Transcription
I've been investing in property for 18 years. I've bought properties. I've done them up. I've rented them out. I've done them as short staylets, holiday homes. I've flipped them, renovated them. And in this video, I'm going to be showing you the best and worst things that you can put in your property.
And here we are today in BQ. For your service accommodation properties, always put a toilet cleaner in there. And it's amazing how often the guests themselves will clean up after themselves. And I see a lot of properties where they don't even include that in there. And uh it's just a really bad move.
If you've got a tenant that wants to move into a HMO property and they're negotiating on the rent, I can't pay 500. I can pay 450. You can only say yes if you give them a because you have to justify it. So there was this one tenant I said, I tell you what, you can pay 450 instead of 500, but I'm going to provide a lawn mower in the shed and throughout all throughout the summer, your job is to cut the grass. On that condition, you can pay 450. He agreed and then save me having to pay for a gardener. So always justify if you're going to reduce the rent.
If you're renting out as a holiday letter service accommodation, these types of touches, like getting one of these fires in, it doesn't cost that much, but it really makes that homely feel. Also, always make sure in your service accommodation properties, you have a splash of life, like nature green. So, putting something like this in, this is £25, but it just makes the property feel a little bit more alive when you've got a plant in, and this isn't even a real plant, but it doesn't matter cuz it looks real. My favorite plant is the Japanese knotweed. That one's really nice. You can get it especially from Japan, but there's also quite a bit in the UK, too. There's some in one of my derelict castles.
See, I've been in property for a long time. I don't know what some of this stuff is. I I must disclaimer. I'm not a super DIY person. I did work on a building site for 6 weeks when I was 16. Like, what even is that? What is a turf club? If you know what a turf club is, let me know in the comments.
Also, if you've got an Airbnb or an HMO and you've got one of these standard locks, these are now illegal to have in your properties. And the reason is is because you need the key to get out. So, imagine if you need to get out cuz there's a fire, but you misplace the key, you're in big trouble. Whereas these, these are thumb turn locks. So, you just open the door by turning it. In fact, I would recommend just use these for all of your properties because they're just a lot better and safer. And even if there's not a fire, sometimes it can just be inconvenient if you don't remember where the key is. So, thumb turn locks. These are the ones.
But an even better step up from having a thumbnail is actually having I mean they've got here these lock boxes where you can put the code in. I used to use these. I mean, how much are these? Like £28. You can get them for like £156 from Argos. But now I've stepped up even more. So now we have the smart digital key code locks where you can literally just put the code in. You can change the code. These are just the best. And we have these in our hotels.
This takes me back though. I know what this is. This is a TR. Although mine used to be a bit more pointy. Maybe this is the wrong trout. See, I told you I'm a bit rusty, but I used to be a plaster. So, you know, one time I thought I was really good and then I had to do a ceiling and the plaster was just all falling down on me. It was a nightmare and I decided to be a property investor instead.
If I'm kitting out a property from scratch, it's going to be a berlet normal long-term tenant. I don't know if this is naughty or not. I don't know if I should even say this, but I don't like to put in a lot of the certain white goods. And the reason is because it's quite expensive. And visually, they don't even care. They're just looking at the size and the condition, looking at the kitchen, and then if they get it, they're going to stay longer and it's going to save me money. It's the same as like a garden. I'm not going to spend money making the garden pretty because the tenant will do that themselves. And they actually quite like putting their own stamp on it. And it can cost quite a lot to make a garden nice. So, am I an evil person for that? I hope my tenants aren't watching cuz I am a good landlord. I really am a good landlord. Look, if you want your garden done, I'll get your garden done. But yeah, commercially, I don't think it makes much sense.
Another thing is I'll normally rent a property, especially HMOs. I'll advertise it before it's ready and then I'll get the tenants to literally come and view the property while it's being refurbished. The reason that's smart is because they'll sign a contract and the day it's completed and ready, they'll move in. What most people do is they'll finish the property, they'll paint it all, they'll do everything, and then they'll advertise it. You can use AI to show what it will look like, like a CGI, and then when the tenant contacts you, you can say, "Look, it's actually not quite ready yet. Those are computer-generated images. Come and have a look around. You might need to use your imagination and also they'll buy in because you can let them choose things like you can say oh what color do you want your feature wall to be when you move in so they like having a nice fresh room you've got a tenant from day one you can do all the viewings block viewings before the property's even ready so that's normally from an advertising perspective I think it makes sense and my wife is going to hate me for this one but don't buy your paint from B and Q because I would recommend going to Johnston's ask for washable paint that way if it gets a bit dirty you can wash off the stains Johnston's paint is better my wife doesn't like me saying that, but it's true.
Also, plug sockets are really important. Have a plug socket by your bed because if you've got guests staying at your property and they can't charge their phone while lying in bed, it will piss them off. And also, don't get a plug socket like this. Get one like this where you can put the USBs in. In fact, you should really order one online with a USBC connector. So, these are becoming really popular as well. These are important. People care about this stuff.
