Southampton Buy To let – more bedrooms?

Last week, a landlord from Southampton contacted me, after reading my Southampton Property Blog, asking whether he should extend his terraced house making an extra bedroom in the loft. He had a builder friend who owed him a favour, and thought a good way would be get an ‘inexpensive’ extension. 

Having more useable space is generally thought to be consistent with better quality accommodation and homeowners and tenants are prepared to pay for it. If you added a bedroom to a two bed terraced to make a three bed terraced, it will add 10% to the value of the property.  Turn a three bed terraced into a four bed terraced and 9% will be added to the value. Looking at semi detached properties, and turn a two into a three bed and 12% will be added to the value, whilst making a three bed semi into four bed will add 9% in value.

However, before you rush off to the planning department there are some important considerations, whether you are a homeowner or landlord.  What would be the cost of making that extra bedroom? The average value of a terraced house in Southampton is currently £195,400 whilst the average value of a semi detached house is £228,900, meaning to make money the cost of the extension would need to be less than £18,563 on the terraced property and £24,034 on the semi detached house. Talking to a number of trade’s people in the City, most are pretty busy into the New Year. Also, no matter how good a friend he is, I know of no builders that would charge as little as that. Maybe the builder was just thinking of a bit of pointing work on the chimney!

Well, that got me thinking about how bedrooms affected rental prices and rent-ability as well.   Interestingly below, you will see that whilst bedrooms do have an effect on the rent that can be achieved and the rent-ability of the property – the difference does not generally warrant the expense, hassle and trouble of extending.

• 23.5% of the one bed properties on the market to rent in Southampton have a tenant with an average rent of £578 per month

•  33.8% of the two bed properties on the market to rent in Southampton have a tenant with an average rent of £850 per month

• 28.9% of the three bed properties on the market to rent in Southampton have a tenant with an average rent of £1,041 per month

• 6.5% of the four bed properties on the market to rent in Southampton have a tenant with an average rent of £1,294 per month

Now, if you want to increase the value of your property, be you a Southampton landlord or homeowner, there are things that cost a lot less than building extra bedrooms. Spruce up the exterior, emulsion all the rooms, install fresh carpets and curtains. For homeowners, a matter of a few hundred pounds will add thousands whilst for landlords, these things can add an extra 10% to the rent that you can achieve. If you need advice on getting the most from your rental property please do give me a call or drop in for a chat.