Letting & Management
Landlord Information
Offering Value For Landlords
Southside has an ethos of “Property Made Simple” to make the Letting and Management of your rental property as straight forward and stress free as possible. If you are looking for help to keep you and your property legal and compliant, obtain a high net rental, maintain your property to a good standard and increase the long-term value of your investment, SouthSide is here for you.
- No set-up fees or marketing costs for long-term landlords.
- We advertise on ALL major letting portals for maximum exposure at no extra cost.
- Simple transfer of management if you are not happy with your current agent, along with a reduced management fee of 6%+VAT if you have a tenant in situ.
- Our landlords benefit from excellent rates negotiated with local tradespeople with no mark-up on cost for arranging maintenance and works.
- Monthly rental payments to landlords with 5-7 days accompanied by a detailed monthly rental statement.
- A designated ARLA qualified Property Manager as main point of contact for you and your tenants.
- A team of experts on hand to advise on all aspects of property management.
- A pro-active approach to implementing changes when new industry legislation is introduced.
- Arrangement of HMO renewals included in management fee.
- 24/7 out of office emergency line.
We are happy to arrange a free, no obligation appraisal where we will meet you at your property to advise on what is required to make your property compliant for renting. We will also give you recommendations on any works required to achieve the best return on your investment.
Landlord Information
We Offer 3 Simple Options To Manage Your Property:
Option One: Full Letting & Management 9% VAT (10.8% incl) (Including Tenant Find)
min £67.50+VAT (£81 incl) – applicable if rent is below £750
(for HMO properties the min fee is £118 incl VAT)
This is an all-inclusive option where the cost of letting your property is absorbed by us, on the basis that you are looking for long-term management of 3 years or more. Our aim is always to provide great value to landlords. We do everything for you from start to finish, from initial tenant enquiries, until a tenant checks out and the cycle begins again. We always do what we can to match the right tenants to the right properties and therefore, we do not work on a first come first served basis, we summarise each application with you and you will then have the opportunity to make the final decision.
Letting
- Marketing video and photographs (we typically take photos Monday to Thursday so that properties can be advertised on all major letting portals by Friday to catch the weekend traffic).
- Creation of advert
- Marketing your property on all major letting portals
- To Let board outside the property
- Enquiry management
- Viewings
- Application process to vet potential tenants
- Reference and credit checks
- Preparation and signing of legal documents on your behalf
- Issue of keys
- Tenant welcome pack and gift bag
Management
- Dedicated Property Manager to look after your property and your tenant
- Managing safety certificates and renewals
- Tenant liaison
- Routine property visits (after 1st month then 2-3 per year) – includes a photographic report
- Arranging maintenance and repairs of your property
- Ordering replacement items (i.e. furniture, white goods etc.)
- Handling complaints (i.e. neighbour)
- Managing rent reviews.
- Pro-active management of implementing changes as a result of industry legislation
- HMO renewals
- Small claims administration, where applicable (legal fees not included)
Accounts
- Deposit collection and protection
- Collecting monthly rental payments – includes arrears management (where applicable)
- Processing invoices for renewals and works
- Transferring rental payments
- Monthly rental statements for all properties
Landlords that opt for the full letting and management service also benefit from reduced management fees once a tenant has stayed in the property for 3 years or more. This is applicable until the end of their tenancy and it would revert to the standard fee of 9%+VAT (10.8% incl) thereafter.
3 years 8%+VAT (9.6% incl) – min £60.00+VAT (£72)
5 years 7%+VAT (8.4% incl) – min £52.50 (£63)
7+ years 6%+VAT ((7.2% incl) – min £45.00+VAT (£54)
Full Management With Tenant In Situ Or You Find Your Own Tenant 6%+VAT (7.2% incl) (Existing Tenant)
min £45.00+VAT (£54 incl)
Another way we offer value to landlords is, if you have a tenant in situ, for example if your property is managed by another agent or you manage the property yourself, we can take over the management of your property and liaise with your existing agent where required at a reduced cost.
There would be no additional advertising or letting costs to you, given that there is no advertising or letting involved.
The reduced management fee also applies if you find your own tenant to move into the property.
Individual Room Lets 12% +VAT (14.4% incl) (Including Tenant Find)
min £90+VAT (£108 incl)
Where it is not possible to let a property as a whole, we can let by the room – this is usually for larger HMO properties. The rent is higher to include bills – gas/electric/council tax/wifi/tv licence.
Option Two: Full Letting & Management 6%+VAT (Pay As You Go)
min £45.00+VAT (£54)
This is essentially a pay as you go option for landlords looking to reduce their monthly management fee. We we would still do everything for you however, you would simply cover any letting costs prior to a new tenancy. This is also a good option for landlords who do not intend to let for a minimum of 3 years.
