In light of the sluggish housing market, the general consensus of opinion these days is that it is better to spruce up your home with some well thought out home improvements rather than splash out on a bigger or better house. I happen to agree with this and I would rather install a new kitchen or bathroom than give lots of my hard earned cash to estate agents and solicitors, but how does this “improve, don’t move” philosophy translate into the rental market?
Some landlords prefer not to spend any money on their properties: other than the most essential improvements, they are quite happy to let the property crumble into disrepair around their poor tenants’ ears. But I think this is short sighted. Obviously, you probably do not want to splash out on a £20k kitchen every three years, but it makes sound economic sense to keep your properties modern and attractive to tenants.
Why is this?
Well the more attractive your rental properties are, the more likely you are to attract good quality tenants—and by that I mean tenants who will stay for the long term and pay their rent on time.
However, before you decide to splash out on a few home improvements, there is an important caveat to this advice. Always give careful thought to the age and style of the property before you undertake any extensive work, as any big mistakes you make could come back to bite you at a later date should you wish to sell the property.
