If your tenant contacts you asking for a new kitchen, you will have to take a view on whether it is worth the cost. If the kitchen is old and tired, then it would be worth considering.
First of all, your rental property is your prize asset and, in order to retain the value, and make it attractive to tenants, it will need updating and refurbishing over the years.
These costs are all tax deductible, but you are advised to check with your accountant/tax advisor how you can be tax efficient when making up-grades.
Typically, kitchens and bathrooms are believed to be the two main rooms that “sell” a property.
Therefore, to achieve the maximum rent and make your property as attractive as possible to tenants, it is worth investing in these two rooms.
In the case of an existing tenant, you should consider how the kitchen is impacting on their desire to remain at the property.
If they are a good tenant, who has been there a long time, and intends to stay, then it may be worth considering their request, obviously depending on the current state of the kitchen.
It may not be necessary to fit an entire new kitchen, while still being able to upgrade the existing one.
Changing the worktops, cupboard doors (while keeping the existing carcasses), and taps on the sink can give an immediately refreshed appearance without breaking the bank.
If the tenant wants an entire new kitchen, and it is not necessary, then you could ask them to provide you with a quotation for what they want done, and then take a view as to whether you might agree to pay half.
You would need to approve their design and plans, as clearly you want something that is fairly neutral to ensure that the new kitchen will appeal to future tenants.
If you feel that you have no need to contribute to the costs because the existing kitchen is in good repair and the tenant simply wants something more to their taste, then you can authorise the tenant to go ahead and fit a new kitchen at their expense, once again ensuring that you get approval of the design and finish.
Some tenants who wish to stay long term will make their own upgrades, and this only benefits the landlord.
If the kitchen is in a very poor state of repair, and you cannot afford to up-grade it, then you have a problem that is only going to get worse the longer you leave it.
Such a kitchen will make your property much harder to let going forwards, not to mention that you will not be able to achieve the maximum rental for your area.
Should you find yourself in that unfortunate position, you may have to consider selling your rental property, as it won’t be sustainable to keep it.
Selling a rental property that you can’t afford to maintain
You may likely struggle to sell a poorly maintained tenanted property to either another landlord or someone who wants to live there.
Tired rental properties have little appeal to owner/occupiers and they don’t tend to “show” very well with a tenant living there. Landlords are unlikely to want to buy a property that requires a lot of work as it means financial outlay, not to mention that they may have to re-house the tenant at their expense while undertaking the work, or even experience a void period.
If you find yourself in this situation, then LandlordBuyer provides a quick and hassle-free solution to landlords who want to cash in their property and sell with sitting tenants.
LandlordBuyer can assist:
- We buy any tenanted property in England and Wales in any condition. This means that you earn rental income right up to the day of completion of the sale
- We have made the process of selling extremely straightforward and fast and the great thing is that you will have a guaranteed sale, because we are genuine cash buyers with a large cash fund
- Simply get in touch via our website and request an offer on your property.
We will revert back to you within 48 hours with a genuine cash offer.
To sum up the benefits:
- No viewings
- No estate agent fees
- No legal fees
- No void period
- No need to spend money that you may not recoup to get the property ready for sale … and a guaranteed sale with cash in the bank on the date of your choice.
This is why more and more landlords are using our professional tenanted property buying service. It represents certainty and peace of mind at what can be a time of great uncertainty and stress.
Get in touch today for your no-obligation offer.