An empty property makes you no money – worse still, it will cost you from your profits as the mortgage, loans and maintenance bills will continue, whether you have a tenant or not. So, the most important thing to maximise the rental value of your properties is to keep them occupied, but how can you swing the odds in your favour on this question? The answer is ‘perception management’, making your property look every bit the home someone would want to live in.

We’ve put together our top six ways you can attract the right tenants and keep them longer (while also justifying charging them what you feel your property is worth in rent).

1. Upgrade the kitchen

It is still the case that the kitchen is the heart of any home. Whether you are renting your property out to students or families, they’ll want a clean, sleek, modern kitchen and they’ll value it as well. If you spend a little more on making this room look inviting you seriously increase the magnetism of your property and their reason for staying longer. And, this does not have to cost the earth, as it could just need modern unit fronts, appliances scrubbed spotlessly clean, and a colourful vase of flowers. In a kitchen it’s all about simple, clean and fresh – looking and smelling.

2. Open-plan living

Some success features of the sales market in the property sector are useful in the rental market as well. Open-plan living – everyone’s desire for space and light through opening lounges into dining rooms, or kitchens into breakfast rooms by knocking down the dividing walls – creates a desirable space that people can imagine themselves enjoying, living in and inviting their friends over to enjoy. Where permission and structures allow, this could cost as little as a few hundred pounds, but the increase in desirability and value to a tenant can be significant.

3. Turn up the pressure

I’m going to generalise here, but most renters are young (or at least youngish), employed and busy people. They love a shower – it’s one of the most asked for features of any rental property, but not every home’s water pressure is up to the job. A rubbish trickle from the shower can literally send a previously strong tenant contender running for the hills, so installing a pump to ramp up the pressure to create the perception promise of an invigorating shower in the mornings could make all the difference. Even if you manage to entice a tenant into the property without this, poor water pressure could reduce their comfort there and, therefore, the length of time they will stay.

4. Add sweeteners

A property can be more than the sum of its features. Add a few desirable sweeteners of your own – free high-speed Wi-Fi and/or satellite or cable TV, parking (either a space or the cost of a resident permit), gas and/or electric bills paid for them, a cleaner who comes once a week, or anything else that you imagine could elevate your property above others out there in the local market. Not only will this attract tenants, but they will quickly realise the value and convenience that they get in your property outstrips anything else out there so they stay longer.

5. Tidy up the garden

One of the pet peeves of any tenant is the amount of work they are going to be responsible for should they choose your property. Everyone loves a garden, well, at least the concept of a garden, but the idea of having to maintain it may put them off. Therefore, if your property has a garden, make sure that it is either designed to be low maintenance (patios, decking or Astroturf) or looks like it is. Bring in the gardeners before you start showing the property as an overgrown garden not only looks messy, but says ‘hard work’ to any prospective tenant.

6. Focus on the ‘kerb appeal’

Just as your garden needs to look as good as it can, the exterior of your property as a whole does too. Kerb appeal is the impression your property makes when a prospective tenant sees it for the first time. Overgrown pathways, crumbling brickwork and grimy windows would put anyone off. So, call in the builders, the exterior decorators and the window cleaners to ensure that the frontage of your property is as appealing as it possibly can be. From our experience, shiny clean windows have the additional benefit of letting in more light, making the interior of your property that much more inviting, so never forget to call in the professionals before you start showing your property if you want to maximise its rental value.

For all your window cleaning needs, call London Window Cleaners on 020 3954 2900. For anything else – builders, exterior decorators, utility bill reductions and so on, give us a call, we know a lot of really good tradespeople who could help you keep your properties looking their best and earning you the most.

 SOURCES

1. https://www.makeurmove.co.uk/article/1756/How_can_you_maximise_the_rental_income_of_a_property#sthash.9touCIAR.dpbs
2. https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/articles/2019/03/10-most-sought-after-features-of-a-buy-to-let-property/