Friday, June 26, 2009
One Call Home Assist Sees Foregin Investors Turning to Scottish Property Market
Property investors from Europe and the rest of the world are turning to the Scotland's housing market as they look to make new investments in bricks and mortar.
Overseas buyers are taking advantage of favourable exchange rates and lower house prices in order to snap up properties in Scotland - which has been hailed as a sign that the country's property market is taking the first steps to recovery.
The trend has already been witnessed at Edinburgh-based firm One Call Home Assist, who have received more than a dozen enquiries for their fixed price property maintenance contracts from landlords based in Europe, Dubai and Australia in recent weeks.
Managing Director Paul Greaves said that the interest in the service - which provides an all in one, fixed price property maintenance contract for landlords and property owners - was proving that Scottish property was a big draw with investors around the world.
He said: "We've had quite a few enquiries in recent weeks from people based overseas who are looking for someone to cover the maintenance on their properties. Because of the good exchange rates, they've seen Scotland as a great place to make an investment and are often renting the property as they wait for the market to improve.
Cost-effective property maintenance
"However, because they are based so far away, they don't want the hassle of getting calls from their tenants if anything goes wrong with their property. When you're living the other side of the world, the last thing you want is an irate phone call complaining about a burst water pipe, as it's difficult and time-consuming to organise any repair work.
"Foreign investors and landlords with properties in Edinburgh are discovering that it is much more cost-effective to have an arrangement with a maintenance firm based over here to provide repair work, as it takes that hassle away from them. As we're the only firm that arranges monthly emergency call-out service, we've had many calls from people enquiring about our deals and have already arranged contracts with landlords in France, Australia and Dubai.
"With our service, they just provide their tenants with our number and we will sort out any maintenance problems - such as a leaky tap or broken boiler - for them. It's proving a big draw and we're certain that it will continue to do so as more foreign investors enter the property market.
Desirable Edinburgh properties for buy-to-let
The rise in foreign investors has been witnessed across the UK in recent months, as people from Europe and as far afield as Australia have been taking advantage of favourable exchange rates to enter the buy-to-let market.
Many estate agents in London and Edinburgh have already reported an increase in enquiries from overseas buyers - particularly those from Europe and the Middle East who are taking a long term investment view - who view both cities as highly desirable places to invest in property.
One Call Home Assist was launched in March as a value-for-money rival to expensive maintenance contracts offered by energy suppliers such as British Gas and Homeserve. With the contract, all emergency repair work to electrical, plumbing and heating systems are covered, as well as general maintenance issues. The contacts also cover all compliance certification including gas safety certificates, Energy Performance Certificates and Electrical PAT testing.
The service offers a range of fixed prices contracts depending on size of the property and type of maintenance cover required - with an all-in contract for a one-bed flat costing £32.99 a month (inc VAT). All the work is carried out by One Call Home Assist's expert in-house contractor teams who operate on a round the clock basis from their base in Edinburgh.
One Call Home Assist has been launched by One Call Trade Services, one of Scotland's leading all trades contractors providing insurance repairs, maintenance and renovations to clients throughout the UK.
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