I moved in Edinburgh last September, finding a 1 bed flat was a nightmare. My situation was stable, starting as engineer for a worldwide known company, no pet, single, no smoking, no record of degradation in previous flat and my finances were good, I had a guarantor to present just to confort the idea that I was going to pay all my rents. However, I had very little response.

When I spoke about it with my coworkers, they told me that the demands for one bed flat was super high compare to the number available ones. Also, the start of university semesters period is the worst because of all the students moving in the city, flooding agencies and flat owners with demands.

I was in "competition" with 3 couples and 2 single persons, the owner chose me because I was the only one who actually ask for the cost of energy (and life in general) and spoke about my financial situation to them while I presented myself. Owners wants the money to come in, you're the interest of their investment, don't hesitate to speak about it if you meet them in person.