Your rental property: does it stand out from the crowd?
There’s no doubt that 2020 has been a challenging year for London landlords. With a large number of rental properties currently on the market and the Christmas season just around the corner, now is the time to make sure your rental property stands out from the competition.
Our Head of Lettings, Mollie Crowley, has some great tips to get your property up to scratch. Writing in the autumn edition of Mews News, she offers some low-cost, practical ideas on how to improve the presentation, both inside and out, so the house can look it’s brightest and best during the winter months.
Capturing kitchen trends (without the cost)
Mollie says it can take minimal effort to turn a dull, uninteresting kitchen into a sleek, modern space. When one landlord turned to Lurot Brand for help with transforming the kitchen of their rental property, her advice was not to replace the cabinets but to paint them. Naturally, this was much cheaper than buying new cabinets and, once they were painted a fashionable grey, the doors had a smart, contemporary look. Unsurprisingly, our landlord was delighted, and a new tenant was found in no time. See the inspirational before and after kitchen pictures featured in Mollie’s article.
Kickstart your property’s kerb appeal
According to Mollie, “Mews streets attract a lot of passers-by.” Kerb appeal is an important consideration when you want to catch the eye of a potential tenant. It’s therefore vital to monitor the condition of your property on the outside – repainting where necessary, repairing any damaged guttering and making sure that furniture or garden items left outside are well-cared-for.
If your front door is looking a little tired, Mollie suggests either repainting it in the original shade or making a statement with an entirely new colour. Pots, planters, hanging baskets and window boxes filled with fresh plants and flowers can also attract attention and brighten up the front of the property.
Freshen up those fittings
It’s easy to forget about purely functional items such as doorknobs, handles and light fittings, but out-dated designs can affect the look of interior space. Mollie says replacing tired, old-fashioned fittings is a simple and affordable interior hack guaranteed to “instantly enhance a room’s appearance.”
Mollie favours timeless chrome over classic gold or brass finishes for knobs, handles and switches and she prefers downlighters or spotlights to lights that hang in the centre of a room. She adds that spotlights and downlights are especially effective in bathrooms and kitchens, where good lighting is more important.
With electrical items in mind, Mollie has helpfully included a paragraph on new lettings legislation relating to Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICR). Read Mollie’s article to find out how the recent update, introduced on 1st July 2020, affects you as a landlord.
Simply click to open Mews News and scroll along to pages 18 and 19 to read the article in full. When you’re finished, take a minute to explore the brilliant features or browse fantastic mews homes to rent or buy.
