Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Being a landlord isn't always easy. It's certainly a good method to make some extra income on the side, but you can't simply sit back and let the cash roll in. You have to be willing to make efforts and invest both time and money to get the very best levels of value from your properties.
Landlords who want to be successful simply can't afford to cut corners, fail to update their properties or keep their rentals in poor condition. Otherwise, tenants will simply move on and look elsewhere, and your properties will sit empty for far too long.
You have to be willing to add value to your properties and potentially even take the short-term losses while you make necessary improvements in order to reap the financial benefits later on, getting higher rent and more profits from every rental agreement.
But what are some of the best ways to provide additional value to your rental portfolio? Well, there are quite a few tried and true methods out there to choose from. This guide will go over some of the most effective tips of all.
It's well-known that first impressions make a massive impact. When you meet someone for the first time, experts say you can make up your mind about them in only the first seven seconds, and the same logic applies when viewing properties too.
Prospective tenants can decide very quickly whether or not a rental property is worthy of their time and attention, and that all important first impression is built on the very first photo of the property. And it just so happens that the first photos of properties usually show off the exterior.
So it's very wise to work on the curb appeal of your rentals, ensuring that they're attractive from the outside, as well as the inside. This means you should consider painting doors and windows, refreshing the outer walls, and adding flowers or decorative elements to make the home more inviting.
The kitchen is famously one of the most renovated rooms in any home, and Americans can spend a lot on improving their kitchens, adding new appliances, refinishing the counters and cabinets, installing new flooring, and so on.
Getting a full kitchen renovation can be one of the most effective ways of transforming any property, improving its value, making it much more appealing to prospective tenants, and even justifying a rental increase too.
However, you don't necessarily have to make wholesale changes if you prefer to save money. There are plenty of little touches and jobs that can be done in the kitchen to improve it, such as adding a new appliance, refinishing existing cabinet doors, or adding new fixtures like faucets and cabinet handles.
The bathroom is another space that is hugely popular when it comes to remodeling and renovating, and it's also one of the most important rooms in the eyes of tenants; people want to see clean, modern, well-maintained bathrooms in their rental properties.
Tenants will be quickly turned off if they see a tired, dated, or dirty bathroom, so it's vital to make sure that this space is kept clean and fresh, and once again, there are many different improvements you can make to jazz up space, and you don't necessarily have to spend too much in the process.
If you have the budget, you could go for a full-scale renovation with a new bath and shower, a new toilet, and new walls and floors. Otherwise, you might prefer smaller changes like new toilet seats, fresh faucets, or a new set of tiles on one of the walls.
In the modern era, renters have more options than ever before when it comes to finding properties in a lot of cities and even rural spaces too, so they have the freedom to be more discerning and truly find the homes that can meet all of their needs.
Many of them are looking for properties with lots of amenities, appliances, and key features. Examples include dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, and so on. These appliances can be the “make or break” factor that convinces someone to sign a rental agreement, and their absence can be enough to make prospective tenants walk away and look elsewhere.
It's not only appliances that can help to improve the appeal and value of your rental properties. You can also improve the space with extra features like energy-efficient ac installation, improvements to the outdoor spaces, additional security features, and so on.
To allow pets or not to allow pets? That is the question that has plagued many landlords minds over the years, and there are pros and cons on both sides of the argument. On the one hand, it can be tempting to refuse pets, as you don't want to worry about dogs and cats doing damage to the home that could leave you with big repair bills and hassle later on.
At the same time, if you refuse pets, you could be cutting your potential audience of tenants in half, as there are lots of people with their own animals nowadays, and many tenants exclusively look for properties that allow animals to give them the possibility of adopting a furry friend in the future.
Making allowances for animals can give you the right to charge additional rent, as you can add on the costs of each pet, as well as adding extra non-refundable pet deposits and inserting clauses into the lease to demand that renters pay for all repairs caused by their animals.
These are just some of the many ways in which you can start improving your rental properties, adding value, driving more interest, and getting additional rent into your accounts every single month. Make the changes today and take your landlording business to the next level, no matter what sort of budget you're working with.
Lately I’ve had success showing how spaces in the apartment can be used for work from home. Including pictures of WFH workspaces staged can help get your property rented faster to better tenants. It doesn’t even require much to add value. Maybe run an Ethernet cable and add some USB outlets.