What do you look for when you’re renting?

[JudgeRindersMinder]

In the process of renovating family home to rent out (please don’t give me a hard time for this, the income is needed to pay for care), amd apart from the legal stuff re safety, what do you look for in a rental property?

We’re looking at...
Hard floors in hall and living room,
New carpets in the bedrooms
White walls in bedrooms, grey in living areas
Allowing tenants to put up pictures etc on walls
House is currently set up as 3 very good sized bedrooms and a dining room, but we’re likely to market it as 4 bedrooms.
Kitchen and bathrooms are well up to date
Providing a gardener every couple of weeks for grass cutting (there’s a LOT of grass!)
Leaving Venetian blinds on the windows at the front of the house

The rent is likely to be around £1200/month. What else would you be wanting for your money?

Cross post with jojo

A house that we rented recently had very elaborate lights that had LOTS of tiny light bulbs, I think altogether there must have been easily 50+ bulbs altogether.
These bulbs were forever packing up, they were so fiddly to replace, absolutely drove me mad
So I would just have very normal light fittings or lampshades.
We were allowed pets, we have a cat and Guinea pigs. No extra deposit was taken, we had to have the house professionally deep cleaned when we left but it was done before we moved in and we knew that was expected.

@CATTY15 that’s an interestIng point about the bulbs, although a few rooms have led down lighters which won’t be changed, we’re changing the current light fittings for simple pendants for that very reason, less to go wrong!

My wish list would be:

Smart kitchen and bathrooms and flooring
Neutral decor
Picture hooks
Decent heating and double glazing
White goods included - at a minimum the fridge freezer and dishwasher.
Curtains and lightshades included
Space to store bikes

As a seasoned renter, I now mainly look for the stable structure of the house. Try to spot signs of damp ext, decoration to me is secondary to a dry warm house.

Wrt the gardening service - no herbicidal sprays.

@MrsElizabethShelby there’s absolutely nothing to worry about on that front, the house has been extremely well maintained and is beyond well insulated and energy efficient.

The curtains which have been up aren’t neutral, so I think I’ll take a wee trip to Ikea to get some more, as the windows are huge

Patio doors which are a bit iffy are getting replaced tomorrow.

@mathanxiety no worries about chemicals, they’ve never been used, I think we could probably say the garden is organic! It’ll just be a case of keeping the garden tidy.

MrsElizabethShelby makes a good point. I’ve had so many problems in the past with mould (due to poor heating, draughty windows, nowhere to dry clothes other than hanging indoors), persistent mice (due to poor renovation making it nigh on impossible to keep them out)... it’s reached a point that I haven’t looked at properties with any seriousness when I walk in and see the fresh paint patches (trying to cover damp or mould), mice droppings in cupboards, timber frames around windows which are soft

However OP it sounds like none of this should hopefully be an issue in your property. I’ve found this more often in properties which are being turned around quickly for high rent where they know that despite the issues, someone is going to take it soon (London living...).

I have always rented. Never been told no candles!

What's wrong with command strips?

Our taps are awful atm and landlord wont replace. So taps. Decent taps.

Do you have a link? Could you PM me?

Yes to decent taps. Have lived in two rented houses where the tap threads had gone meaning the tap was always dripping slightly. Landlord would send someone round to “tighten it up” but it just needed a new tap . It would start dripping again in no time, wasting water, wasting money as we were/are on a metre. When LL finally agreed it needed replacing he replaced the cold tap.... and left the hot. Which was also starting on the same trend. So we then were left with mismatching taps too. Good taps for sure. Also agree re good ventilation, we have a condensation problem in our current house which has led to mould (because the window frame is rotten and the gutters are full of rubbish).

Other than that I would say the most appealing thing is an approachable landlord.

Agree re cats. We have one and she has done no damage whatsoever (if she did obviously we would repair / replace). Renting to families it’s highly likely they’ll have or want a pet. Cats really can’t do much damage to an unfurnished house with hard floors in the living areas.

If you want people to stay long term, let them make it their home. All these rules being suggested about no candles indoors, BBQ only within a certain distance etc... I do understand wanting to protect the house you own but all these rules make the tenant sound like they have no brain, take no pride in their home and have no respect for their landlords. It’s just not true for most families spending £1200 per month.

I would suggest you allow a family to decorate after consultation with you - it can be disheartening and depressing for parents not to be able to paint a child's bedroom, for instance. (There was a thread on this topic lately).

I agree that families spending that much should be able to make the place their home.

I suggested no candles because I know a LL who had a bad experience with a couple who left candles burning after a party - the house didn't burn down but melted plastic caused damage that cost a bit to repair.
I agree- most people are careful about candles. It's their home after all whether rented or mortgaged or bought outright.

I would make a reg about BBQ /distance from the house though, especially if the BBQing involves charcoal and not a gas canister.

@magpiefeather and @skyjuly, the taps are all good. I can’t stress enough how well looked after the house has been. I’m totally outing myself here, but my parents built the house in the 1960s and have lived there ever since. They’ve always had a policy of having the best they could afford, and if they couldn’t afford it, the waited while they saved.

