Making your property appeal to the widest range of tenants
Did you get the answer to the question I posed on Monday ? It is, of course, that there is no shower over the bath in the family bathroom. The shower head attachment is fixed low down (for washing hair etc….) and the walls above the bath are only part-tiled.
To appeal to the widest range of prospective tenants, you will need to tile the walls up to the ceiling around the bath and then raise the shower head, so that someone can have a proper “stand-up” shower. The cost of doing this is not too great (perhaps a few hundred pounds), but do make sure there is sufficient water pressure to operate the shower ! In terms of rental investment, however, the cost of not installing the shower may be considerable, due to increased void periods i.e. when the property is untenanted. Most people would know this as being “penny-wise but pound foolish”. Don’t fall into that particular trap !
A word of caution, however. If you install a shower over the bath, please ensure that the walls are properly treated and made waterproof prior to tiling. In the shower area, the walls will get very wet and water penetration will then occur if /when the grout between the tiles starts to cracks. This will often happen naturally as the grout ages. Then, if the underlying walls are not waterproofed, you’ll have a much bigger & more expensive job on your hands than just re-grouting ! We’ve even come across some landlords who tried to use “waterproof” paint on their walls instead of tiles …….you don’t need us to tell you the outcome of that particular type of “DIY disaster” !
That’s enough on showers for now.
However, if you do have a question about what you might need to do to make your property more appealing to propective tenants, give us a call on 01293 515588 and we’ll hopefully be able to steer you in the right direction. Alternatively, you can e-mail us at crawley@northwooduk.com.
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