Ok, so you consider yourself a good landlord, you cringe when you read yet another blog post which screams out to anyone who will listen how landlords are the devil just trying to get rich off the misery of generation rent. You wish they would actually stop and realise that actually, we in the HMO industry are actually doing many a service by providing affordable housing to people who can now actually save something from their pay check to put down a deposit. Helping someone end their couch surfing career and actually have a place of their own. Giving others the chance to stay near their friends and family on a manageable rent and perhaps even creating the opportunity for them to meet friends that become family in a warm and lively co –living space.
Don’t get me wrong, I wish we could all live in a 3-bedroom semi with a white picket fence but that’s not the world we live in and in a market we didn’t create we can only attempt to fill the gap and provide for the many.
So, how do we get ahead of the game while attempting to:
– Change the bad reputation of the HMO industry
– Get your properties noticed in an increasingly saturated room lettings market and to stay relevant in a city where renting has overtaken home ownership compared to the 60/40 lean in the other direction in just 2000.
– Keep up within a changing market where renters CAN expect more because it is out there to be had?
I’m sure many people have 101 answers for you, but we have found a niche that has certainly worked for us. Show homes in properties that are for sale are the norm, an average of 17% higher sale price reflects the effectiveness of doing so. Staged apartments are standard in the luxury rental apartments in Mayfair and the like. Top interior designers being brought in to design the “co-living” spaces aimed at the high budget working professionals.
Don’t let the big corporate development giants come in and dominate the market, we need to move with the times, we need to realise that gone are the days where substandard HMO’s are acceptable and it doesn’t matter who the tenant is, the benefits are tenfold.
“Make sure you are showing potential tenants how a small room CAN be a home”.
We say look around you, we live in a time where creating perceived luxury doesn’t have to be expensive! Landlords generally are providing furniture anyway, so ensure its appealing. Recent HMO development? Create a show flat! Have a kit to pull out when you need to re-let a room. The difference is inconceivable, the inquiries come racing through the door. The renters feel like the landlord actually cares about the property and in turn reciprocates by looking after it and finally achieve the highest rents you can by standing out as the best on the market. Trust me, any higher costs more than pays for itself!
While we promote these ideals, we understand landlords and the need to worry about the bottom line, so we specialise In working with landlords and create bespoke packages that suit your specification and more importantly, budget.
Perhaps you have a good eye yourself and just need to come to a workshop to give you a little point in the right direction on how to keep costs down or maybe your strength is in the figures and you need more than a bit of assistance – we can help!
We can provide the room styling package that you can pull out every time you need to do a letting or perhaps the whole interior a revamp and uplift, new furniture and all.
Gone are the days where the only way to make HMO’s profitable is by sticking in an old yellow mattress and some mismatched furniture, now the opposite is true, don’t be small minded and realise the importance of spending slightly more at the start to have better quality, higher paying and happier tenants in the long run. When we have changed the face of even the low end room lets, when you go on to spare room and every room that is marketed looking like an attractive home, that’s when you can go back to those landlord hating bloggers, point to your pictures and say “how do you like me now?”
For more information on ArctuRus Interiors and the services we offer to landlords, Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn Or on the contact details below:
Tel: 02086171430
Email: info@arcturusinteriors.com