What rating will my property get? - a large Victorian house, HMO

Following our series of blogs and the expected ratings for different types of properties, just so you can judge for yourself what score your properties are likely to achieve, this time we are looking at a large HMO.

  - A Victorian mid-terraced, 5 bed HMO, around 115 sq m with a garden and chargeable on-street parking;
- in slightly less than average location (taken according to crime rates, affluence rating and socio-demographic statistics);
- assuming it's in fairly good condition, slight issues with the pointing on some exterior walls, boundary walls and interior wall coverings in some rooms and grouting in the bathroom all show some minor defects;
 - the landlord doesn't pay for any extra facilities apart from a free-standing washing machine, which he supplies.

Then our scoring, based on our weighted questionnaire, would result in an average score that just meets the 3* level.

In this case, to increase the rating, the landlord could improve the condition plus provide other facilities which would generally appeal to a tenant and make it more marketable (assuming you tell the potential tenants about them!).  For example:

• repairing the pointing, boundary walls and interior walls and tile grouting;
• extra security eg something as simple as installing a door chain on the main entrance door;
• paying for annual services of boilers, installing and maintaining burglar alarms;
• providing more appliances and an eating area in the kitchen - as this kitchen is larger than most, the space is there to upgrade the facilities
• providing extra facilities in the bathrooms/WC - full bath, separate shower cubicle, electrical shaver points or even just a vanity unit;
• ensuring there is an available source of heat in every room;
• ensuring any attic/loft had good access, lighting and insulation;
• providing more electrical points and telecommunication facilities - eg installing a 2nd landline, pre-installing a sky dish or any installation costs for cable etc;

This particular property is slightly restricted by its location, but has the advantage of size, in that the landlord could fit extra facilities/appliances in kitchens & bathrooms because there is the space.  Not possible so much in a small apartment. If all the above ideas were implemented, the score could actually increase from 3* to 5*!

More property types will be discussed on later blog posts.