PROPERTY
Nick
Webber
Founding Partner, Splendid Property Management
W
ith 100% landlord retention, they’re definitely doing
something right. Nick Webber is a director of lettings
specialists, Splendid Property Management. Nick
and his business partner, James Brooks, formed the company
in 2005 to give landlords and tenants an honest service. “Our
philosophy is based on expertise without fuss. We take a
money. I still have a few properties to my name but, more
hands-on, common sense approach,” he says. The company
recently, it has been about a quick turnaround. The last one took
now manages over 80 rental properties across the city, but
three months to renovate and recouped a margin of 25%.
Nick still remembers his first property purchase – it stood out
Your present property?
‘a mile’…
We’ve always lived in modern houses and so my dream was to
Your first property?
have a traditional property with period features. We now live in
The first property I bought was with a business partner back in
the West End of Edinburgh, in a beautiful drawing room flat with
2001 and we’ve since had it valued at three times its original
fantastic views over the Dean Village.
price. It’s on the Royal Mile and we still rent it out. We’d been in
Would you stretch your finances to the limit to afford a
business for three years before deciding to set up in Edinburgh mortgage on a home?
and agreed to put all our money in a pot and buy a property. We I’ve always stretched myself financially to get the home I feel
came up for a week’s house hunting and viewed at least three comfortable in.
properties a day for the whole week. Split over two levels, it has
Tips for house hunters
five large bedrooms on the top floor and two large living rooms
If you’re buying as a home, it’s all about the feel of the place.
below with a dining hall big enough to play five-aside football
As an investment, look for a good deal and don’t be in a
(believe me, we’ve done it). Being our first property, we lavished
rush to take on the first project that comes your way. Don’t
tender loving care into the project by creating open spaces
get emotionally attached, you’ll end up over-spending on the
and fitting a modern kitchen and bathrooms to a high spec.
development. Other than that, there’s one cliché that holds
The furnishings are top drawer, although we did source them
true: location, location, location.
all secondhand, including the music systems and lighting. It
looks straight onto the Royal Mile making it the perfect location,
What makes a house a home?
especially during the Festival.
Creating a nice sociable feeling - a dining space where you can
have a few friends round and enough space to take the main
The ones that followed?
focus away from the television in the living room.
Initially, the dream was that the businesses would afford me the
opportunity to build up my own property empire and bring home
the rental income. I set a goal of ten properties in ten years and
by year four I was on target. However, as business ambitions
changed so did the formula. I had my sights on other business
projects that would propel Splendid into different markets so
I had to weigh up where I would get a better return from my
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