular inspections
And of course we’ll take control of keeping your rental income flowing
- Collect rent from tenants
- Pay rental income to you monthly
- Remarket the property promptly when tenants leave, to prevent void periods
Our experienced team will help you prepare your property for rental, promote it to attract tenants, deal with all the paperwork and keep it in good condition throughout the tenancy, providing you with a stress-free ownership experience.
Most mortgage providers will require you to change to a different mortgage if you intend to let your property. The first step is to contact your provider as far in advance as possible to let them know you intend to rent out your home. In most cases they will ask you to take out a buy-to-let mortgage.
Tenancy agreements
In Scotland the only lease that can be used for residential property in Scotland is known as a Private Residential Tenancy (PRT). A PRT is a legal document which details the rights of your tenants. At Cullen Property we draw up your PRT and pass it to the tenants (and guarantors, if any are needed) to sign.
Landlord Registration
You will have to register as a landlord with Edinburgh City Council, which is a straightforward process with a small fee. Letting your property without being registered could result in a fine of up to £50,000. If you are letting to more than two unrelated people you will also need an HMO licence which involves compliance with more detailed regulations. If your property is an HMO, our team can take care of obtaining the licence.
Safety Certificates
All rental properties require certificates to demonstrate that relevant services have been checked and are safe. Certificates required are:
- PAT – Portable Appliance Test
- GSC – Gas Safety Certificate
- EICR – Electrical Installation Condition Report
- EPC – Energy Performance Certificate
- LRA – Legionella Risk Assessment
- FRA – Fire Risk Assessment
- LWT – Lead Water Testing Certificate
Our team can arrange these checks for you and keep the certificates up to date.
Finding Tenants
Once you have completed the necessary checks and acquired your licence, you’ll want to ensure that you have tenants in place as soon as possible to provide an income and look after the property. These are the steps we follow.
Rental Valuation
It is helpful to understand typical rents for the property type and location so that you can set a realistic monthly rent. Our instant online rental valuation tool gives you a general idea of the prices in your area and you can then arrange an in-person valuation so that our experts give you a tailored and more accurate recommendation for how much to charge each month.
Marketing Your Property
At Cullen Property we will look after the marketing of your rental property: arranging quality photography, taking measurements and promoting it on the main property search platforms such as Righmove and Zoopla.
Conduct Viewings
In most cases our lettings team will arrange and conduct viewings with potential tenants, which is particularly helpful if you have already moved away from Edinburgh.
Before accepting any tenants, we’ll go through a rigorous vetting process, followed by checking references and requesting guarantors if we need them.
Private Residential Tenancy
We’ll use the standard PRT which is required by law, ensuring that it fits your specific circumstances, and arrange for it to be signed by all tenants and guarantors. We’ll then arrange to give the keys to your new tenants on their moving in date.
Deposits
As required by law, we will lodge the tenants’ deposits in one of the approved Scottish deposit schemes and issue a certificate to demonstrate that it has been done. This keeps deposits separate to guarantee that they are available to return to tenants at the end of their tenancy.
Ongoing Property Maintenance
It’s important that your home continues to meet the Repairing Standard, basically meaning that it is fit to live in. The Cullen Property Maintenance team are on hand to fix any repairs and keep your property in good condition.
We’ll conduct regular inspections and make it easy for your tenants to get in touch with any questions that arise. We’ll also keep your safety certificates up-to-date, renewing them as required.