When I lost a flat in Edinburgh within a day, that was the first time that I realised that things move really fast there. I really am not exaggerating. I looked at the flat in the morning and saved it. I planned to go back after work to book the viewing properly. By the following day, it was gone without any back-and-forth communication or questions about whether the flat was still available.
At that point, my whole approach and attitudes to flat-hunting changed. Before that point, I had always thought that I had plenty of time when it came to finding somewhere to rent and so had been viewing flats casually, short-listing and giving myself time to consider each property before returning to book another viewing. However, I quickly realised that this method would not work in Edinburgh.
I had a friend who had been working with letting agents in Edinburgh for a while, who said, "In Edinburgh, you do not browse for flats, you have to react to flats". At first, I thought that was somewhat overdramatised, but after having viewed several properties since then, I now completely agree with him.
The first few viewings I went to were honestly a bit pointless. I’d walk in, look around, decide within a minute whether I liked the place, and then leave. Most of it was based on how it felt. If the light was nice and I could picture my furniture there, I’d think, yeah, this could work. But I wasn’t really paying attention to anything beyond that.
There was a point when I began going to view homes with someone else. Not for any particular reason; only that we ended up being available at the same time. However, this one small change would have a huge impact on my flat hunting process.
While I was focusing on the "in-your-face" aspects of the home, she was noticing the finer details that I was completely overlooking.
For instance, she found a window in the home that didn’t close properly.
She also noted that there was a corner of the basement that had a slight damp smell, and that the street sounds became more pronounced once we stopped talking.
None of those small things will ruin a house for you, but when you combine several, it can create an issue overall.
I also realised that relying solely on the original “vibe” to gauge the quality of a property wasn’t enough anymore. It’s still there, of course; you can either like it or dislike it, but I now also take time to consider what living there will actually be like.
For example, does the heating actually work the way it looks? How much storage does the place have for your regular stuff on a day-to-day basis? What’s the amount of water pressure like? While none of those questions might be particularly fun to answer when you see a property, they will be the factors that you notice later if you didn’t ask them beforehand.
I was surprised at how much asking simple questions while on-site helped me find out things about the property. When I first started doing this, I always felt awkward asking questions (as if I might come across as too serious). On one occasion, after being advised by my friend, I was viewing a property through a renowned letting agent in Edinburgh, “Umega Lettings & Estate Agents”, and we ended up discussing a lot of things that I had not considered asking before.
It is not difficult at all, as it pertains to the maintenance of the property, the proper point of contact for maintenance, and what is included in your rent. The nature of the interaction did not feel structured or formalised. It just felt normal once you started to deal with it.
At this time, the rental market in Edinburgh does not seem to have changed at the same rate as it once did. Rental properties are still moving quickly, and viewings take place in a short amount of time. However, the way we choose to use what little time we have during the viewing is becoming increasingly important, as the hours are not always being used to verify if something is there, but rather if we like it, in the overall setup of that experience.
After all, it is quite humorous how two small adjustments like going through with someone, paying attention to the necessities, or asking a couple of questions can create a whole new experience that actually feels less rushed, even when everything around you is still going at the same pace.
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