Presentation and Maintenance

Good presentation and maintenance of your property at all times are key to trouble free rental property investment.

It is important to recognise the class of property you own, and decide what sort of tenants you are targeting.  There are tenants who need to save money and are happy to live in a property that is not in first class condition, and consequently pay less rent.  Even in these properties, basic maintenance of facilities is vital, and good presentation of the property for what it is, a great advantage.  And then there are other prospective tenants, such as professional people, who are happy to pay top market rent, but expect the property to present at its absolute best, and to be consistently and properly maintained.

Whatever the nature of the property, there is no doubt that well presented properties achieve top comparative rents and usually attract the quality of tenant that then happily keeps the property in good order.  That usually adds up to a higher investment return, together with less issues for you and us, and fewer and shorter vacancy periods.

At Highlands Property we take care to ensure that your important investment asset is properly looked after and well maintained at all times.  Bear in mind that short periods of vacancy do present an opportunity to attend to maintaining or even improving the property's asset value, and we are always ready to advise in this regard.

Here are some valuable property maintenance and presentation issues to consider in periods of vacancy.

• Have Highlands Property arrange to tend the gardens, mow the lawns and clean the windows, paths, gutters and obviously dirty outside paintwork. These are all things seen from the street, and you don't want prospective tenants to dismiss the property even before getting to the front door.
• Have Highlands Property arrange for the property to be kept clean, tidy and uncluttered inside and out whilst vacant.
• Have Highlands Property attend to repair or replacement of leaking taps, sticking doors, broken light fittings, loose door handles, leaky gutters, torn flyscreens and the like.
• Have Highlands Property get rid of bad odours that prospective tenants will notice, such as cigarette or pet smells.  It may be worth having the carpets and curtains cleaned, neither of which is very expensive.  In the worst cases replace carpet and curtains.
• If you are thinking about painting, only get painted those areas that really need it unless you plan on doing the lot.  New paint may only make those areas left unpainted look even shabbier.  Use light neutral colours: strong colours may not be to a tenant's taste.  If paint is generally in good condition, just get it cleaned, and touch up the scruffy bits.
• Have Highlands Property ensure all plumbing is in good working order, especially the hot water system.  And ensure that any heating and/or cooling system works properly.  If anything needs tradesman repairs, it is better to do it now rather than putting it off.
• Have Highlands Property ensure that all electrical wiring and power points are safe.  This includes any electrical appliances included with the property.  Have the smoke alarms checked.
• Take out comprehensive landlords insurance cover on the property (including public liability).  You don't want to be sued by a tenant or prospective tenant who accidentally injures themselves on your property.