Living A Champagne Insta-Lifestyle on a Lemonade Budget

So, you want to live an Instagram-able champagne lifestyle but you’re a student. You’ve got books to buy, rent to pay, bills, food… we get it.  It also doesn’t help that on your downtime you scroll through social media to find a plethora of posts from your favourite influencers flaunting their latest designer purchase and fancy nights out in London #thatluxelife. What if we told you that you could have a slice of that luxe life only on a lemonade budget? Have we grabbed your attention? Read on for some of our top tips to help without smashing the bank. …

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The impact of Brexit on the Scottish Property Market

As things stand, the Brexit deadline has been extended until October 31st, with no clear progress as of yet on what terms the UK will ultimately leave the EU. As might be expected, this Brexit deadlock has made uncertainty the watchword of the day and, much like elsewhere in the UK, Scotland is seeing the effect of buyers and sellers being in the dark about what Brexit will ultimately look like. Although house price growth was not initially much affected by the referendum result (Land Registry data showed only a 1.4% drop in growth between June and July of 2016) …

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Meet Carolanne Waters: HMO Specialist

Name: Carolanne Waters Job title? HMO Specialist What your job entails? I arrange House in Multiple Occupancy (HMO) Licences for landlords that want to rent out their properties to 3 or more unrelated persons in the one flat. I liaise with Glasgow City Council, Fire Scotland and Licensing to ensure a smooth process for our landlords. It is my job to make sure our tenants are fully up to date with all fire safety, training and legislation which can be challenging at times having to work round University schedules. How long have you worked at Cairn? 3 years at Cairn …

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The Danger of Unqualified Letting Agents

Is your letting agent qualified to manage your properties and ensure you meet your obligations as a fit and proper landlord? Let’s hope so, as the protection of tenants is a high profile cause for the Scottish Executive. Time and time again, we discover when taking on new landlords properties that they are in breach of their obligations. For example, we came across 12 properties inherited from another agent with no gas safety certificates or EPC’s in place. We have also taken over properties where tenants have been living with inadequate smoke alarms and the agent has no copy of …

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What’s the outlook for the Scottish property market? January 2019

The end of 2018 saw much fanfare in the press about the Scottish property market outperforming the rest of the UK. Glasgow and Edinburgh both saw growth greater than anywhere else in the UK, outside London. Both Scottish cities saw average house price growth of 9% in 2018. So the average property in Glasgow rose from £126,016 to £137,507 and in Edinburgh prices rose from £242,807 to £264,7451. The comparative figure for the UK was 3.6% (£224,502 to £232,554). There’s no specific reason for these price increases, unlike in 2015 which saw purchasers of high-value properties rush to complete before …

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Become A Parent Investor With Cairn

For many, when their children go to university or college there are only a few options open to them; continue to have them live at home, have them register for a space in the student halls, or look for a private rental property they can stay in while in further education. Depending on logistics, the first option of them continuing to live at home may not be feasible. It makes sense to live close to where you’re studying. There is, however, another option open to parents who are at this crossroads with their son or daughter. The could become a …

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Meet Chris Tulloch: Our Dundee Property Partner

Here are his thoughts on being a Cairn Property Partner Why do you want to become a property partner? – For family reasons, I am moving to Dundee with my wife and children at the end of 2018. I wanted to continue working in property as it is something I enjoy a great deal and if at all possible continue to work for Cairn. The opportunity to become a property partner was too good an opportunity to turn down and having worked for the company for nine years I was very keen to continue with that relationship and evolve my career. …

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Meet Sarah Carrell: Our first property partner covering Lanarkshire

Here are her thoughts on being a Cairn Property Partner About Sarah As a local property consultant for Cairn, I support landlords; sourcing, developing and letting residential property and working with them to set and achieve investment goals. I offer a personal connection, prompt personal attention to their properties and onsite tenant support and advice. This hands-on approach to the ongoing management of let properties helps to ensure tenant quality and a managed maintenance programme. “Sarah really cares. With a long career in customer service, Sarah understands the importance of great service, and she gets to know her landlords and …

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10 Years of Home Reports in Scotland

Home Reports have been a well-known part of Scotland’s property landscape since December 2008. These reports provide some of the most essential facts about the quality of a home to ensure buyers and sellers are fully informed before entering any negotiations. Home Reports were first introduced to improve the quality of homes across Scotland and include a survey report, valuation, energy report and property questionnaire. According to a recent Scottish Government survey, around three-quarters of buyers said that the information contained within the Home Report was helpful for them. This was especially true of first-time buyers: 90% of said that …

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How can your garden grow (your house value?)

We Brits love our gardens. So much so, Zoopla has recently reported that we are willing to pay a huge £27,000 premium to buy a property with a garden and a sizeable £243 a month extra in rent. Those in London and North East England are spending even more at around £30,000, whilst in Wales, Scotland and the North West it’s around £22,471. For us, a garden is a huge factor in our house hunts. 8 in 10 British homebuyers have said “no thanks” to a property with no garden and 54% have been put off from putting in an …

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