Am I just sad doing this? Why am I out at Christmas? I I just like looking at bathrooms and kitchens. I don't even buy my bathrooms and kitchens from B and Q, but I just get pulled towards them because maybe I'm just Do you do the same? Also, do you constantly just scroll right move? Just constantly when you go to bed, you just looking at Yeah. Guilty confessions of a property investor at Christmas.
Let's talk about showers. This is really important because can be the bane of your life. So, if you're going to get one of these, what do we call these? Rainfall showers. I got one of these at home at my house. I like it. Stand there. It feels glorious. Problem is if the hard water comes out, you can get a lot of lime scale and they can clog up. And in our service accommodation properties, we don't have these because it's a maintenance issue. If you are going to get one, have one of these as well. In fact, if you just have one of these, it's fine. But if you just have one of these, it's problematic. We've had women that have complained that they don't want to get their hair wet, but it's impossible to not get your hair wet when you're being and also children because this is, you know, you can slide it up and down.
Now, here's a hard and fast rule. Okay, here's a here's a black and white. Never. Don't get the showers like this with the little rollers at the bottom because what can happen is they will get clogged up. If water gets to them, they get a bit of gunk in them and the guest because it's not their shower, they'll just force it and it'll break and you'll have continual maintenance. Instead, you want to get one. Here we go. Always like this. There's no way that's clogging. You're not getting maintenance issues and it's just as nice. Or this is what we have at my personal home. We don't have anything. Why do you need to stop? Like sometimes the babies do come and try and get in while you're showering. This is nice, too. I'm just trying to save you going through all the annoying teething problems that you can get just by buying a slightly wrong model.
Sometimes people like to buy the toilets that fixed onto the wall where underneath there's no support. But what happens is if you get someone a little bit heavy like me maybe. So it can literally I've had this happen even to me. It can fall off the wall. So I don't think it even looks better. You want a toilet that's actually fixed onto the floor cuz that way it ain't going anywhere.
Always get an extractor fan in the bathroom as well. Because a lot of tenants, they won't even bother opening the windows. And when it gets steamy, it will get moldy. And then the tenants will say, "Oh, I've got mold." Yes, because you didn't open the windows. It's because you had the heating on to put your clothes over the top. It didn't have the windows open, had showers all day. Yes, there's mold. It's your fault, not the property fault, but the way around it, at least it will help. Get an extractor fan in the bathroom and have it set up so when they turn on the light, the extractor fan automatically turns on as well. This is going to be a lifesaver for you guys getting started in property.
White stains instead get cream. In fact, even with your carpets, don't get like the same color, like a straight cream carpet cuz it's going to stain like mad. I like to get those. I'll see if I can find it. But you got like light brown, dark brown, and it's kind of all intertwined. And then that way if there's a little stain, you can't even see it cuz the carpet's got multiple colors. Let me see if I can find some carpet. There's no carpet here, but there are rugs. So, just to explain the point, like that's cream, that will stain like mad. But if you go with something dark, it can make the room look a bit smaller. But you want to get that that mixed kind of light. You know what? This is the kind of carpet you want to go for.
Speaking about carpets, the one room to definitely not carpet or I wouldn't carpet the kitchen and I definitely wouldn't carpet the bathroom. Uh when there's a toilet, I mean, we do have a nice big bathtub in one of our bedrooms. Um but a toilet, especially if you've got a toilet and carpet, that's just uh not particularly hygienic. And yeah, just get tiles. Easy to clean, easy to wash.
Before you buy a HMO, the rooms need to be a minimum of 70 ft. Don't rely on the estate agent's floor plan because if it says it's 70 ft, it might not be. There's always a little small print. You can hardly see it, but it says approximate. So, if it's 67, the agent might just say 70. And now, you can't rent it out legally as a room. You can't get HMO license. So, always bring a tape measure. I'm old-fashioned. I know you can get the really cool electric ones and stuff, but I just have a tape measure in my car. And if I'm on viewings and I'm viewing a potential HMO, measure the rooms yourself.
Now, you might think that this looks like it's been tiled, but actually hasn't. This is just smooth because if you tile in the shower, the grout in between the tiles, it will often get a bit like moldy and a bit gunky and need cleaning. But this is actually quite smart. So, I like that design. We use this. And shower panels are actually a lot cheaper as well to install than to get a tiler out and to actually tile it.
I'll literally go and stay at my properties like just before it's ready to rent out. Certainly if it's a holiday let I'll go there for at least one night and just see what it's like and there's always stuff where you're thinking oh man this will be nice and then you got a chance to put it in. And when you get your guests complaining see them as mystery shoppers. Like if a guest in a property says, "Oh man, I really wish that there was a map showing me what I could do in the area." Don't think you never heard of Google. What's your problem? Provide it. If every time someone complains, you see as an opportunity to get a little bit better and you're always improving, then before you know it, the reviews are going to come in and they're going to be like, "Oh my gosh, the owner's thought of everything." So, take your guest's feedback as constructive. Don't be like, "Oh, guest is complaining." See it as, "How can I get better?"
