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Investors in Dubai are always looking at ways of getting a better return on their investment, and one easy way of potentially increasing the value of your property is to renovate and upgrade it.

Here are a few tips when it comes to renovating your property:

1. Stand out from the crowd
Dubai has high rent compared to other cities in the world, and in many cases tenants are having to spend 30-50 per cent of their income on renting a property. Because of this, landlords have to stand out from the crowd as the competition is huge. It’s worth investing in better furniture, quality decor etc. Also, it’s important to appoint or use a professional photograph/agency for marketing your property. It’ll make you stand apart from your rivals and hopefully bag the best tenant! In Dubai, people are looking for quick and convenient property deals, so if you can market it well and give the tenant and buyer as little hassle as possible, you have a great chance of making it happen.

2. You can recover upgrade costs in first year
If you renovate your property, the chances are you could improve its value by 20 per cent. If you buy the worst maintained property in the best building, your chances are even higher. You may even recover your upgrade costs within the first year of rental income, so the investment is definitely worth considering.

3. You will almost certainly increase the property value
I’ve known investors buy luxury villas on the Palm, spend 3-5million AED upgrading the property and see the value increase by 2-3 times. This won’t happen on every property, but the principle applies. If you take time to invest some capital, it’s almost a guarantee that your property will increase in value. You will get better rental income and if you come to sell, most likely you’ll have made a profit on your initial investment.

4. I’ve done it myself
I don’t just like to talk about theory, but to give examples. My case studies below explain how to differentiate and create added value in your property.

Case study one: An unfurnished one-bedroom apartment (480sq ft) in Dubai Hills Estate. The property is rented as unfurnished for AED 55,000 per annum. Most investors expect a 7-8 per cent rent return on the investment per annum hence the property price or offer would be around AED 750,000.

Case study two: This is the same property mentioned above but this time it’s furnished and upgraded. This property is rented for AED 85,000 per annum. We have invested AED 35,000 to uplift the value of the property. Now our asking price is AED 1,050,000. 

In this case, we have now managed to uplift our property value and also, we’re no longer competing with the other sellers that are trying to sell their properties with the standard finishes. The mere investment of AED 35,000 in furnishing and upgrades has helped us recover this full amount in the first year’s rent plus the property value has increased by AED 300,000! 

I feel a property should be designed and furnished to create a ‘wow’ impression or factor as soon as an investor/ buyer walks into it. Your can do it in a more smart or cost effective way by being unique or the other way can be by buying brands for the buyers that are more brand conscious. Either way would work – but this is hugely important if you want to see your property value go up.