Dress to impress to achieve a higher rental yield

Home staging can not only help to make a property highly desirable, but it can also help to deliver a higher rental yield, it has been claimed.  

From furniture and lighting to bedding and tabletop items, there is a lot that can be done to improve a property’s internal appearance and give it that homely feel; helping to showcase the impressive features available and maximise the use of space, ensuring that the home is perfect for family buyers or busy professionals.

But for decades, the furnishing of a rental property has been something of an after-thought for buy-to-let landlords, according to Robert Walker, founder and managing director of Alexander James Interiors.

“Often let unfurnished or at best, let with the bare minimum of items collected on a quick dash to Ikea, soulless properties have been presented to prospective tenants with the expectation of securing a tenancy,” he said.

With 2017 predicted by many professionals to be what Walker described as an “annus horribilis” for UK buy-to-let due to planned tax changes, tougher mortgage rules and the ongoing second home stamp duty surcharge, he believes that “savvy landlords” should be looking to do all they can to “maximise yields”.

He continued: “With more people than ever living within the private rented sector, the expectations of tenants have never been higher - and that includes not only a safe and functioning home but an appealing interior also.

“From a landlord’s perspective, dressing a rental property can also prove lucrative. Alexander James Interiors has seen a significant rise in demand from landlords, both individual or accidental landlords and professional, multi-unit landlords, for the furnishing of rental properties over the last 18 months as property owners seek to increase their yields.”

Home staging or ‘dressing’ as the experts call it, is not just interior design, it is also marketing tool to ensure that the property appeals to the widest possible audience of relevant renters and not to the personal taste of the landlord.

Dress to let is not suited to every property, but there is no denying the possible impacts that it can have, with various design schemes available to suit the individual characteristics and space requirements of different properties. 

Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions.
If any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.
Please help us by reporting comments you consider to be unduly offensive so we can review and take action if necessary. Thank you.