Planning for the future

Property landlords should always plan the occupation of their portfolio many months ahead. Financial planning is of course a must but they must also give themselves plenty of time to decide what to do with a property once a tenant leaves.

Decision time

There are two options, the landlord can decide to sell or introduce another tenant into the property as quick as possible. They should start this process immediately when made aware the tenancy is coming to an end. Whatever they decide, there is usually quite a bit of work to do in the property and the sooner it is done the better. Most landlords will redecorate the property to give it a nice clean look.

Do you stay neutral or warm to an idea?

Choosing colours for your walls very much depends on your purpose of decoration. If you are decorating your home to sell, it is best to play safe and stick to neutral colours. They will appeal to a wide range of buyers and will also give them the impression that the property is a bare canvas and that it would be easy to redecorate should they wish to do so in the future. However, if you want to make your property appeal to new tenants then perhaps you need to think of something warmer. In any case you must remember to cover the property with empty property insurance while you carry out the changes.

Colour wheel can point you in the right direction

A colour wheel is based on the primary colours red, yellow and blue, and will help a landlord decide on how to progress with the update of the home. Colours that are adjacent to each other are considered analogous, while colours that are across from each other complementary. So familiarise yourself with the colour wheel and you can choose between analogous colour schemes or complementary colour schemes.

Seasonal selection could work

It is also a good idea to choose colours according to the season. Pastel, floral colours would be good for attracting tenants in spring. Cool, refreshing colours such as lime and turquoise blue would be good for summer. For autumn choose deep orange or beige. Red and white would be good for winter, especially Christmas. Alternatively you can coordinate the wall colour with one of the colours of the furniture or pictures in the room. In either case you need to take into consideration the colours of the flooring, curtains and blinds too if it is to be a furnished let.

Practice run first

Once you have selected your colour, get a small amount of the paint and paint pieces of chipboard or similar. Place them against the walls, visualise the colour in the room and decide if you are happy with it. Remember you will need to alter your cheapest landlord insurance arrangements once the property is sold or re-let.