It can be difficult to understate the importance of good design when it comes to real estate.
Good design doesn't have to be expensive yet it's amazing how few property owners seem to pay any attention to design at all, be it colour schemes, lighting, flooring or fittings. You can't change the location of a property and, in most cases, it's difficult to meaningfully increase its footprint. Design however is one lever that's nearly always available to pull.
In the areas where we own property the difference between a well looked after, well designed house and its badly designed neighbour is currently around £150 of additional rent per month (or +21%). If we look at this on an annual basis and apply a fairly conservative 20x multiple of gross rent, this equates to approx. £36,000 of market value.
I am not talking about wholesale renovations; simply by thinking about the look and feel of the property when making paint, tile, lighting, flooring and landscaping choices can make an enormous difference. Good design is hard to describe in a sentence but you know it when you see it (and so does your prospective tenant!)
Just because the monthly rent is £800 and not £2,000 doesn't mean the prospective occupant won't appreciate (and pay for) good design. They still watch the same TV shows (think Grand Designs and DIY SOS), follow the same accounts on Instagram and Pinterest and they still have the same preferences and aspirations.
Good design has the best ROI of any lever in real estate. A well chosen colour scheme costs no more than a bad one, and the same can be said for tasteful flooring and lighting choices. A little effort goes a long way.
Some useful tips:
1. A good hack for finding relevant design ideas in your area and for your type of property is to look at nearby Airbnb listings. Don't stress the finer details, furnishings and accessories (all our properties are provided unfurnished anyway) but do think carefully about paint colours, light fittings, window coverings and bathroom tile choices.
2. Design of the kind you find in show homes is usually terrible, ages badly and is woefully inappropriate for rental properties. (Think white couches, brightly coloured wallpaper & elaborate accessories.)
3. Faux materials and bright colours don't generally age well - neutral colour schemes work best for walls and carpets. Try to avoid materials designed to look like something they are not (e.g. fake marble, stone & wood) - authenticity is nearly always better and will last much longer before appearing outdated.
4. What looks great today might not look so great in five years' time. Tastes and fashions change pretty quickly so don't try to go for something too modern. Try to go for a timeless aesthetic which will age better (think shaker style kitchens & classical bathroom fittings and tiles).
You do not need to be an interior designer (I certainly am not!) but if you are really stuck then it might be worth spending a couple of hundred pounds to get some professional input. The choices you make can then be repeated cookie cutter style across your portfolio or future acquisitions. That £200 might just be the best investment you'll ever make.
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