As you start out as a landlord, you will hear the word yield used plenty. But what exactly does it mean? Using our experience as the first dedicated letting agency in West Lothian, we’ll do our best to explain it.

One of the most important considerations when it comes to rental property is how much income you can generate, even more so if you are relying on this income to pay the mortgage. By calculating your property yield you will be able to see whether the property you choose to purchase is a sound investment choice or not.

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We haven’t used our blog to report on the Scottish rental market for a while now and as we enter the summer months – a traditionally busy period for landlords and letting agents – we thought now the perfect time to post an update.

After sifting through all the Private Rented Sector (PRS) reports published over the past few weeks, the headline figure we’ve picked out is that average monthly rents in Scotland peaked in May, reaching £544. This represents a monthly rise of 1.0%, according to a report from a Scottish letting agency chain.

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For landlords, attracting and then retaining tenants is of crucial importance. After all, a property without tenants is any landlord’s worst nightmare.

To avoid those dreaded void periods, the landlord-tenant relationship needs to be friendly and resilient. Good tenants will look after the property like it’s their own, pay you their rent on time and have no unreasonable or excessive demands. They will, however, expect their landlord to be kind to them in return.

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A recent report by a large letting agency chain has revealed that the number of properties purchased by landlords with a sitting tenant has reached its highest level for a decade. This has got us wondering whether this is a new rental trend and if it is something we could see taking hold in West Lothian in the near future.

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As high house prices and tougher lending criteria leads people to rent for the long-term, the opportunities for landlords are growing by the day.

However, being a landlord isn’t a fool-proof way of making easy money. Like any major investment, it comes with some potential stumbling blocks despite the obvious rewards.

At Letting Solutions we have come up with a list of the most common mistakes landlords make and, more crucially, how to avoid making them.

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It may come as news to some but if you want to be a private landlord in Scotland, you have to be registered.

That’s right, since 2006 – under Part 8 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 – (almost) all landlords must apply for registration through the local authority in which their rental property is located.

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With the government’s recently introduced pension reforms now allowing over-55s to cash in on their whole pension pot and spend it as they wish, fears of a buy-to-let boom have been flagged up.

While there are some drawbacks for savers who are considering becoming ‘silver landlords’, there are also many advantages. And most of the issues can be dealt with by enlisting the services of a good letting agent anyway!
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As a landlord, one of the major parts of renting out a property is the process of checking in tenants at the start of their tenancy and checking them out at the end. During the check-in process, an inventory must be prepared, agreed and signed by both parties.
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If you’re reading this blog you are likely to be a landlord already or seriously considering becoming one. The reasons to become a landlord have become abundantly clear in recent years; just take a look at average Scottish rent figures, for example.
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You may have seen that this month it was announced by the Scottish Government that all privately rented property in Scotland will have to adhere to a new mandatory electricity check regime.
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