Falkirk Buy To let – Bedrooms?

Last week, a landlord from Falkirk emailed me to ask, after reading the Falkirk Property Blog, if he should extend his terraced house making an extra bedroom in the loft. He had a builder friend who owed him a favour, and he thought that a good way to make more money out of his property would be to 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 around 10% to the value of the property. Turn a three bed terraced into a four bed terraced and about 9% will be added to the value. Looking at semi detached properties, and turn a two into a three bed and around 12% will be added to the value, whilst making a three bed semi into four bed will add about 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 Falkirk is currently £100,206 whilst the average value of a semi detached house is £135,346, meaning to make money the cost of the extension would need to be less than £9,516 on the terraced property and £14,211 on the semi detached house. Talking to a number of tradespeople in the Town, most are booking up to Summer. Also, no matter how good a friend he was, 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. The average rent of a two bed property in Falkirk is £460pm, but a three bed is only £130pm more at £590 pcm, whilst the average four bed rent is £790 pcm.  Interestingly, 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 warrant the expense, hassle and trouble of extending.

No, if you want to increase the value of your property, be you a Falkirk 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.

For more advice and opinion on the Falkirk Property Market, visit the Falkirk Property Blog at www.thefalkirkpropertyblog.co.uk.  If you would like to talk to us about your potential investment criteria, please pop into our office at 6 Vicar Street, Falkirk for a chat.