Doing up house to rent and I’m a novice

[Bodear]

I’m posting for any and all helpful tips you can give. I have a house that is a bit of a mess. I don’t think there’s anything structural but years of not being looked after have left it looking very VERY tatty.
I’d like to rent it out and I know it needs doing up but I don’t really know where to start! How do I make a budget? Who do I start with? I have no idea!

Do you know a good builder, electrician,plumber,decorators? If not then you need to ask around friends/family/colleagues for recommendations. Be aware that in old houses that have been neglected they can sometimes find issues whilst fixing something else. Are the electrics safe? Does the central heating work? How is the boiler? Etc. Then get quotes for any work that needs to be done. Keep all their numbers because once you have tenants living there you'll need to fix things asap when they call with problems (e.g. there's no hot water) make sure you save some of your budget for this as you'll need to pay the tradesmen. You'll need a gas safety certificate too before you rent it out. Get a good landlord insurance.

Who are you planning to rent it to (students - they need fully furnished with desks in each room, family with kids?, young professionals?)

Unless you want to organise renovations yourself (find plumbers, electricians, kitchen fitters, painters and decorators, etc.) then find a co. that does renovations, and get a quote. Or rather, get 3 quotes from companies with good ratings on trusted Traders or whatever it is. (You may well get a bit of a shock, however.)

Don't underestimate the time and faff for all the decisions to be made - from kitchen/bathroom fittings to paint colours, tiles, flooring, where to,put power points, how many.... Speaking from experience in this situation, I could go on...

Before embarking on anything, I would ask some local lettings agencies for opinions on your likely market - families with children? students? younger working sharers? etc., since this will help you decide on how to tailor it. Plenty of research on Rightmove/Zoopla rentals will also be useful.

FWIW we renovated a seriously manky 2 bed property to a standard we'd have been happy to live with ourselves, I.e. certainly not the cheapest old kitchen units or carpets, etc.

Maybe we've just been lucky, but in over 6 years at least one of the tenants (young professionals) has always stayed on, and the place has always been very well looked after, so I do think the extra care (and expense) has paid off.

Thanks for your replies. Our market will be young families I think. It’s a three bed semi in a quiet road with lots of other families.
Is there such a thing as being too neutral with the decor or can I stick with cream/ plain throughout?

@Bodear I'd stick with white, if the tenants want to decorate make sure it's written in that everything has to be put back to white to get deposit back. I wouldn't spend to much money though, most people don't look after what isn't 'theres'

I would stick with neutrals. White for ceilings and covings if you have them (they do make a room look that much more finished) and paintwork, and a slightly off-white for walls, will look nice. Stark white all over can look just too, well, stark. One of the washable or wipeable emulsions would be practical for walls, if you think you'll be renting to families with children.
I found a good way to decide on which off white out of so many, was to buy a few of the little try-me pots and compare them on sheets of A4 paper.

Ok, so I really am a novice at this. Do I start with an electrician? There are some old wires running along the skirting boards that need to be dealt with and some old burglar alarm sensors to be removed. Or do I start with a gas engineer to check the radiators/ gas fire? The boiler is ok, that’s not too old and works fine.

Ps thank you all for your advice; I am taking it on board!

As a young family renting something clean and modern is what we look for in a house. The best house we had was cream walls with decent paint, the house we are in now is white walls with the cheapest paint and marks won't just wipe off and white shows up every tiny scuff (to be fair it was a complete bodge job anyway the whole house is!) a clean and semi modern bathroom and kitchen doesn't have to be an expensive one just half decent as this is the first thing we look at as you can't change that. Wooden/ laminate downstairs and then carpet upstairs. Again the best carpet we had was a dark cream mottled colour - easy to clean and hardwearing.

If the electrics go back decades, the house may need a complete re-wire in order to cope with modern demands. If it's not been updated for a long time, there will very likely not be enough power points, either. Obviously things like this need to be done before any decorating.

Before renting any property you will by law need a gas safe check, to make sure the boiler and any other gas appliance is fit for purpose. If you haven't already, I would get the boiler checked/serviced early on, too.

Thanks both! @sickmumma would laminate flooring upstairs put you off? Do you mind me asking why?

We have laminate upstairs in our current house and just not keen at all! It's very loud for a start and if the kids are playing in their rooms etc it's just cold and uncomfortable. We've put rugs etc down but it's just not the same and I think when we inevitably move again I would avoid a house with upstairs laminate where possible.

We also have a dog and I feel like the poor thing doesn't get a respite from sliding round, the carpet we had before in the old house although not the most expensive again was well thought out for general day to day life and didn't really mark/easy to clean if needed. Our old house was a landlord with lots of properties, our new house is a private landlord and you can see that difference by how they have refurbished.

Where as the old house was done quite cheaply it didn't look cheap IYSWIM, wooden kitchen cupboards that were easy to clean, nice but cheaper laminate floor (it was from b and q and the new buyers for it actually messaged to ask where it was from as they liked it that much), hardwearing carpets and decent paint. They knew where money was best spent.

New house landlords have obviously gone with the cheapest quotes but the standard is awful. We don't want to stay here long as although it looks nice from a quick view round, living here things just haven't been done well and there are lots of niggles -
Carpet on stairs is quite loose, not enough plug sockets and the electrics are ancient, although a new boiler the radiators etc haven't been updated and so it's not as good as it could be. I know that sounds fussy but for the amount we pay (nearly £2k!) you expect things to be nice.

I think also it depends on what kind of people you want living there - if the house is nicer it will attract a greater amount of people and more likely people who are more house-proud, if it's not nice from pictures we wouldn't have even looked round. But we are in the south east and rents are high and competitive. We went to about 6/7 houses that looked fine from the pictures but were just dreadful in real life.

