Blog

Housing Minister Kevin Stewart has announced that local councils will be granted powers to bring in their own licensing schemes to regulate Airbnb's and other short-terms lets by Spring 2021.

Thinking of letting out your property but not sure about the first steps?

There are lots of factors to take into consideration when letting your property out and it can be a daunting task.  Below are some quick pointers from our lettings director, Trevor:

We met with Kath Thomson, Operations Manager at Squarefoot Media, who kindly shared her expert insight into the value of professional photographs and floorplans when selling or letting out a property, and how best to prepare your property to ensure it is displayed at its full potential. 

Having recently moved house himself, Harry has put together the ultimate checklist for moving house. If you or anyone you know is moving house, then this is a MUST read!

Harry Crombie was the former owner of Crombie & Co Property Management and in 2018, decided to merge his business with Murray & Currie.  The properties, landlords and tenants are now all bedded in and Harry remains as a key point of contact, though also is working on the Research side of the business here.

Diageo have announced the opening of an immersive centre in Edinburgh, which will bring to life the story of the world’s most popular Scotch whisky and create a unique welcome for whisky fans from all over the globe.

Since last month, we have received some fantastic data from our friends at Citylets.co.uk and Lettingweb.com, both of whom are Edinburgh’s top property portals specifically geared towards rental properties in Edinburgh and nationally.

Read our guide to TDS and why Murray & Currie can help ensure a smooth check out from your rented flat or house.

This month, we are joined by Becca McDermott, who leads the Front of House, ensures everything in the office is running smoothly, directs the calls and gives our clients the best welcome possible!

As one of the top destinations in the world, it is clear there is a strong requirement for short term and holiday lets in the city.  There are more online booking sites to help visitors seek accommodation, such as AirBnB, Booking.com and short let focused businesses based in the city.  This is all very positive in driving tourism, trade and the overall vibrancy in the city.

We now enter a new year and one which will bring lots of challenges and excitement, not least as Edinburgh continues to thrive. In the Rental Market, we have seen steady, continued growth over the last 9 years, of around 4 - 5% per year.  2018 saw an increase of nearly 6% in rents in Edinburgh, whilst there has been a 35% increase in rents over the last 5 years.  This is all been a result of increased population of professionals in the city, fewer people able to get on to the property ladder as lending rules are far stricter, Edinburgh’s improved global network, tourism and the city generally being considered as one of the top places to live in Europe.

Congratulations to our Director, Steven Currie, whon has achieved a Propertymark Qualifications Level 6 Award in Residential Letting and Property Management Scotland.

We sat down with Sara, a Senior Lettings Professional, in our latest "Meet the Team" feature. Sara is a successful result of our Napier University graduate scheme, Sara has worked in all departments and has extensive knowledge of the lettings industry. 

The last few months has seen some fantastic news which we want to share with you. Recently, we have acquired the local Property Management company, Crombie & Co, with which we also are joined by Harry Crombie, who brings years of local property knowledge and experience.  He will be heading up Research & Strategy for us, a key area of our growing business to ensure our clients get the best market analysis. We also have some changes in Aberdeen too.  We have very recently moved our office to a new location, very close by.

Alex is one of our Property Managers, carrying out inspections and reporting to landlords as well as assisting with lettings team.   He re-joined the Murray & Currie this year, after a brief period away following his 2 and a half years spell with us in 2015. This issue, we hear more from Alex and one of his life tips….