So you have a property to rent in London, but you’re not earning as much as you want from it. Tenants are interested, but the return on your investment isn’t high enough just yet.
What you need to do is take steps to improve the rental yield.
But how do you do it?
That’s where we want to help you. If you follow these five tips, you should be able to ask for higher rents from your tenants.
Tip #1 – Align Your Property to Your Target Tenant
This is something that you should have done before you bought the property, but there are still lots of landlords who don’t put much thought into their target audiences.
To align your property with the right tenants, you have to think about what your property has to offer. If it’s close to a school, you can improve your yield if you market the property to parents. If you own a flat in the middle of the city, young professionals will want to move in.
The point is that the right people will be willing to pay more for a property that serves their needs. Use this to your advantage to charge higher rents.
Tip #2 – Invest in Improvements
Take an honest look at your property. Does it suit the needs of the modern tenant? That kitchen may look a little drab, or the décor looks like it came out of the 1980s.
If you’ve noticed these things, you can bet on tenants noticing them too.
If you’re able to, you should invest in making improvements to your property. The closer your property is to meeting the needs of modern tenants, the more you’ll be able to charge in rent.
Tip #3 – Look for Areas With Potential for Growth
Buying a property in an established area has its advantages. You know what you’re getting, so you know what you can charge for it.
However, it’s unlikely that your rental yield is going to grow particularly quickly if you buy an established property.
Instead, think of buying in an area with growth potential. Look for places that have infrastructural improvements planned. More often than not, the value of such properties will go up when the infrastructural work concludes. If you get in early, you can take advantage of this to charge higher rents.
Tip #4 – Offer More Services
People are willing to pay more for services that suit their needs. For example, you may be able to offer a laundry service, or provide them with a parcel collection service when they’re away from the property.
Yes, this adds to your workload. However, there are plenty of tenants out there who value a property manager who goes the extra mile.
Tip #5 – Allow Pets
Your property may be your pride and joy, but you’re missing out on a huge market if you don’t allow your tenants to keep pets.
Look through property listings and you’ll see that most rental properties don’t allow people to keep pets. Buck that trend and you’ll fill a niche.
Pet owners love their animals, which means they’re willing to pay a little more so they can keep them.
If you want to rent out your property, contact the team at Hills Estate. We offer property management solutions throughout London, Essex, and Ilford.
