case study four - furniture rental

In this case study we look at our furniture rental service, but with design advice on top, which is ideal for property developers and house builders, working one or a smaller number of projects at a time.

The initial meeting and brief:

As this Property Developer wanted a little more support on top of the furniture hire and staging, they requested our design assistance service. After the initial telephone conversation we arranged to visit the site to look at the overall project and gauge where our design input would be most cost-effective.

We discussed the spaces, the budget, the timescale and their ideal buyers. With this information the brief was created and confirmed:

"The refurbishment of a very tired and abused Victorian 2-bed terraced house into a beautiful, eye-catching property to generate more interest and a quick sale; providing advice on how to best utilise what was already there thus keeping the budget to a minimum. Suggestions for decor schemes, fixtures and fittings throughout to be in-keeping with and enhance the original period features with options to purchase certain items through Design Fix. Following the completed refurbishment, dress the whole property with our rental furniture and accessories as appropriate."

The Process:

The client kept us abreast of the progress on site, sending regular photographs. When they came across any decisions relating to the design or finishes we were on hand to advise on choices, mostly possible over email, video chats, sending photos and messages. As an add-on we created scheme boards for the main rooms to demonstrate our vision for the spaces in terms of decor, providing costings for the supply or wallpapers, light fittings, tiles, flooring and window blinds.

As the client wanted to take advantage of our trade contacts and savings, they asked us to supply the wallpapers, paints, faux wood venetian blinds, flooring, tiles/grout and the light fittings. We had everything delivered to site, clearly labelled, for the client to arrange installation.

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The Furniture and Furnishing

The advantage of helping with the decor and finishes of the property from the start was that it could be purposely chosen to work perfectly with the chosen furniture and furnishing from our rental stock.

Once all the work had been completed on the property and it had been thoroughly cleaned we installed all the rental furniture and furnishings; dressing and styling the spaces to create an appealing lifestyle to inspire prospective buyers.

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The Result: SOLD in 4 DAYS!!!

The property hit the market on the Friday. A day of viewings instantly booked in for the following day. An offer accepted on the Tuesday! Granted it was in a fast-paced sellers market, but several similar properties on the same street were still for sale months later.

On checking the sold prices via RightMove, it shows this two-bed terrace smashed the ceiling price on the street (of over hundred houses), for both two and three-bed properties by £10,000; only beaten by a recently renovated four-bed end terrace house!

With our furniture hire packages, once the sale process reaches exchange, or the contract ends, all the furniture and furnishings are removed from the property. We find that some vendors choose to keep the property furnished as close to completion as possible as the buyers often return for another look. It's also in place for the surveys and just in case the sale falls through.

If you would like our help to design your investment property to be more than an uninspiring grey box get in touch with us at Design Fix.

Click here to find out more about our Furniture Rental / Furniture Hire Service.

Click here to find out more about our Design Assist Programme.