As a landlord the choice of property letting agents in the city is huge so, unless you have a friend who has had a good experience and so refers their letting agent, it can be very confusing knowing how to choose….so…..here are a couple of tips!
You should choose an agent who is an expert in Edinburgh lettings. This will ensure you will get the best possible rent for the property, to a suitable tenant in the quickest possible time. It seems that a new letting agent pops up every month with low (‘no VAT’) management fees and all sorts of promises. Watch out for these letting agents! Umega Lettings are in our 10th year of business so we have a vast experience of the pitfalls of lettings and know what we’re doing when it comes to property rent in Edinburgh. We’ve learnt A LOT over the past 10 years in Edinburgh lettings, we have the right partnerships with solicitors and other advisor and we now focus on quality; quality of service, quality of properties and quality of relationships with our tenants and our landlords.
There is not yet mandatory regulation in our industry which means that anyone can set up as a letting agent, regardless of experience or processes. Look for an ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents) accredited agent to ensure that the agent ‘does things the right way’, takes care of client funds, is a member of a redress scheme and is at the cutting edge of property lettings regulation and standards.
Check out Google reviews for Edinburgh lettings. It’s true that it’s more common for unhappy customers to take the time to make an online bad review (there are always two sides to every story!) but there will also be some positive reviews in there. I’m sure you can weed out the unfair negative reviews! Property letting agents are in a position where they have to keep two customers happy; landlords and tenants – this is not always easy hence a tenant leaving a bad review for a property letting agent (when the agent is simply following client instructions!).
Finally, choose a letting agent who you like! You want to work with people you get on with so choose a property letting agent that is not only knowledgeable and experienced in Edinburgh lettings, but is also approachable and easy to deal with!
I hope this helps you in your search for a property letting agent to deal with your property to rent in Edinburgh!