Have you ever looked through the homes and gardens magazines in your local bookshop? If you have you will have noticed the beautifully presented room decor pages showing pristine living and working areas with top knotch furniture and fittings from marble benches to the latest fashion in gadgets which we all covet. Do you have an attractive rental property?
An attractive rental property (unless top of the line) does not need these
However there are other ways to make your property stand out from the rest without over the top renovations not in keeping with the house and cutting back your profit. Top tenants will want and expect the house they rent to be an enjoyable, pleasant, place to live in. For very little cost you can emulate some of the wow factor in the homes and gardens magazines.
Give your rental ‘wow’ appeal without ridiculous outlay
Colour schemes are the easiest and cheapest way to transform your property so get out the paintbrush! As any publisher or editor of the relevant magazines will tell you horizontal and vertical colour areas have a big impact on the human mind and will create an instant impression, along with cleanliness of course. Use colours for feature walls or as a theme colour to highlight areas. Your redecorating could be a major selling point to obtaining a really good tenant.
When redecorating time comes around choose colours carefully
Unless you have a good eye for colour yourself it may pay in the long run to get the opinion of a professional interior designer to advise what will give the property the ‘wow’ reaction. You may be able to get several schemes from them which can be filed away for future use. The basic renovation costs will be the same whatever colours you choose, you will still have to buy the paint and pay for the labour so why not get the ‘wow’ factor while you’re at it!
Advantages of choosing an attractive colour scheme
Top tenants will also be happy to pay top rent and stay longer when they are going into a freshly decorated house with a pleasant ambience that they can identify with as ‘theirs’ (and less likely to let the condition deteriorate). See if the current trends in decoration can be applied to your rental property (but avoid going overboard with colour as this may deter future tenants if it is not their style). A make over for paint colours, drapes, carpets, tiles and a new Formica kitchen bench will make a huge difference in presentation without untoward expenditure. Your rental does not need to emulate the grandeur of the magazine houses but it can attract the best tenants if care is taken with renovation.
Barry Bridgman has been managing his own investment property portfolio for 25 years. During this time, there has never been any occurrence of rent defaults or property damage and Barry’s goal is to achieve the same for your property. Bridgman Property Management is based in Auckland Central, where Barry has lived for more than 18 years.