Cullen Property Celebrates Virtual Viewing Success with 90% Student Flats Let

Virtual Viewing Press Release:

Edinburgh residential property investment and lettings specialist Cullen Property is celebrating the success of its virtual property viewing programme with just under 90% of student properties let.

Initially launched in March to facilitate viewings of Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO) without breaking lockdown rules, the service has been hugely popular with students. Within weeks, 600 students registered to select their home for the coming academic year online. At the end of July, nearly 90% of Cullen Property’s available HMO properties have been let.

Cullen Property Managing Director Steve Coyle said: “We are delighted that our virtual viewings programme has helped so many students find their home for this coming academic year. It’s a piece of good news in a challenging time.

“When we launched our virtual viewings programme in March, our main concern was the health and safety of our tenants and staff. However, a few months into letting student properties this way, it is clear that virtual viewings will be a big part of the ‘new normal’ for lettings agents.”

Cullen Property Head of Property Management Dawn Pianosi said: “Virtual property viewings have been popular for high-end properties for a number of years. They are convenient for the prospective tenants or buyers and save time for agents. They also minimise the inconvenience for current tenants.

“Compared to that the process of student lettings has been complex with different companies using different approaches. Considering that we are dealing with up to six tenants looking to view a flat at a time, it’s been tricky to coordinate at times, not to mention the disruption viewings cause to sitting tenants.

“For those reasons and based on the feedback we had on the process of the past few months, virtual viewings are here to stay and we are currently looking at ways to enhance this service further.”

Cullen Property’s virtual viewings process allows students to view a property, apply for it, pay their deposit and receive the keys whilst observing any social distancing guidelines. Even with lockdown restrictions being lifted, virtual viewings offer a far more convenient process than in-person viewings. In select cases, however, in-person viewings can still be arranged.

Cullen Property specialises in HMO property investment and is one of Edinburgh’s leading student letting agents, currently managing circa 400 properties in Edinburgh including 207 HMO properties. The Cullen Property team can source, acquire and transform a dated spacious Edinburgh property into a modern HMO licensed accommodation in prime city centre locations. The company introduced virtual viewings in March 2020.

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