If your rental property is feeling a little tired and in need of a refresh to attract new tenants, you may be considering taking on a bit of a renovation project. If so, there’s a few things that you need to consider before you begin planning a huge overhaul. Do the maths – what’s your budget? How much value will your renovation add? How much more could you charge in rent payments?
It’s important to ensure that every penny you spend renovating your rental is justified by return on investment. The right changes can increase your property’s value and attract your ideal tenant, so take a look at what your property has to offer and maximise and read up on these top rental renovation tips from CIA Landlord Insurance.
Find your hook
It’s likely that your property is already going to have some kind of a selling point for you to maximise. Perhaps your property has a cellar that you could transform and market as a wine cellar, by fitting a few large wine racks to the wall. That way you’re turning something not particularly exciting into something unique and interesting that might just have prospective tenants hooked! If your you’re struggling to find an existing feature to maximise, look into creating one. For instance, you could install a few features that means you can advertise the property as a ‘smart home’. Think smart thermostats such as Nest, or smart door locks such as August to give your property the edge over others. What's more, maximising your property space will go a long way as well. If you're interested, here are some loft ideas to consider.
Focus on the kitchen
The kitchen, along with the bathroom, are often the ‘wow’ factors in any property, so this is where it’s worth investing your money. There are some easy and cheap wins with refreshing a kitchen, if your budget doesn’t allow for a refit. If your property has plastic splashback or a wooden kitchen units, consider painting them, perhaps in light grey or sage green for an on-trend twist. You could also look at changing your cupboard door handles to something with a copper or gold finish. Lighting is another thing to look at by fitting a statement light fitting and making it the focus point within the room, for example. Big, dramatic industrial style lights with exposed filament bulbs look great and are sure to impress prospective tenants.
Swap carpets for laminate
There’s endless benefits to laminate flooring. Firstly, it’s more affordable than many other hard floorings and it’s so much easier to maintain and look after than carpets. Carpet stains, burns and odours can be a thing of the past, which both you and your tenants will be thankful for. Plus, laminate looks super contemporary and is pretty easy to install, so need for the cost of professional fitters.
First impressions count
Consider doing up your front door to elevate the property against its neighbours. Don’t go too bold with colour for fear of putting people off, and perhaps keep it neutral, dark or maybe a pastel shade such as duckegg blue. You could even fit an elegant and unique door knocker for a premium touch. Look to websites such as Pinterest for a little front door inspiration!
Don’t buy a new sofa!
We all know that sofas are not cheap and it’s probably something that you’re putting off having to replace for your rental property. However, your tenants comfort is very important and pieces such as sofas can make a house a home. The good news is that there are cheaper alternatives to buying a new one, such as giving the current one a new lease of life. Look at re-covering it with a fresh and stylish fabric. A typical two seater sofa only requires around eight metres of fabric. Brighten it up and tie it all together with some fresh scatter cushions and it’ll be completely transformed.
Wood panel walls
Introducing a wood panelling feature wall is a really cheap and easy way of adding character to a property. These work particularly well in living and dining rooms. They can be painted to suit the decor and adorned with light fittings, mirrors and art to really set them off and they suit all properties, from modern new-builds to older classics.
