Top Considerations When Preparing Your Rental Property For Showing
When you are first getting started as a landlord, visions of passive income and prompt-paying tenants may be dancing through your head. While there are many reasons that real estate is a safe investment and renting your property is a solid way to make good money, being a landlord is also a challenge. You need to be proactive to ensure that your property is ready to be shown and leased by potential tenants.
Replace Broken or Unsightly Appliances
Nothing will date your home or make it seem unkempt like dirty, ugly, or broken appliances. Make sure that all the appliances in your home are in top condition, and also inspect them to ensure that they look appealing. If possible, kitchen appliances should match the décor or at least not clash with it. Washers and dryers should look good as a set. While investing in good appliances can be costly, it will pay off in the long-run with happy tenants who feel they got a great deal on your modern home.
Make Sure Safety Measures Are Taken
Be sure that you have fire extinguishers in good working order inside the home. You should also have a working fire alarm and carbon monoxide alarm in the home. Walk through the home to make sure that there are no obstacles that people could easily trip on, too. Remove any loose carpets. Talk to a safety company, like Universal Fire Equipment, to make sure everything is up to date.
Keep Curb Appeal as a Top Priority
One of the biggest mistakes that can cost the landlord some potentially great tenants is to ignore the importance of curb appeal. Curb appeal refers to how attractive the exterior of the home is from the perspective of those on the street. If a tenant drives up to the home and is repulsed by the outside of the house, they will not take a chance to see the interior or consider the area. To maximize your home's curb appeal, be sure to do the following:
- Mow the front yard, the sides of the home, and the backyard.
- Work in your garden to make sure things look neat and tidy.
- Hire a service to clean out the home's gutters.
- Be sure the house looks freshly painted and clean.
- Inspect the roof for to ensure it looks sturdy and new.
- Store children's bikes and other toys out of the yard.
- Remove trash containers from the yard and store them out of sight.
- Put up a new mailbox with the address numbers clearly affixed.
Ensure the Interior of a Home is Squeaky Clean
Make sure that your rental property is thoroughly clean. You can do the job yourself or hire a cleaning service. If you do hire a cleaning service, be sure to look at the property after they are done to ensure that they have cleaned it to your specifications. Before you show the property, it should appear to be ready for tenants to move in.
Finally, keep in mind that taking the time to do the right things at the start of your landlord journey can save you a lot of time and money in the long run. Taking these actions with each new tenant will pay off big time as you continue to rent your home and welcome tenants over the years.