What makes a student pad perfect?

A student accommodation website has asked students what's important to them when looking for the perfect pad.

The findings were published by Property Reporter today and most of them make a lot of sense. Before sharing some of the results with you, we'd like to ask what you most value in your perfect student flat?

Email us here.

As promised here are some of the survey results:

• properties need to be close to the respective university
• students living in private flats reported a better standard of accommodation
• respondents valued well-kept and maintained properties
• availability of wifi was more important than furnishings etc.

Do you agree? We look forward to hearing from you.

Are you getting your deposit back?

Glasgow's media has been buzzing today with stories about landlords withholding deposits from former tenants.

A number of reasons are being quoted, one being that the landlord no longer has the cash to return to the tenants. Others quote being given spurious reasons for deductions from their deposit such as exaggerated repair costs. The Citizens Advice Bureau has been called upon to help distressed tenants.

What the problems appear to show is a - desperate, in some cases - need for an independent body to help landlords and tenants deal with each other more fairly. And while rules have existed for years to protect tenants' deposits, there has always been a lack of enforcement of these rules.

In general, good landlords have always played by the rules and so-called 'rogue' landlords found ways to get around them. Hopefully, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) will make the latter easier to spot.

TDS will help in several ways: it's up to the landlord to prove to his or her tenants that the deposit has been placed within 30 working days of the lease commencing. If the landlord fails to do that, tenants can take them to court with a good chance of being awarded three times the deposit value.

TDS regulations can also be extremely helpful at the end of a lease when there is a dispute about how much of the deposit is returned to the tenant.

How can you protect yourself? Look at more than the property. Even if you really like  the flat, ask yourself whether your landlord appears to have proper procedures in place: have you been offered a detailed check-in and check-out together with your landlord or their agent? Was there an inventory available, listing all items in the flat? Is it easy to reach your landlord? And do they have the correct paperwork available to show to you, such as their landlord registration, energy performance certificates or gas safety certificates?

If you answered 'no' to any of these questions, you may be dealing with a 'rogue' landlord. If you're currently renting from Cullen Property and have any questions about your lease, please contact us directly.

Only a handful left - have you got your perfect student pad?

A few weeks ago, we told you our student properties were flying off the shelves. Well, that trend continued and with scheduled student viewings now finished, less than a handful of properties remain available.

Are they the ones no one wanted? Far from it! In some cases, tenants' circumstances change and they decide to move out after all, despite initially planning to stay another year.

On the other hand, a property may have just had the finishing (refurbishment) touches put to it and be new to the market. Just as we find and buy properties for our landlord clients throughout the year, new student pads become available more or less all the time.

So, if you haven't found your home for next year yet, this 4 bedroom in Marchmont may well fit the bill and we're about to add another property close by, so get in touch by email or call us on 0131 221 1818 if you'd like to see inside.

Going, going, gone! student flats fly off the shelves

We've had a busy few weeks here at the Cullen Property office since launching our first lot of Edinburgh student pads at the Heriott-Watt accommodation fair in February. The team has been out showing flats since then, and they became even busier earlier this month, following the launch of our second lot of student properties at the EUSA accommodation fair.

Both fairs were very well attended, and with most students entering their second year of university having to leave accommodation halls, demand is high. In fact, within five days of launching the second half of student flats, 50% have been rented for the new academic year - well ahead of our target.

Some of the highest quality properties in the most desirable areas saw dozens of students queue to view the flats in question and we received up to five applications for the same flat. We let them on a first come, first served basis.

Don't worry if you haven't found your perfect pad yet - there are plenty more flats still available and a list of our scheduled viewings is here. Once these have ended, just call or email us to arrange a viewing of any flats still available. We're more than happy to help you find your home for the next year at uni.

Find the perfect student pad and the perfect housemate

Student property season is well under way and our first viewings have been busy affairs. 

