Practical Advice To Help You Profit From Rental Property
Tips On Decorating For Buy-To-Let
When you are decorating a buy-to-let property all you need to do is make it look smart enough to your target market to attract
tenants and at the same time make your decorating cost effective in terms of both money and time. Remember you are not decorating for
yourself and your personal tastes, you are decorating to appeal to as many potential tenants as possible.
Make your decoration smart but bland. Paint your walls with magnolia emulsion, your ceilings with white
emulsion and the woodwork with white gloss. This might seem boring but it is a safe choice. If you
want to add interest you can use paper borders or stencilling. This is an area where the beginner can easily save money by
doing his own painting. Use special water and mould resistant paint (the same colours) for the kitchen and bathroom
where condensation can be a problem. The same colour varies from brand to brand so make sure you buy one brand and keep a note of the
brand name so that you can buy the same brand again later when touching up. Using basic magnolia and white paint is a cost
effective solution to your decorating needs.
Don't put off potential tenants with ingenious colour schemes. You have no way of knowing if your potential tenants
will appreciate your taste or be repelled by it. It’s important that you should not cause a prospective tenant who views your
property to reject it simply because of its decor. What you need to do is to provide a clean-looking, neutral background which the
tenant can personalise with some of his own items.
Consider ease to maintainence. Not only is it quicker and easier to use the same paint colours throughout the house
but it is also easier to touch up or add a new coat of paint if required. Emulsion paint can be obtained in matt, soft sheen or silk
finishes. Matt has the best covering power but produces a surface that marks easily (use matt white for ceilings); silk has less
covering power but has a more durable finish while soft sheen has both good covering power and a quite durable finish (use for
walls).
Copy the experts. To get your buy-to-let property looking up-to-date take a look around some new houses
or flats being built by the large building companies and see how they decorate and furnish their homes.
Furnished or unfurnished? This depends upon your target market. Students will need furnished property while most
other buy-to-let accommodation is let unfurnished. However, it may be best to supply major kitchen appliances e.g. a cooker, washing
machine and fridge/freezer to make it easier for tenants to move straight in. Talk to local letting agents about this.
To furnish the house for student tenants: study bedrooms must include a desk, bed and space for storage etc.,
while the living room will need easy chairs for all tenants with coffee tables and probably a dining table and chairs.