Last Updated on July 6, 2022 by Kravelv
Running a rental property as a landlord directly, or even as a hands-off investment property, can be a lucrative and exciting business venture/project. However, despite growing tenant numbers, particularly in cities, there is a lot of competition in terms of high-quality accommodation, and so it’s often quite difficult to secure the perfect renter.
That being said, here are a couple of different ideas for renovating your rental property to increase its value, making your property stand out and enticing a larger amount of tenants in the process.
Kerb Appeal
First impressions matter, particularly when showing potential renters around your property, and so a good place to start when renovating your property is the outside. If you have an apartment or flat within a managed building then this might not be something that you can do much about, but even a jet wash on the tiles or a flattering picture on a sunny day can make that bit of difference.
If you can’t do anything about the location, then leverage it and use it to your advantage. Take a look at the typical tenant that you’re hoping to attract, and find out what sorts of things they’d be interested in that are local to your property, to use as selling points. For example, if you’re offering a student property, you might want to include some information about how accessible the local universities are, or bars and restaurants that are in the area.
If you’ve got a property that’s within a city then this is a no-brainer, as there’s always something that you can use and benefit from. If you’re in a rural area, then less so, but then that’s often where you have the ability to renovate a bit more externally, or, again depending on the tenant, use the quietness as a benefit.
Tip – If you’re still in the market for purchasing a buy-to-let rental property as a long-term investment project, you should take a look at some of the best areas and think about where might be best in the long term for your strategy, factoring in things like tenant demand, rental yield prices, and surrounding regeneration (if investing in a city property) RWinvest have a range of guides on their website, and frequently cite Liverpool as one of the best areas currently in the UK, offering an affordable alternative to cities such as London, with higher rental yield percentages and capital growth.
Modern furnishings
Major renovations in important rooms (bathrooms, kitchen etc.) can certainly increase the value of your property and make it more of an enticing offering, but modernising some of the more basic stuff can drum up just as much attention if done right, and it’s nowhere near as costly. If you adopt a minimalist style, for example, start by stripping back on some of the stuff that’s not needed. You might find that you don’t actually need to buy as much replacement furniture as you might have thought you needed, and in fact you could even make a bit of extra money from some unneeded furniture that you can sell on. Giving rooms a fresh lick of paint with bright, inviting colours can also rejuvenate a home massively, without much extra cost.
Tip – Want to make the most of your rental property, whether it’s an apartment or fully-fledged home? Take a look at some of the unused space, and see if you could so something more productive and beneficial with it. One growing trend at the moment is the transformation of loft and garage spaces into something more productive, such as a study or personal gym space. This, of course, will also add value.