One of the trends we’re seeing in 2024 is tenants becoming more discerning about property. Our aim as HMO landlords is to ensure tenants walk into our properties and instantly think: I want to live here!
People typically buy based on how a product, service or, in our case, property makes them feel. Buying is a three-stage process known as the ‘logic sandwich’.
1. Initial impression – The initial feeling you get when you walk in, combined with your experience with the person/agency communicating with you.
2. Logic – does this meet my actual needs? Location, size, space, storage, who the other tenants are…
3. Parting feeling – The feeling you are left with. You may not remember all the property’s specifics, but if you come away feeling you could live there, that clinches it.
1. MAXIMISE NATURAL LIGHT
Replace the windows with large panes modern enough for high efficiency and to maximise light. Consider adding windows in the rear and sides of properties (no planning required); even obscured glazing adds light. Natural light is always better than artificial, but where it isn’t accessible, use light tunnels to reflect light down into an internal space (eg, living room, kitchen) from a higher part of the building.
Then maximise it with mirrors to bounce light around the room and make it feel larger. These are cost-effective and make spaces more inviting.
2. CONSISTENT COLOUR SCHEME
Colour also maximises light, if you employ lighter-coloured walls and only use dark colours as accents and design features to avoid creating depressing spaces.
A cohesive colour scheme throughout creates a more harmonious and appealing environment.
3. DESIGNS THAT ENCOURAGE TENANT CONNECTION
We use design to motivate tenants to connect within our properties: larger communal useable spaces. Interior designers help us optimise layouts to make the most of available space, including multi-functional furniture and built-in storage in living areas.
Independent utility rooms, even small cupboards, keeps ‘utility’ separate from community spaces.
4. DURABLE AND EASY-TO-MAINTAIN MATERIALS
These feelings are governed by how a property looks and feels: the design and space. Here are my quick top ten tips to influence these, in an easy-to-digest-and-implement format.
An HMO by nature gets a battering by tenants. Imagine your normal family home and how often appliances get used, doors opened, floors walked upon, etc., and then multiply that by the number of tenants in an HMO: five-ten plus in larger properties. That illustrates the extra use everything in an HMO gets.
Reduce long-term costs by choosing hard-wearing materials, eg, flooring, worktops, door handles, showers and furniture. They must withstand heavy use and be easy to clean to ensure longevity and maintenance ease.
8. PERSONALISED TOUCHES
Add distinct touches, such as artwork, plants and decorative accessories, to give the property character and make it homely. It could even form a theme for the property.
We often use affirmations as artwork to create the foundations of a more positive environment. Our ethos is ‘tenant first’ and ‘tenant well-being’, so anything which helps improve our tenants’ comfort and peace of mind, even subtly, is a bonus.
9. OUTSIDE SPACE
These spaces are just as important as what’s inside and often get overlooked or omitted due to budgetary constraints. Include this in your initial cost appraisals and in the builder’s contract. Consider low-maintenance solutions, like:
5. BUILT-IN FURNITURE
Built-in wardrobes won’t deduct from your room size, yet they reduce the amount of free-standing furniture which can easily clutter a room and make it feel cramped.
Built-in seating can incorporate storage underneath. Tenants love storage space for their bags, suitcases, shoes, etc.
Consider building shelving in awkward spaces – loft room eaves, alcoves flanking chimney breasts, and as alternatives to bedside tables.
Built-in beds can create space in awkwardly shaped rooms.
• Decking (composite, not wood)
• Built-in seating
• Built-in BBQ area
• Covered and secure cycle store (required for larger, Sui Generis HMOs)
• ‘ Re-wilding’ any superfluous garden space to distinguish it from the official outside space. Wildflower gardens are very easy to create and require little or no maintenance.
10. SAFETY AND SECURITY
Tenant safety is paramount, so ensure that your design prioritises a feeling of a safe space. Include exterior lighting activated by sensors at the front and rear of the property, secure locks on the access doors with keys that cannot be duplicated by tenants, and perhaps even security cameras on the exterior. (We haven’t needed security cameras, but it is something that could be considered if tenants have concerns about safety.)
6. OVER-DELIVER ON THE KITCHEN
Design a kitchen which is modern, timeless and functional (not what’s trendy).
Don’t settle for the bare minimum required for your licence; include at least one entire cupboard for each tenant’s use, plus separate cupboards/storage for pots, pans, cutlery, etc. Install quality appliances (while avoiding premium, which still break over time) and sufficient worktop space for to cater for multiple tenants. Eg, breakfast bars are social spaces that double as extra worktops.
7. EFFECTIVE USE OF TECHNOLOGY
To reduce costs whilst still creating an inviting space, consider using sensors and ‘smart’ fittings. (We use PIR motion sensors in hallways and some communal spaces to control lighting.)
These ten tips are just a few ideas to ensure that your property provides a feeling of home to tenants, future and current. Some are inexpensive or even free to implement, whilst others come at a cost. Bottom line: Logic doesn’t sell rooms, but feeling does.
Installing smart thermostats allow tenants to control their heating while preventing it from being left on indefinitely. Sensors can link windows to heating so the heating can’t be on when a window is open. Today’s technology allows you to get granular, but I suggest keeping it simple.
Modern tenants are often aware of energy efficiencies, so featuring some of these methods can be a selling point in their decision-making process.