Our landlord advice series written by Sally Ewbank, our head of Lettings at Power Bespoke.
When it comes to lettings, a prospective tenants perspective is very different from a buyers one when looking at rental properties and years of viewing experience as lettings agents has taught us that the key things tenants are looking for in terms of interiors are modern kitchens and bathrooms, well maintained and presented properties and neutral colour schemes …. ‘will my furnishings fit well in this property and blend in nicely with the décor?’
For many years, magnolia was a landlord’s best friend when it came to wall colour, whether for an individual property or a portfolio and this tended to go hand in hand with flooring in shades of beige to compliment.
Whilst this is still a favourite with tenants, there has definitely been a shift in trends in recent years and a grey/white colour palette seems to be meeting with a lot of approval from viewers.
In fact, last week whilst conducting viewings of a 2 bedroom apartment in Croydon, all 8 viewers remarked favourably on the landlord’s choice of grey colour scheme. All 8 viewers subsequently offered on the apartment, which of course is not only down to colour scheme, but the fact that they all mentioned their approval of the grey, goes to show that it is on their agenda.
When landlords are refurbishing or bringing a brand new property to the rental market, they often ask their managing agent for advice with regard to décor and in light of this recent shift in preference, I now often suggest a shift towards all things grey and white…
Bright white or off white walls, with mid to dark grey carpets, teamed with shades of natural wood, lend themselves to both contemporary and classic home styling and are beautiful in their simplicity.
Man made carpets have come a long way in recent years and its hard to tell the difference between them and their much more expensive 80/20 wool twist alternatives. The added bonus too is that they can be scrubbed and even bleached and even better, pesky moths have absolutely no interest in them!
Vinyl floor coverings for kitchens and bathrooms have also hugely improved in recent years and replicate wood, tiles and even glitter! They are warm underfoot, easy to maintain and are kind on the pocket too.
With the tried and tested cream and beige palette and the new favourite grey/white, you can be sure that tenants will approve and most importantly, be able to envisage living in your rental property with their belongings.
Well presented neutrally decorated properties don’t have to break the bank for landlords either, with some really great product lines coming out of lower priced suppliers, such as light fittings, blinds and curtains too.
So, if you are planning on giving your investment property an update, you could do a lot worse than thinking in shades of grey ….
Power Bespoke offer a full lettings and management service covering all areas of the UK.
If you would like any property advice whatsoever, do get in touch, we would love to hear from you.