Letting
- A fixed charge of £165+VAT (£198 incl) for creation of advert, marketing your property on all major letting portals and arranging a To Let board outside your property.
- Marketing photos £36+VAT (£43.20 incl) – initial cost
- Marketing video £150+VAT (£180 incl) – initial cost
- 45%+VAT (54% incl) of the standard monthly rental (for 1 month only).
Once initial photos and videos have been taken, we will retain these for future use until new photos are required.
In order to keep your costs down further, if you have your own good quality, up to date photographs and a video of the property, we can use these instead, for marketing purposes.
Option Three: Let Only Service
min £45.00+VAT (£54)
Our Let Only service is designed for landlords who are looking to manage their property themselves but require initial assistance to find the right tenant.
We offer 4 levels to our Let Only service, all of which require an initial fixed charge of £198 inc VAT for advertising the property on all the major letting portals (including: City Lets, RightMove, Letting Web, Zoopla, S1Homes, Gumtree, Find A Property, Prime Location, On The Market, Facebook Marketplace and our own website (southsidemanagement.com).
This costs also includes a ‘To Let’ board outside the property if required. If you do not have marketing pictures/description of the property please add £72 incl VAT for this, which is payable upon instruction to market your property.
The level of involvement is then up to you:
Level 1 (Bronze) 15%+VAT (18% incl VAT) of the achieved normal monthly rental – 1st month only
Includes: Marketing, Creation of Advert and Enquiry Management
Level 2 (Silver) 25%+VAT (30% incl VAT) of the achieved normal monthly rental – 1st month only
Includes: Marketing, Creation of Advert, Enquiry Management, Reference Checks/Credit Checks
Level 3 (Gold) 35%+VAT (42% incl VAT) of the achieved normal monthly rental – 1st month only
Includes: Marketing, Creation of Advert, Enquiry Management, Viewings and Reference Checks/Credit Checks
Level 4 (Platinum) 45%+VAT (54% incl VAT) of the achieved normal monthly rental – 1st month only
Includes: Marketing, Creation of Advert, Enquiry Management, Viewings, Reference Checks/Credit Checks and Preparation and Signing of Lease/Legal Documentation
If you have your own tenant, meaning no advertising, marketing, enquiry management or viewings is required, we would not charge the fixed advertising costs. The fee for reference/credit checks and lease signing would be 15%+VAT (18% incl) of the monthly rental for one service and 25%+VAT (30% incl VAT) of the monthly rental for both services.
Please note that in order to advertise a property we require, by law, the Landlord Registration Number and EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)
Inspection Only Service
Occasionally landlords require, as part of their insurance, a property check or inspection to be carried out if their property is vacant for a period of time. We offer an inspection service inclusive of photos and a detailed report at a cost of £27 incl VAT per visit if the property is in Edinburgh. (Minimum of three visits required).
Letting & Management
Landlord Information
Short term lets, many of which are marketed on Airbnb as rooms in residential homes and entire properties, are not affected by the legislation that surrounds long-term rentals in Edinburgh.
Although SouthSide is predominantly a long-term rental company, we can provide a short-term let service to our landlords if it is deemed to be beneficial, for example, during the Edinburgh Festival, if tenants give notice to leave just prior to August, between tenancies or where landlords are awaiting an HMO licence to be granted.
Short-lets can be very lucrative however the costs can also be much higher in terms of cleaning and turnaround and therefore profit is very much dependent on the occupancy rate and location is a huge factor. Not all properties are suitable for short-term lets and if the intention to let a property on a short-let basis is for an extended period of time, planning permission may also need to be sought.
Below is some information relating to short lets in Edinburgh that may be useful when considering renting your property on a short-term basis along with some articles.
Pro’s and Con’s of Shortlets
Pro’s
- The gross rental can be higher
- Properties are regularly cleaned and maintained
- The flexibility for landlords to use the property themselves
- Fewer legal requirements as currently no significant regulation
- Can offer a good temporary solution between tenancies
Con’s
- Cost of cleaning, turnaround and supplies are high
- Bills and utilities covered by the landlord
- Issues with neighbours due to large groups
- Damage due to it being a temporary place to stay and not a home
- Issues that arise must be dealt with immediately as if an emergency – no reasonable lead time for contractors etc.
- Occupancy rate must be high to get a good return
- Higher wear and tear
Scottish Government – Short Term Lets Consultation
Short Let Articles
Scottish Government to fast-track laws to crackdown on Airbnb-style short term lets.
