Festival rentals in Edinburgh

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ESPC Lettings Manager, Orlaith Brogan, offers her advice on this topic

This month Orlaith Brogan, ESPC Lettings Manager, looks at Festival rentals in Edinburgh. She shares her advice in this insightful blog post as well as a useful video interview.

In Edinburgh, landlords have always been attracted by festival rents, with a great opportunity to secure premium rents over the month of August.

Much like all rentals it is essential that landlords are prepared in advance and are aware of how to maximise their rents whilst keeping overheads to a minimum.

Top tips

Here Orlaith shares her top tips on festival rentals in this ESPC YouTube video. This will be particularly useful if you are considering Buying to let or simply looking for a landlord guide.

 

Types of Festival tenants

There are usually two types of festival tenants, those working in the festival such as performers and production staff and those visiting Edinburgh to take advantage of all there is to see and do during the month of August.

Both tenants have high standards and are prepared to pay premium rents to be housed as close to the festival hub as possible. When deciding what rent to ask for your home there are a few things to consider, things such as location, how many people the property can house, condition and size.

Those working in the festival want to be located close to the festival venues with festival visitors prepared to stay that bit further out.

Any rent you quote should be all inclusive and include things like: utilities, broadband connection, telephone line (tenants pay for calls) and any extra costs such as stairwell maintenance.

Maximise

There are a few ways to maximise on a property for festival rental. If you would like to look into more ways to maximise your property for lettings in Edinburgh or if you are considering a Buy-to-let property investment then do find out more lettings advice from ESPC Lettings.

Firstly, decide on your target festival market?

If you feel your property is ideally located for performers in the festival, Marchmont or Newington or even the Old Town, it is worth using a festival agency instead of a letting agent in Edinburgh that has great relationships with the festival performers. They can market your property to these performers and hopefully the property can be let out for the full festival period.

If your property is a little further out, you will be marketing to festival visitors who may book weekly so expect turnovers between lets. Websites such as ‘Stay at the festival’ are a good way for landlords to market to festival visitors.

Secondly, present it properly

All tenants will see is the photos you upload of your property. Ensure all photos are of a high standard and include an external shot of the property.

Ensure your ad description has lots of information on Edinburgh and list all relevant transport links and local amenities.

Thirdly, use good agencies!

Edinburgh boasts a number of festival agencies that can assist landlords in maximising their rental return. Letting out your property over the festival can seem daunting but there are a number of things that you can do to make the process run more smoothly.

The easiest way to do this is to be prepared. Here are some ways to do so:

  1. If you take professional pictures, they can be used for a couple for years and stand out against the competition.
  2. Always take deposits from festival tenants. It is common practice to take this at the time of booking with the full rental figure paid in advance.
  3. Be ready for changeovers in between lets – have spare linen ready so you can change the sheets and towels and remove the old ones to wash at home. Provide cleaning products for the festival tenants so it is easy for them to clear up after themselves. Be welcoming – accompany your tenants in and out of the property.
  4. Leave instructions on how to operate the heating, hot water and all electrical equipment  as your visitors may not know how to use them
  5. Make sure all keys work – newly cut keys can stick and festival tenants often get home late at night and don’t want to be stuck outside.

Often landlords have to decide between festival rents and long term tenancies, should they let the property out for the month of August or secure a long term tenant from the end of July?

The easiest way to do this is to weigh up the pros and cons of both and to explore the net income you will receive from both options.

OrlaithTalk to me

If you still have questions about how to best utilise your property for rentals, do give me a call on 0131 253 2847 or send me an email at landlord@espc.com

For hassle free letting solutions, ESPC Lettings can help you with anything from purchasing your Buy-to-let property to renting it out and managing it.