Tips on doing up cheaply for rent mum's old, 'tired' house

[Tensmumym]

My elderly mother is possibly going to be moving into a home and we were thinking of renting out her house to help pay for fees in a few years time. It hasn't had much done to it so I'm just wondering what the minimum amount I could spend to get it ready to be rented. She would need a new bathroom, redecoration and kitchen would need to be updated. Presumably for the purposes of renting it would need

Sorry, hit wrong button. Presumably it would need to be rewired and the paving area in the garden would need to be paved over. Does anyone have experience of improving a home like this and could you tell me how much you spent? Thanks.

How old is the property? What type of property is it? How big is the kitchen and bathroom?

Rewiring costs will depend on how big the property is, etc etc.

Contact local estate agencies for advice - some legal requirements and some cosmetic and they will give you an idea re rental income. Have a word with age uk re finance too- what you can offset etc. also to plan out covering costs and what she is entitled to. It's a minefield. Good luck

Legally you need to make sure there are no hazards in the house. There is a guide here:
www.derby.gov.uk/media/derbycitycouncil/contentassets/documents/policiesandguidance/DASHLL29HazardsBooklet.pdf

be aware that rent it out tatty and it will a) bring in less rent and b) be more liable to be badly treated.

new bathroom, new kitchen and coat of paint certainly go a long way. Make sure every last lock and switch works. Gas safe certificate is mandatory, if it hasn't been maintained in forever I strongly recommend an electrical check and update too.

be careful paving over gardens, creates flooding.

I was considering the same and was quoted circa £20k for a 3-bed semi that would need similar work doing.

Could you sell instead?

Speak to some estate agents first and see what the area is like for rental and what likely rent would be. Look on rightmove too.

Don't underestimate the work that would need to be done to 'neutralise' the house though.

I "neutralised" my dad's tatty student rental flat after i got power of attorney as sadly he has dementia. it cost £10 000 as found out electrics were totally unsafe, needed a new bathroom, new carpets, and complete redecoration. But it had got to the point where it was unlikely to attract tenants, even students.

Thanks very much for all your replies. We just thought it would give a much better return to rent out the house as interest rates are so low for savings. Also, presumably we would hopefully more than recoup the amount spent in doing it up on the amount we would sell it for - in theory. I was thinking we might be able to tart up the kitchen - put on new cupboard doors, new counter etc rather than go the whole hog and get a new kitchen. The house is in a very good rental area so I think there shouldn't be too much trouble in getting tenants. And thank you Jean for your other message which I am reading with interest.

It's also worth considering who your target rental market is before you get the work done.

Thanks Trino. How would that affect what you do?

Well, if it's going to students or as a shared house, I'd think about putting laminate rather than carpet downstairs. Not that families/a couple won't spill things, etc, but shorter-term tenants are less likely to be so careful about the furnishings, so it makes sense to allow for that and make it easy for everyone to clean up.

If your target market is students, I'd even see about putting wall shelves up in the bedrooms - that makes it more attractive if you are letting unfurnished as people won't have to schlep shelves in. On the other hand, you might be in the kind of area where any house of any condition will be easy to let, so you might not need to go out of your way to make it attractive to potential tenants at a decent price.

But the most important things are making sure the wiring and any gas appliances are fit for purpose, and properly certified. You will need to alter the buildings insurance, too, to reflect that you are letting it out.

(I'd also second whoever said about the paving not helping with flooding, although this obviously is more urgent if you are in an area with any risk of it.)

Thanks very much Trino.

We just thought it would give a much better return to rent out the house as interest rates are so low for savings

I'm sure you've done this but just double-check your sums. I was also considering renovating my mum's property to rent out but (after tax on the rental income) it would have taken 5+ years to even cover the work that needed doing.

As well as speaking to estate agents, get a couple of building companies to give you quotes so you know what it would cost.

Also, with a mum about to go in care and all that will entail, I would think carefully about undertaking a renovation project and becoming a landlord at the same time. You could potentially have 3 levels of admin to deal with - (a) your 'normal' stuff (b) your mum/care home (c) the tenants - at what could be a very stressful time.

I wish you the best of luck with making the right decision for you and your mum.

lots of other insurances too: malicious damage, legal expenses and possibly rent guarantee.

a gross return of 5% is a reasonable ball park on a property worth under about £200k, before fees and taxes. Plus any capital growth of course.

specialsubject has hit the nail on the head "capital growth" if you sell the asset it is gone, renting it out is a good option and whatever happens you still have the asset. I take it there is no mortgage ?

Also make sure you have the time to look after a rental property as well as your own lifes and a elderly parent.
I worked in a letting agents and even with managed properties the landlord was always called over,late rent/repairs/problems and they had the final say.

If you don't have it managed by an agent,you will need to check its being maintained/have people calling you over repairs/problems/questions.

As other have said,make sure you look at what you will get in rent and take off insurance/poss repairs/agents fees.
Also allow for the fact that you may have it empty between tenants.

I don't have much advice about the renovation side of things but I'm a renter (a good tenant ) and things I look for are

A nice kitchen don't expect top of the range but relatively modern and in good condition

Nice modern bathroom

Neutral decor and carpets and being allowed to decorate-I'm a long term tenant so this is important to me

A nice low effort usable garden

Good luck!

Thanks very much everyone for taking the time to post such detailed replies.