With more flats launching on 5 March, now's the time to find out how to avoid some of the most common mistakes when hiring a property and finding the perfect pad - as well as some tongue-in-cheek advice on vetting your prospective house mates.  

• So how many of you are there? Decide on the number of friends you're planning to move in with before viewing a flat. If there are five bedrooms, five of you need to sign on the dotted line, so you will all need to be present and available when you go to finalise the paperwork for the flat.
• How much for gas & electricity? Any advert should show an energy efficiency rating which gives you a good idea of the gas & electricity costs the flat will incur, A being the most and H the least efficient. Landlords who aren't upfront about this kind of information are likely to have something to hide - always bad news.
• Fees, anyone? So-called 'agency fees' or 'referencing fees' are now illegal and landlords still trying to charge them are quite simply bad news.
• Checking in and checking out? You should be given a thorough check-in and check-out where you  go through the property's inventory together with your lettings agent. It's the easiest way to highlight any faults that relate to previous tenants and ensure you receive your full deposit back when you move out.
• Where will your deposit be kept? As of 2012, landlords must place deposits with one of three government-approved tenancy deposit schemes. The landlord has to comply to this rule within 30 working days of the start of your tenancy and send a certificate to confirm it's been done. If your landlord doesn't comply, you can sue for three times the deposit!
• Read the small print! Make sure all of you read the full tenancy agreement before you sign it. You'll be bound to it for the next twelve months and it's important to know your and the landlord's rights.

Now, if this sounds like a lot of hard work, check out Endsleigh Insurance's tips on finding the right house mate for some light relief. And for a look at our student property viewings, click here. 

Only two days ... until our student properties launch!

Only two days to go until we're launching our student properties for the academic year 2013. And only one day more before we'll be meeting some of our (prospective) student tenants at Heriot-Watt University's student accommodation fair.

Do you know who you're going to live with next year? Now's the time to make up your mind. We've put together a few tips to help you find the perfect flat - and to avoid some of the most common pitfalls as well:

• Who are you going to live with? Sounds obvious, doesn't it? Decide on the number of friends you're planning to move in with before you go to view a flat. If there are five bedrooms, five of you need to sign on the dotted line, so you will all need to be present and available when you go to finalise the paperwork for the flat.
• Does the advert show an energy efficiency rating? This is a letter between A and H which must be listed in the advert. It gives you a good idea of the gas & electricity costs the flat will incur, A being the most and H the least energy efficient. Landlords who aren't upfront about this kind of information are likely to have something to hide - always bad news.
• Is there any mention of 'agency fees' or 'referencing fees'? If yes, don't even look at the flat. These fees are now illegal and landlords still trying to charge them are quite simply bad news.
• Will you be given a full check-in and check-out? The answer should be yes! You should have the opportunity to go through the property's itinerary together with your lettings agent both at the start of the lease and at the end. It's the easiest way to highlight any faults that relate to previous tenants and ensure you receive your full deposit back when you move out.
• Where will your deposit be kept? As of 2012, landlords must place deposits with one of three government-approved tenancy deposit schemes. The landlord has to comply to this rule within 30 working days of the start of your tenancy and send a certificate to confirm it's been done. If your landlord doesn't comply, you can sue for three times the deposit!

Apart from these tips listed above, go with your gut feel. If the property feels wrong when you view it or anything seems dodgy about the landlord, simply don't sign the lease. 

Student accommodation 2013

Thinking about moving for the next academic year? Now's the time to start planning for your new home.

All of our student properties will launch next week, in time for Heriot-Watt University's student accommodation fair on 14 February. Throughout next week, we will tell you more about what to look for in your new home and how to avoid some of the most common pitfalls.

If you'd rather talk to us in person, that's no problem either. Simply visit our stand at next week's Heriot-Watt fair or join us on 5 March for Edinburgh University's accommodation fair.

In the meantime, keep an eye on our website and blog to avoid missing out on some of Edinburgh's prime student accommodation.