In my experience, people rent property on first impressions. Believe it or not, prospective tenants have pretty much decided whether they want to live somewhere before they ever get out of their car. Have you ever watched a car slow down in front of a property for rent, stop, back up, pull forward again, then speed off? The occupants' first impression told them that that was someplace they didn't want to live.
The way to get more rent and better quality tenants is to make your rental property look as if it ought to rent for more money. What follows are ten ways to do just that.
1. Plant flowers, clean up the yard and trim the shrubs. Make it look crisp and clean from the street.
2. Hang blinds. They don't have to be expensive, just in the windows.
3. Install a range and refrigerator or a built-in dishwasher. Make sure they are the same color to make the kitchen appear bigger and the refrigerator should have an icemaker.
4. Put in a washer and dryer. Less hassle when residents move and you control the potential for leaks.
5. Write an effective Craigslist or local rental web site ad. Sell the property to the tenant before he or she sees it.
6. Fence the back yard. Give the tenant some kind of private space, if it isn't a single-family home.
7. Plant new bushes or flowers at the front and/or back entries. Make these entries inviting.
8. Detail the front entrance. Put in a new front door mat, install new house numbers, paint the front door. Just outside the front door and inside the first room you see as you enter should sparkle from extra attention.
9. Roll out or blow in insulation. Wrap the pipes. Make the house more energy efficient. That is just as important if the tenant is paying the power bills as it is if you are.
10. Wax the floors and polish the chrome. If anything is supposed to shine, make it shine.
Wallace S. Gibson, CPM * GIBSON MANAGEMENT GROUP, Ltd.
Central Virginia
LandlordWhisperer
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Wallace,
Well said, I don't want lease listings for lease and property management that we don't put on it's best foot forward. Fortunately, that's not the case 95% of the time.
All the best, Michelle
Wallace, Great points especially about making it energy efficient and curb appeal.
Wallace, point 4 is well taken advise. It usually a problem (water leak) that is not found until after the tenant has moves out.
Many property owners think that the $$$ is too much when having a vacancy for 2 or 3 months is MORE costly!!