Cullen Property Ltd
1 review across 1 property
✓ Positives
⚠ Red flags
Properties managed
All reviews
Maintenance
4/5
Communication
5/5
Deposit
4/5
Property condition
The property was reasonably clean upon collecting the keys, albeit a little dusty and VERY red. (Every room is decorated with red furniture and paint). There was a weird "earthy" smell coming from the kitchen sink and the whole of the bathroom. The smell in the kitchen sink went away quickly but I never managed to find the cause of the smell in the bathroom. The big heavy electric radiator in the bedroom was also full of dust, the tops of the wardrobe were covered in some sort of cracked plasterboard. The lamp in the living room and one of the bedside lamps weren't functional from the get go, over the period I lived there 4 of the ceiling light bulbs died. Also the kitchen table is just an incredibly large, heavy, glass, piece of garden furniture. I have no idea who thought it would be a good idea to put it in the flat, but the landlord refused to remove it.
This flat is also VERY poorly insulated and gets unbearably cold during the winter, the radiators work on some ancient alien timing schedule that we weren't able to figure out so could never consistently heat the flat up.
Maintenance & repairs
We only needed 1 repair in the time that we lived in the property and that was to fix/replace a fridge. We reported it was broken and it took a week for someone to come out and have a look at it, then a further 2 weeks for them to return and replace it. Over 3 weeks without a fridge was tough although Cullen did give us £80 for the inconvenience after a lot of back and forth.
Communication
The agency were actually pretty good at communication, up until it came time to send someone out to look at the fridge. When asking for an update after we had heard nothing about the workmen coming back, it became a blame game between Cullen and Trinity Domestics as to who was at fault for not returning to the property. Then when we handed our notice to leave the property, communication seemed to get pretty cold.
Deposit
We haven't had our deposit back yet but Cullen Property have said there will be deductions. They said the invoices for deductions would be available within a month, they weren't. We haven't heard anything since the day after our tenancy ended where they mentioned deducations may be taken.
We have requested the full deposit back since they have failed to produce receipts for whatever they planned to charge for in over a month.
Location
The location is a blessing and a curse. This is probably the flat with the best view I'll ever have in my entire life. On a clear day you can see down the Royal Mile all the way out to East Lothian, you can clearly see St Giles Cathedral to the left and Tolbooth Kirk to the right, as well as anything going on down the Royal Mile.
However... During August when you have a leprechaun juggling or an Australian woman swallowing swords on fire outside your kitchen window at 8am, the view gets old really quickly. (I know, what did we expect from moving to the busiest street in Edinburgh?). Most of the acts were great to watch, but the issue is that they rotate, they come back. So you'll hear the same show 3x a day. But that's only during the Fringe Festival right? Wrong. Street performers were still outside the window all the way up until December.
Since there is an AirBnB directly above this property, in the same stairwell, we would have people trying to open our front door at all hours of the night, trying to get into our flat instead of the one above. Although they legitimately meant no harm, there's nothing scarier than waking up in the middle of the night hearing someone banging on your front door and trying the lock. Other than that, the stairwell and the area is very safe, very touristy and a lot of foot traffic at all hours of the day and night.
Amenities
You'd think living as centrally as you possibly could in Edinburgh would be a bonus, it is not. Everything directly around the flat is a tartan tat tourist hellhole owned by the Gold Brothers. Your nearest "supermarket" is either M&S on Princes Street, or the choice between two very small Sainsburys on either West Port or South Bridge (I'd recommend the West Port one, less drunk people). Alternatively you can grab a Number 27 bus from the Victoria Street bus stop all the way out to Big Tesco on Colinton Mains Drive (around 30 minutes each way, this is the most direct way to do a big shop).
Pubs and restaurants are plentiful, you have Deacon Brodies and the Ensign Ewart a 30 seconds walk from the stairwell and the Jolly Judge literally in your back garden. But bare in mind, this is a tourist area and drinks will not be cheap.
Neighbours
We didn't have a single neighbour for longer than 4 days, the property directly below us was vacant during our entire tenancy and the property above is an AirBnB with an ever revolving door of people who cannot read and own the loudest suitcases on earth. The front door has gaps you can actually see movement through so every noise in the stairwell will find its way into the property.
The stairs leading up to the flat are also a magnet for tourists to sit on, you will spend the whole summer jumping over entire families taking refuge on your doorstep.
Overall vibe
This property is genuinely lovely, we didn't move out because we hated it, we moved out because it was way smaller than we thought it would be. We were basically living on top of each other. You can't have 2 people moving around the kitchen at the same time, cant have 2 people in the bedroom because there's not enough space to get round the bed.
Space was the issue. This is the perfect flat for a single person who really loves juggling leprechauns and a great view.
Advice for future tenants
Think REALLY carefully before moving into this flat. It is cold, loud and very small.
There are no kitchen drawers.
