With property prices at an all-time high, many investors are now turning to property that’s in need of renovation. A recent survey showed that a property in need of refurbishment can be 15-20% less than a well-presented property on the same street, making it an attractive option for investors.
Knowing what specification is right for your property can be confusing, do you up-spec the property and hope for more rent, or do you keep things simple?
The days of a ‘magnolia wash’ and beige carpets are long gone, tenants expect more.
We carry out around 30 viewings per week and constantly receive feedback from viewers as to what their thoughts were and what they would like to be done differently.
The two main rooms of any property are the kitchen and bathroom, which may seem obvious, but many landlords neglect these areas. If I were to give advice on what to do differently in these rooms it would be to up-spec, and it doesn’t cost as much as you may think.
I recently renovated a 2 bedroom terraced property on Forster Street, Warrington. The quote for a modern kitchen (with tiling and worktops) was £1800 fitted.
I went back to my builder and asked how much extra it would cost to upgrade the worktop to a ‘concrete effect’ worktop along with grey brick effect tiling. We also fitted a gloss wallnut laminate. The price difference? £290! (picture below).
We also did a similar upgrade to the bathroom, with matching grey tiles on both the floor and walls. Again only costing around £240 more.
In the rest of the house we fitted dark grey carpets and painted the walls in Dulux Cotton Bloom.
The property rented within 2 days for £100 over what I has originally expected to achieve. And it only cost around £500 more for the additional upgrades, a no-brainer!
Tenants may now expect more, but remember, they will also pay more!