Short let owners publicly subsidised by taxpayers
Thousands of Edinburgh’s Airbnb properties are potentially unlawful
Scottish Government to fast-track law to crackdown on Airbnb-style short term lets – 25/07/2020
To get the best return on your investment, we recommend regular improvements and refurbishments of your property. The type of let and number of tenants will determine the frequency and volume of work the property will require. For example, a 1-bed professional let is likely to require less maintenance and fewer upgrades over the same period of time than a 5 or 6 bed/person HMO (House of Multiple Occupancy).
Our Property Managers are great at handling smaller repairs and upgrades i.e., flooring and decoration. For Larger projects including HMO, refurbishments, and building warrant works we have a dedicated Projects Team who will advise, propose, manage and complete the property upgrades. This helps to achieve the best standards and ensures the best value and return on your investment.
As part of our service to landlords and to ensure the best standard and value, we have a designated team, whose main role within the company is to advise on any property upgrades (which are generally overseen by each Property Manager), as well as managing larger refurbishment projects on behalf of landlords where it is deemed that value can be added. Refurbishment projects can range from smaller refurbs such as replacement bathrooms to larger renovation projects to add bedrooms and turn properties into HMOs (House of Multiple Occupancy).
See more information on Refurbishment Services
In our experience we have found the best investment properties over the last 15 years in the letting market are 3-bedroom + HMOs (House of Multiple Occupancy). In recent years, many more young professionals want to live together and share the cost of the bills e.g. council tax split 3 ways rather than 2 ways is quite a saving. However, these properties require a higher investment and so it depends on what funds are available to invest. If a 3-bedroom + property is beyond budget, then 2-bedroom properties are in good demand, 1-bedroom properties are also reasonable however, the return on investment is not as great, as you have several fixed costs, e.g. a replacement boiler (every 8-10 years – like a car) which, is the same cost whether it is a 1 bedroom or 3 bedroom property.
We have a range of services available to investors/landlords that are noted in the ‘For Landlords’ section on our website and include:
- Full acquisition and purchase of investment properties 0.45-0.9%+VAT of the purchase price
- Pre-purchase surveys (desktop or property visit) £40-150+VAT fixed cost (refunded if/when we take on the property for letting and management)
- Refurbishment of investment property on a fixed project management cost depending on the value of work and what is done on a scale. Refurbishments | Southside (southsidemanagement.com)
Letting and Property Management is our core activity, and the above services are to facilitate that and are provided at cost to assist clients. We charge 6%+VAT if a property has tenants in situ e.g. an existing investment property, and 9%+VAT to include the marketing and re-letting of the property. More detailed information is available on link below.
https://southsidemanagement.com/for-landlords/
Our Director, John Davidson, is available on Thursdays between 4.30pm to 5.30pm if you would like to call our office on 0131 51 000 51 to discuss any aspect of the above and the services we offer or, anything not answered on our website.
As SouthSide are ARLA Propertymark registered agents, we are approved for providing a mortgage consent letter for your property. The cost for a desktop appraisal, which will enable us to complete the letter, is £48 including VAT.
Alternatively, if you prefer to have a site visit (formal appraisal), the cost is £96 including VAT. Please note, should you bring the property on for long-term full management with ourselves within 12 months of us creating the letter, the cost will be refunded to you with your first months rent.
We will issue a report, along with a mortgage rental valuation letter for either options along with any recommended items.
To request a Mortgage Consent Letter, please complete this form, which can be done online.
What is an HMO?
A House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is an entire property rented by at least 3 unrelated tenants (who are not from 1 household, e.g. a family or a couple), with shared kitchen, bathroom or toilet facilities.
How can SouthSide can help to manage a HMO?
Keeping our tenants safe and landlords compliant are among our main priorities at SouthSide and we have an experienced Property Management Team who specialise in managing HMO properties for landlords. For long term landlords we include HMO management and the renewal service as part of our standard management fee and we would only charge for managing an HMO if a licence was not yet in place and a brand new application was required – any future renewals however would be included as part of our service.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of owning an HMO property?
Owning a well-maintained HMO property can have huge advantages for landlords in terms of rental income and tenants are rarely in short supply however, applying for an HMO licence can be a lengthy and complicated task and general wear and tear can be higher.
What’s Involved in applying for an HMO?
Due to the time and level of regulation involved, many landlords choose to use a management company to take care of their HMO property. There are several steps to go through before a licence can be granted to ensure that a property meets the required standards.
To assist landlords with the rules and regulations Edinburgh Council have put together an HMO Application Flowchart to cover the process step by step.
How long does a licence last for?
An HMO licence is granted initially for 1 year and then providing there are no issues and the property has been managed well, a licence is typically granted 3 yearly thereafter.
What are the penalties for not complying with HMO regulations?
Failure to meet any of the conditions of an HMO licence once it has been granted could result in the licence being revoked or a fine of up to £10,000 and if a landlord lets out an unlicensed HMO property, the fines can be even higher, up to £50,000.
