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Dressed to impress the rental market

With almost 20 years experience in the corporate lettings market, there’s not much Lynne Watson of Stonehouse Property Management and Leasing doesn’t know about the perfect decor for a company rental.

She has seen a lot of changes in the level of expectation since she started offering a furnishing service to investors in 1993. However the basic principles remain the same.  For example, there has been a huge change in TV fashions from the chunky box-like sets to LCD flat screens, and the price of these drop dramatically in the past couple of years. Properties furnished by Stonehouse now generally include a 42 inch LCD TV as that is what the corporate tenants are looking for.

“Yes, there are trends and we have to be aware of them,” she said.  “But there are constants as well, like the quality of property, furnishings and standards on offer.  And it’s important to leave personal choice out if it and be objective.”

Lynne deals regularly with two different types of client when it comes to decor.  “There’s the one where the flat is tired or a landlord is moving out and taking a lot of the furniture with him.  That’s a turnaround exercise and take a flat from where it is to a standard which is acceptable to a professional tenant.

“That can cost anything from £1,500 to £10,000 depending on the size of property and the amount of work required.  Although that might seem like a lot of money, it’s a good investment. If a flat is so tired and rundown that nobody wants to rent it, there’s no income so it is worth investing,” she said.

Lynne has found some landlords are not inclined to spend until she has explained that if the investment is applied in the correct areas it will make a huge difference to potential tenants as soon as they walk through the door.

“Some people looking to rent can see 20 to 30 properties over the course of a couple of days and it is the job of a good lettings agent is to make sure our properties all have something that makes the viewer think that they want to live there.  It can be something as simple as a nice rug and some cushions that make it feel homely.

The other type of client Stonehouse deals with is the person who has bought a new property as an investment and here they have a blank canvas. However, there are a few basic principles to follow:

• Put laminate flooring in the hallway, lounge and possibly the kitchen if it is open plan
• Carpets only go in bedrooms
• Always supply leather lounge furniture, not fabric
• Crockery is always plain white, not coloured or patterned
• Avoid vertical blinds
• Put a large LCD TV in the lounge

Lynne has found that many tenants, particularly those from Northern Europe, dislike carpets; they much prefer wooden flooring as it is easy to clean. Leather furniture is durable and easy to keep clean and white crockery breakages are easily replaced whereas coloured or patterned ranges come and go and can be discontinued.

“We go for simple, clean, modern lines and buy good quality, durable furniture.  We keep everything really simple in terms of the basic inventory and then chose an accent colour which will be based on whatever is in the shops at the time,” Lynne said. “At the moment, its purple and limes that are in fashion so we’ll use them for cushions, artwork and lamps so everything co-ordinates.  Then in a couple of years when we come to replace and update, we’ll use whatever is on trend then.”

Bedrooms are normally decorated in neutral colours such as creams and browns and bedding is replaced between lets.  A good quality mattress is a must.

Over the years, Lynne has found that with professional tenants, it is quite possible that the cooker has never been switched on and pans and cookware still have their original labels and stickers on them at the end of a two-year tenancy while the microwave will have been well used.  This is due to the transient nature of the tenants, many of whom spend only four nights a week in Aberdeen.

“Stonehouse Property has built up a reputation for the standard of property we offer.  We can take a relocation agent to a brand new property – chipboard on the floorboards and naked bulbs – and if we say we are doing the decor and furnishing, he or she will be happy to recommend the property to their client.

“We are turning round a rental property with a full furnishing package at least once a month and going by the response we receive, we are getting it right each time.”

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