Get the best quality you can afford, of carpets, floor coverings, and paint but don't go over the top. Cream paint and not gloss but eggshell. Use mid range kitchen and bathroom stuff, try to get better quality in the sales. Curtains should be lined and well fitting and good quality. The reason is they last a lot longer and wear a lot better. Wool mix carpets clean up well too. Avoid letting to families with kids if possible they cause a lot more wear to everything. Make sure before you let it, that it's immaculate. Take photos of everything. Make sure you give yourself a crash course on the law and your statutory duties. Failure to provide the required documents means you cannot serve a s21 notice which will cause you major problems.

As a pp has said, hard floors upstairs can be very noisy.

Re carpets, the modern polypropylene ones are miles better than they used to be, and stains are a lot easier to remove than with wool or wool mixes. A dd recently put polypropylene carpet in a toddler's bedroom and I was really surprised with how good it both looked and felt underfoot.

As for downstairs, we put a good quality wood effect laminate in a flat we renovated some years ago, and it looked very nice.

While it's obviously sensible not to spend too much (unless it's a very high end property anyway) I do think good mid-range things will usually be a better investment in the long run, than the cheapest. Though it's surprising what you can find when you shop around - e.g. I found perfectly nice wooden knobs for kitchen datwers and cupboards in Wickes - for ££££ less than Howdens was going to charge. Ditto many other items that looked very nice at good prices.

Safety - electricity, doors and windows securable easily. Comfortable - easy to heat, lots of hot water, lots of storage.

Hi All, thanks for your advice so far. I’m taking it all on board. Next question for you: are fitted wardrobes a plus for renters or not? The house will be let unfurnished probably to a family but bedroom 1 has fitted wardrobes that are fine, bedroom 2 has fitted wardrobes that at least need a face lift. Or should I just rip them out?

Firstly you need to remember it isn't your home, really important when choosing things! Work out what needs to be done to enable the property to be let, keep all fixtures as plain as possible eg white kitchen units, bathroom etc and paint go for something that comes in huge tubs apart from maybe a feature wall in living room. Work out what you can do and what needs professionals with plumbing and electrical work first.

And have tile/wood/laminate in hall way and ideally throughout downstairs, so much easier to keep clean. Fitted wardrobes are fine but dont spend money fitting them

I take it you're already fully up to speed with all the various laws and legislation that you need to abide by as a landlord, as well as all the various tax implications etc?... Given that your biggest concern only seem to be what colour to paint the walls and whether you should have fitted wardrobes.

Hi @jemihap. Thanks for checking; yes I am. Are you having a bad morning or do you just think I shouldn’t care about the inside of the house as much as the legal/ financial side?

Jemihap is right. You must learn about your legal responsibilities before you even consider letting a property. You can become seriously and expensively unstuck without this knowledge. Then choose your carpets and curtains

I agree with Jemihap - make sure you're prepared for your responsibilities if you're going to do this.

When it comes to the house, do everything to a good standard, better than if you were going to live there - because you are responsible for maintenance, and you want to make that as easy as possible.

If you go for cheap things, they'll break, they won't be as easy to clean etc. So go for decent fixtures and fittings and make sure the person fitting them does it properly. Think a bit like a hotel - they use solid furniture, quality bathroom units etc. because then they last longer and require less maintenance.

Are you going to include white goods? If so, they are your responsibility to maintain and repair. Are you including soft furnishings? If so, can you prove they meet flammability regulations? Is the property mortgaged? If yes, have you discussed renting with the mortgage company. You will also need different buildings insurance for a let property. Have you got/getting relevant safety certificates for boiler and electrical?

Boring, boring I know. Paint colours are much more fun. My advice there is to get a large quantity of good quality paint so as to have enough for touching up. That has saved me having to repaint whole walls

Thanks all. I’ve got the legal and financial sides covered. I work in related field and have taken professional advice. I agree it’s not to be taken lightly.
I don’t have any experience of decorating/ renovating hence asking about that side of things. I’m not sure what renters like/ expect and I’m trying to make the property as appealing as possible.
So it’s decisions like, should I put up blinds/ curtains or do people prefer to choose their own? Does the hedge round the front and side of the garden make a difference to families?

The tip about carpets upstairs was really useful so I’ll be making sure I get rid of the laminate and carpets fitted in the bedrooms.

Your single professionals are not going to be looking for the same things as a young family. Identify your target market. Local letting agents will be helpful here. Having said that, my 3-bed semi was marketed as a family home but was taken by a single professional.

What I have learned from experience:

*Hunt out good middle range stuff at bargain prices
*Blinds get broken regularly. Curtains don’t, and tenants can change them if they want (make sure they leave the originals)
*Put in plumbing for washing machine or dishwasher etc but do not supply the actual machines
*Good polypropylene carpets stain less and can be steam cleaned. Avoid wool or wool blend carpets like the plague.
*I have clause in letting agreement saying no clothes to be dried in the house except in a condensing tumble dryer (1960’s house with potential condensation problem)
*Make sure your agreement covers what to do with stuff left behind at end of tenancy, either good things they want, or crap you will have to dispose of (cost implications)
*Make sure you know how the heating and boiler work. It’s cheaper to show tenants several times than get a plumber to “fix” what isn’t broken.
*Keep copies of all manuals/instructions

• Consider pets. So far my pet owners have not caused problems. They know how hard it is to find places that accept pets

If it’s unfurnished don’t spend on building fitted wardrobes. They can IKEA it