Should you have a walk-in shower or a bath with a shower in it? Well, if you've got to choose between the two, I'd always say have a bath with a shower in it. And the reason for that is, especially families with kids and that that they might want to have baths. Um, some people just love having baths. So, I think that's probably a better option than having a walk-in shower.
For a start, this kitchen 8 unit kitchen, by the way, I love B andQ. Shout out B andQ, but I would recommend getting your kitchens from Howen's, maybe from Wix Magnet. You can get them way cheaper and they're just as nice. I can't claim to be king of kitchens. This is more my wife's department. Not for cooking, but for buying the kitchen and maybe for cooking sometimes. But um we don't buy these anymore, these gas hobs, because they're just old-fashioned. They're dangerous. What we now always get are these. So these are called electric induction hobs, and they're really cool because as soon as you take the thing off, it just cools down. They're much easier to clean, and I think they look a lot better and more modern as well.
Now, the big argument now, open or closed cupboards for the bathroom, you know, kitchen. What do you think? I think personally closed is better for your personal home and also for your berlet but if it's short stay lets open is better because well for a start people can't forget they put stuff there so if if they've put items down they're not going to lose it so open for short staylets closed for long-term lets tip for HMO rooms you cannot advertise a HMO room if it doesn't have a splash of color if it's literally just beige magnolia gray like it needs a bit of color a splash like plants for example. There's loads of different types of plants that you can get. These are like £12. We've got all these different designs here to have a little bit of life in the property. Just makes it feel so much nicer and fresher to be in. I've stayed at properties before and they've not got any greenery, no no color at all. It does feel like you're just in a prison. You know what I mean? It's just like this is this is what we call the woman's touch. I can't take credit for a lot of this. I wanted Amanda to do this video, but she's out shopping with her friends, and here I am doing it instead.
Also, I would never recommend buying a pull out tap. I mean, I've never bought one to be honest, but I was told when I first got into property about 18 years ago, don't buy them. Just buy a normal tap. But some of these, like, you can tell they're already broken. Like, look at some of these. It just doesn't make any sense. These pull out taps. Monstrosity. Completely not needed.
When's the best time to get a Christmas tree? And the best time is just after Christmas. And I think as well having a Christmas tree in your service accommodation properties, it makes so much sense because if you've got a little a little storage area or or an attic throughout the rest of the year, you can keep it. But then all through December, that's almost 10% of the year having a Christmas tree. Then when guests go, it just feels like, oh wow, you made an effort. It feels really nice. Pull it out. We've got we have decorations that just permanently stay on. It's not super fancy or anything, but it's nice. You can just pull it out Christmas, get the cleaners to do it.
Common misconception, a lot of people try and play it nice and safe with their reverbs. So, they'll go with non-offensive colors. They'll go with maybe just magnolia. Magnolia, because it's non-offensive. But I disagree with that because if I showed you what looks better, this and I showed you, in fact, let's do it. What looks better, this magnolia, non-offensive, or this? You probably wouldn't want to do your property like this because it's a bit out there. Some people might not like it. What do you prefer? You prefer that one, don't you? So, guess what? Your guests will too. Your tenants will too. So, I recommend putting feature walls in. We actually um did a feature one in one of our properties recently. Black and I was like, "Oh, this is a bit risky." Black feature wall. It's in the lounge. Got a nice lounge. Got fire. Got a little bit of gold with some of the paintings. Actually looks absolutely lush. We've got green. Green's a killer color as well. So, be a little bit out there. If they hate it that much, they could always paint it magnolia. But you know what? They won't.
So when you get doors, if it's a HMO, the councils will normally require them to be fire safety doors. And what that means is that means if there's a fire, they're just a bit more sturdy. So these are just internal doors. And you can get these like I mean this one's 35 quid. I mean £35 is not a lot of money for a door, but it's a bit flimsy. So if there was a fire, that's just going to come straight off. A fire door. Normally, it'll be a 30 minute fire door the council will require and that means it would take 30 minutes for a fire to get through and then you'll have an escape window. An escape window is literally just a window that opens like this that you could escape from if you had to if there was a fire. So, you got a fire door, escape window, and now you're safe. That's for HMOs, especially HMOs that are licensed as well.
So, when you get a door, you're going to want to get a handle like this, right, to put on it, these nice little round handles. And the answer is no. These are £22 and if it's a round handle, you know, if you've got stuff in your hands and then you're trying to open it with your elbows, you can't do it. Also, if you're disabled, it can be difficult to open. So, for even less, this is £19, you can get actual door handles. Always get these handle always beats circle.
So, there we have it. This is what to do, what not to do, and a bunch of hacks. It's getting dark. I need to get home now to have some dinner. I wish we could have spent more time together. So, I've created a full guide with loads more hacks of how to get your property ready, how to furnish it, how to refurbish it for your Airbnbs, HMOs. If you want to get the guide, just click the link below and I'll give it to you completely for free, no catch. And I hope you enjoyed your Christmas. Cheerio.