I’m away to pull up an immaculate Axminster carpet, amazing quality, but I wouldn’t ask anyone to live with the pattern! We want to rent out the house in a way that we’d be happy to live in it.

Redecorating after a conversation is something I’d probably be open to, as @mathanxiety says, painting your child’s bedroom isn’t an unreasonable request (it was the thread you’re referring to that made me see the light on that!)

I’ve looked at listings for rentals and have seen numerous houses where people are doing the same as us and renting out their parents’ houses, but have done nothing to bring them up to date, and expect a lot of money for no investment at all.

I really appreciate everyone’s input, and am open to any further ideas and suggestions

Sounds like a mice house and as long as there is room for a dining table in the kitchen go for advertising as a 4 bed.

In a rental - well maintained and looked after, easy to clean, modern kitchen and bathroom. Dishwasher.

I looked for a decent all that is responsive but also left you alone as well.

Blackout curtains in bedrooms. Do not put up those shitty rental vertical blinds

Paint everything white. Tenants can accessorise with their own bits of colour.

Don’t be too precious. Things will get broken and marked and this house will not be looked after like your own.

You won’t get any/enough money back out of the deposit when things get trashed so bear that in mind.

‘No pictures on the wall’ is lame and likely to be ignored anyway.

@poster BlueSkiesLies vertical blinds over my dead body-I can’t abide the things!

I would let someone paint a room a reasonable colour if they bought the paint but I would arrange a decorator to do the painting.

Prepare yourself for breakages. Once you become a LL it’s an insight into how others live.

Personally I’d say no pets, but if someone has a dog or cat to review it case by case. I’ve had lots of damage done by pets.

Whatever paint you use, make sure you can get the same again. Otherwise you’ll be trying to match colour.

I do wish you well, it’s going to be emotionally hard on you. Seeing someone not care as much about a property you love is very difficult.

@DobbyTheHouseElk I hear what you’re saying and that’s the part I’m going to find hard. The agent we’re using does home visits to prospective tenants to get an idea of how they live. I know this is no guarantee, but I think it’s going to be as good as we can get.
I really wish we weren’t having to do it at all but we really have to

I understand why you are doing this. But honestly steel yourself as much as you can. It’s really really hard. Even friends of mine who are LL of buy to lets get devastated by tenants who have trashed. It’s hard not to emotionally invest in a property you own.

The first time I let a property that was much loved. It was returned to me after 6 months in an appalling condition. So much so that I actually thought someone has gained access to squat. I won’t go into details, but the agent managing it was with me and asked me if I was going to cry. I was too much in shock to cry, I was furious.

Honestly I’d leave the expensive Axminster down, you can always take it up after your first let if it’s ruined.

I agree with dobby unless you think your property will be hard to let I wouldn't be ripping up perfectly good carpet. I would leave the carpet and allow pets instead.
I would also take a detailed video walkthrough before the tenant takes possession.
I think it is easy to forget that some wear and tear is natural in a house and to be more critical of others living in a space than you would be of yourself.
Make it easy for your tenants to maintain your house.
My house that I rent out has washable walls in heavy traffic areas.
The house I rent doesn't and it has a very individual paint so every hallway scuff stays and is hard to clean or repair. The last house I rented was white, bliss to repaint/touch up so it was left in almost perfect condition.

@DobbyTheHouseElk and @Dreichuplands, thank you for what you’re saying, and for saying it so kindly! What you’re saying about carpets confirms my original thoughts about the carpets....I had originally intended leaving them, and replacing if they got trashed, but my sibling is wanting to change them....I just don’t see the point in laying out the money before someone even goes into the house! The Axminster is in what will be a bedroom, so if there’s a double bed and other furniture in it, it will be mostly covered up anyway.
Even without my natural bias, I don’t for a second think the house will be difficult to let.
Good idea about the video, I was going to take photos, but video is a better idea, and I’ll definitely be making sure the paint is washable

Oh well if it’s a bedroom, I’d certainly leave the good carpet down. I have it in my tenancy agreement that carpets are to be professionally cleaned on exit. Then it gives me a better chance to see how the carpet is wearing, unless it’s really worn and a trip hazard or generally a bit manky take it up. But if it’s in good condition leave it. Carpets don’t last long anyway. (Well they do in my home, but my tenants go through more carpets than I ever will)

If it’s patterned it won’t show the stains so much. This is totally true, I had a tenant who marked out a sports pitch in gaffer tape on my carpet.

I have never had a tenant complain about the colour of a carpet or flooring.

My sister has rented several properties and she would say that easy to understand instructions for the central heating are an absolute essential along with clear information about the fuse box and plumbing and enough details about the house so that questions asked about it when buying contents insurance can be correctly answered
Secure door locks are important as are easy to replace light bulbs, a toilet with a decent flush and a shower that actually produces more than a dribble of water.
She’s never been bothered about having to provide curtains as long as there are curtain rails fitted.
Clear instructions about bin collection day and recycling are also helpful.