You may think that you’ve done all you can with the home you’re looking to rent out. But a lot of landlords seem to miss out on great opportunities to improve their properties. Many landlords are looking to charge high rental fees, especially in the cities. But you need to be able to justify those sorts of prices. If your property isn’t looking great and feeling fresh, then you could find yourself struggling to find a tenant!
Don’t make the mistake of assuming the prospective tenant will be fine with sorting out problems themselves during their stay. Before you put the buy-to-let property on the market, you need to give it a good spruce up. Landlords often make the mistake of assuming that they’ll get themselves a tenant in no time. Don’t fall for this trap!
Here are a few ways that can help you make your property look more modern and stylish. We’ll also go over some key problems that you need to find and fix.
Replace the lighting
Most properties these days are flooded with CFL bulbs. They’re not particular energy-efficient. A lot of people don’t tend to think about the lighting that much. But light can actually be quite dull and uncomfortable if you’re using low-quality bulbs. Consider replacing the lighting with LED. You’ll notice that it makes the place feel more modern immediately.
Air quality
This may seem a bit vague. In fact, you may even be tempted to dismiss this thought right away. Isn’t air just air? Who goes into a property and starts worrying about the air? Here’s the thing: you often don’t notice when the quality is bad. But health issues can start to show eventually. Good air quality is instantly noticeable. Get the place tested for mold, stop using harsh cleaning chemicals, and get an air purifier.
Fresh furniture
Got a lot of dust to deal with in the property? It might all be clinging to the furniture. Cheap furniture has a nasty habit of absorbing and expelling large amounts of dust. They also tend to be very uncomfortable. Don’t just assume that the potential tenant is going to be happy with any old thing. Consider looking into some new PRS furniture. A good piece of furniture can sway a tenant’s decision much more than you may think.
Considering curb appeal
Okay, so you’ve spent some time dealing with the inside. Fantastic. But how about you take a step outside? Take a look at the property from the curb and see what you think. Do you think it looks immediately attractive? It doesn’t have to blow anyone away – people, ultimately, care a lot more about the inside. But if it looks decrepit and dangerous from the outside, that will definitely put some people off. Speaking of danger…
Security
You know what’s scary? People breaking into your home. These days, a lot of buy-to-let properties have strong security measures. This is especially true in multi-home buildings. You need to make sure this place is solid as a rock, security-wise. Every door and window must be able to close securely. There shouldn’t be any clear points of illegal entry.