Refurbishing your property

Keeping rental properties up to date is increasingly important as tenant expectations increase.

Here at Seekers, we have a dedicated resource for managing refurbishment and improvement works.

Why is refurbishing a property so important?

It’s worth noting that the standard of properties that tenants are looking for is much higher than we’ve seen in previous years. Some tenants are willing to pay a real premium for the best properties on the market. As is the demand, 100% of the properties that we refurbished in 2020 and 2021 have already been pre-let for the next academic year, prior to the Christmas period.

In comparison, we’re increasingly finding that properties that aren't regularly getting updated, are starting to get left behind, and risk significant void periods. Carrying out refurbishment work can also help to reduce maintenance spends going forward, as any latent issues are often mitigated by the work that is carried out.

What can I achieve through refurbishment work?

Landlords can sometimes shy away from carrying out refurbishment work, either as a way of trying to save money or through fear of not seeing a return. What most landlords don’t realise is, that generally a lot of the cost of refurbishment work can be offset against future income. Also, by carrying out such works, properties become more desirable and with subsequent increases in rental levels, any investment is futureproofed.

A recent example is a property that one of our managed clients purchased in Jesmond, which was previously achieving £17,000pa. By reconfiguring the property, we were able to increase the occupancy and by completing a full internal refurbishment we ensured our client maximised their return on investment. The property has recently been pre-let for £44,000pa which gave a return of 25% on the capital they invested.

What can Seekers do?

When it comes to property management and refurbishments, we like to do things a bit differently. Unlike most agents, we have dedicated Property Supervisors to look after our landlord’s properties. Our dedicated team works independently to manage refurbishment projects on behalf of our clients and we project manage the works from instruction to completion. We offer a completely bespoke service, which can include property inspections, preparation of budgets, advising on rents and returns, managing supplier contracts, handling payment of invoices, and health and safety checks.

For more information, or to speak to us about improvements on your property, book a free 30-minute consultation with kyle@seekersproperty.co.uk, or visit our Percy Street office.or visit our Percy Street office.