Rarely, very very rarely, do we find apartments in such a state that nothing needs to be done to them. But that’s okay, because the price reflects that. In this case, the purchase price was just under 1,600 euros per square meter, while well-renovated and furnished apartments of the same size and in the same neighborhood are priced at over 3,000 euros.
However, the customer didn’t have a ‘fix & flip’ in mind, but something more long-term.
We pursued a hybrid strategy for the selection and renovation: The apartment should be suitable for both long-term and short-term rentals. The AirBnb yield is unbeatable, but there are certainly risks: a pandemic (some of you will remember…), for example, or a tightening of the legal situation, including bans, as has already been the case in other European cities. This is extremely unlikely for Budapest, as the hotels alone cannot come close to meeting the city’s accommodation needs, but it is still not impossible.
We wanted to create an ambience in which someone would not only want to sleep for two nights, but would also like to live for many months. And indeed, the first tenants were a student couple.
Renovating an old apartment – in 3 months:
- the wall to the living room was removed so that an open kitchen could be installed later.
- the old broken wooden floorboards were ripped out and the entire floor was leveled, then PVC laminate was laid.
- Completely new bathroom with modern walk-in shower.
- Gallery removed – it is particularly problematic for short-term rentals.
- The open passageway to the bedroom was reduced in size and a lockable door was installed.
- An additional window was created facing the atrium.
- Inverter air conditioning instead of gas heating, supplemented by an infrared heating panel
- Electricity and gas meters in the entrance area were clad in drywall
Hybrid approach to furnishing and equipment
A tailor-made sofa that can be converted into a double bed with a spring core. So we were able to get a permit for 4 people on AirBnb. And long-term tenants have a very good place to sleep for their guests.
A fully equipped, colorful kitchen from a Swedish furniture store. If they hadn’t forgotten our order and caused a 2-month building freeze, we would have been really happy with it.
We couldn’t resist and ordered an antique cupboard from the Hungarian ebay site, jofogas. As an addition to the spacious wardrobe in the bedroom, it is actually superfluous, but such supposedly unnecessary things, as you can also see in other small details of the apartment, ultimately give the apartment its own character.
We have also provided a workstation – on the one hand, there are also many business travelers, on the other hand, a desk is also essential for long-term rentals.
Incidentally, the walls here are not wallpaper at all, but paint that has been painted over with a special iridescent layer of glass beads.
Heated with an inverter air conditioning system
The appliances have a heat pump function and are very energy-efficient. They can cool and heat and also have the benefit of removing moisture from the air. This is not only important in certain weather conditions, but also helps with the frequent changes you have with Airbnb. The cleaning team uses the function as required to banish the smell of previous visitors to the outside.
Now you certainly don’t want to be in the airflow of a cooling or heating air conditioner in your bedroom. So we opted for infrared heating here because the radiant heat works immediately and the location of the room means that it doesn’t need to be cooled in summer either.
The apartment is now available to book on Airbnb – the result of extensive design planning and many hundreds of small and large decisions.
If you are interested in such a project and can imagine realizing something like this with us, please get in touch and we can meet online or here on site.
