How landlords can make letting properties feel like home

During these trying times, there are many potential tenants looking for rentals that are long term so they can feel settled. Many people are renting rather than buying for a variety of reasons. However, they still want to be somewhere that feels homely and where they can gain a sense of settlement. With this in mind, it is more important than ever that landlords make an effort to make their rental properties feel homely and for their tenants to feel valued and settled. This includes avoiding common pitfalls like not completing your letting property inventory.

There are two key aspects to this, firstly making the property feel homely when marketing the property to potential tenants and secondly, once the tenants are in allowing them to have some input into the feel, style and décor of their new home.

When marketing your rental property!

First, let’s think about the colour scheme, so many landlords reach straight for the magnolia without considering if it is really the best choice. Side note: I hate magnolia. It is true that you don’t want to choose a colour scheme which is overly dominant or divisive but there is a middle ground between magnolia and luminous green. The colour scheme should complement and elevate the property, personally, I am a fan of warm grey or even including the odd feature wall. Consider what will make the best bits of the property stand out, for example, is there a dark corner which could do with a brighter warm feature colour to highlight it.

Secondly, let’s consider the furnishings. If you are looking for long term tenants you are much better off renting your property unfurnished as most tenants will want to fill the property with their own furnishing in their preferred style and taste. This helps them to feel settled and secure in their new home. This also helps explain why a slightly less repetitive colour scheme can be useful, as photos of empty rooms with plain magnolia walls are unlikely to inspire anyone but by using colour to define rooms and highlight built-in features you can bring more interest to an otherwise empty room.

Lighting, if you have dull dark spots it can make the rooms feel smaller so make sure every little space is lit up. It will transform the room. Renovating old lamb shades and making sure all light bulbs are working. As simple as it sounds a lightbulb out will really darken a room. Finally, on lights, if you change bulbs to make sure you replace them with like for likes as your EPC’s will have been assessed previously and you won’t want this to alter.

Finally, storage! Many rental properties are severely lacking in storage space it doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. Extra storage could range from some well-placed bookshelves in the living room to built-in wardrobes in the bedrooms the key is to try and create clever storage solutions without losing out on space. Providing good storage options not only helps to make the property more attractive to tenants it also encourages them to be tidy and clean when living in the property.

One of the worst rooms for storage always seems to be bathrooms. So many bottles and nowhere to put them! Apart from a little cupboard on the wall, maybe a little shelf for shampoos?

Once the tenants are in

Communication is key to maintaining long term happy tenants, if there is good communication between you and your tenants then there is likely to be less misunderstanding, fewer problems and a more positive long-term relationship.

To ensure tenants can feel settled and homely in their new rental property it is worth making the transition process as easy as possible. By using an agent to complete aspects such as the in-going inventory, referencing and the tenancy agreement you can ensure the process is as smooth as possible. Also, by using an agent, they can bring a level of professionalism and help create a buffer between you and the new tenants which helps to foster a positive relationship; think good cop bad cop or indeed fun parent and strict parent.

It is likely that long term tenants will want to put their own mark on a rental property, such as adding pictures and art to the walls, changing the garden layout, or indeed painting the odd wall. As a landlord, it is easy to be resistant to these requests for fear of them having a negative impact on the property. However, when dealing with long term tenants it is very worthwhile considering these requests. Firstly, it will make the tenants feel more invested in the property and less likely to leave. Secondly, it may help you to maintain the property over a long-term rental as they can take some responsibility for repainting etc.

Once again, the key is communication, make an effort to find out more about what the tenants have in mind and if needed put some parameters or limits in place as to what they can choose. For example, excluding specific colours or asking them not to move specific features in the garden. This also shows the tenants that you are willing to discuss and compromise with them.

How can we help – letting property inventory

At Bright Star, we offer a pick and mix selection of services which means we can do as much or as little as you need. We have found that for landlords who like to remain involved in the process having us complete aspects such as the inventory, can save them time, money and stress while improving the tenant-landlord relationship.

To find out more about these services check out our full offering here or contact us using the form below.