When doing rental property upgrades, it might often be easy to refer to the television shows where individuals are buying and flipping homes in a fast, professional, and timely fashion. Yet attempting to follow the example of a flip-home reality show could be costly and lead to enhancements that are not needed or decrease the value of the property if they are not performed right. Because as property investors we focus on renting out to residents and not on selling the home, the importance of making your investment long-term sustainable and satisfactory for your local market should be kept in mind. Imagine your renters walking into a poorly executed renovation. Consider what rental property upgrades need professional work vs. something that you can do yourself.
Now we ask ourselves the main question: if I should not be “flip-styling” my properties, which renovations do I need to perform? As we look further into home renovations, the key is to find the top 20% of upgrades to your home that would add 80% of the value. As we search deeper, the main finding is that renovations veer towards being more cosmetic, less complex, and cheaper in nature.
Increasing Visual Appeal
The first step in performing rental property upgrades based on your market is to focus on two crucial areas:
- Outside “Curb Appeal”
- Inside “Home Visualization”
Outside Curb Appeal
If you are renting out a single-family home, you may want to emphasize the yard or garden first. The correct rental property upgrades can include:
- Containing gravel and rock walkways
- Adding plants that can tolerate droughts
- Reducing total grass lawn space with rock landscaping
- Preventing weeds from growing by putting mulches in garden beds and around borders
- Making the path to the front door clear and clutter-free by eliminating any litter
- Keeping the lawn mowed and edged
- Considering adding a potted plant to your front porch
- Repainting areas of chipped paint or sunspots
- Replacing and filling in damaged sidewalk or driveway
- Adding privacy fencing and outdoor living areas
To maintain your Boonville property from the outside and sustain the general visual appeal, factor in who will do lawn and landscaping upkeep. You could do it yourself, hire a professional service (while factoring in the cost into the rent), or require your resident to handle it.
Inside Property Visualization
When it comes to rental property upgrades from the inside of the property, it is essential to help the residents when they are considering renting from you to help them imagine themselves living in your property. Some things you can do to that have the greatest return on value include the following:
- Stage the rental property with décor as this could help renters visualize living in the home, as the space won’t be so sterile.
- Hire experts to clean up clutter and do deep cleaning so appliances, windows, bathrooms, and floors sparkle.
- Have a property management company set up quality services to tackle your resident’s concerns and perform timely repairs such as fixing leaky toilets, broken microwaves, and unreliable dryers.
- Apply fresh paint, floor coverings, and window dressing. Ensure that the paint you use is not bold or bright as lighter neutral colors can have a better effect on the mood and style of your property.
- Add blinds to your windows.
Treat your Boonville rental property as though it is your home by organizing, upgrading, and maintaining your home as a place that you yourself would like living in. Not only is it important to do sustainable rental property upgrades, but also to find the residents that will treat your property with the respect it deserves.
Are you interested in learning more about Real Property Management Results or in having a free assessment of your Boonville rental property? Contact us online or call us at 812-461-1676 today!
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