Tempting Tenants: Improvement Ideas That Get Property Rented Quick

Without a tenant to pay the bills, rental property is a liability instead of an asset. The rental market is competitive no matter where you are, with a fine line often drawn between the peak value of a downtown apartment and a suburban home. 

No matter what type of properties you have in your portfolio there is going to be lots of competition for tenants. You can give yourself an advantage over other properties with some of these property improvement ideas that will find you a renter quickly.

Make An Outdoor Lounging Space

It can be hard to make an outdoor space like a small yard or garden a feature worth paying more for. They are a nice thing to have and can be handy for storage, but renters rarely make full use of the space. By making an outdoor covered lounging space you give the garden a purpose that can be utilized and make it a destination. The space becomes a part of the home instead of being seen as outside of it.

You can make something stylish and cost-effective over a weekend, or pay a contractor to do it for you in a day or two. All you need is a couple of walls to offer some shelter from the elements and a roof. Make use of an exterior wall and you are a third of the way there already. 

Corrugated roofing is a robust and cost-effective roofing choice. The Corrapol-BT corrugated roofing sheets from Clear Amber are light, easy to handle and install, and there is a choice of colors. Made from bitumen, they are waterproof and offer UV protection too.

Supercharge Your Curb Appeal

In restaurants, chefs say the first bite is with the eye. The sight of a dish says a lot about it and gives you a first impression; a taste of things to come. When people are hunting for rental properties the pictures are often the first and last thing they look at. Your property's first impression is not just important, it is crucial to turning interested renters into tenants.

There may be limits to what you can do depending on the type of rental property you own and its location. Downtown apartments will not have many opportunities for upgrades as the entrance will be shared between multiple property owners. Making sure the area is clean and tidy may be all you can do here, but it will make a difference.

If you have more room to play with and maybe even some garden space, add color and texture with flowers and plants. Stick to a theme. Traditional flowering plants in planters and hanging baskets are a good option that works in most settings, but there are more cost-effective options. Choose hard-wearing and low-maintenance plants like palms, ferns, and bamboo to save money long-term while having a contemporary-styled front yard.

Upscale The Flooring

The floors in living spaces often get overlooked, but the right style and material can make a floor a feature that helps tempt tenants into your property. Hardwood or stone can be an attractive choice, in older properties, but an expensive one. When upscaling flooring your need to balance your budget concerns with style and utility.

Carpets are expensive and difficult to clean. This often makes them a less attractive feature to renters as they fear carpet cleaning charges may affect their deposit at the end of the rental. Choosing flooring that is easy to clean is a better option, especially if it creates an opportunity for a tenant to add their own rugs. This lets them imprint their own style on their living space, which is an attractive feature too.

Bringing the flooring up-to-date can make the rest of a room look brand new too, without any painting or redecoration. Though it does require some financial investment it can help get a renter in your property and will make them want to stay there. It also looks great in photos which will help generate interest.

Add New Appliances

This may sound costly on the face of it, but if you keep your eyes peeled for great deals and use some clever financing options you can give your rental property a range of modern features to tempt renters. A kitchen with a dishwasher is high on the list of must-haves for many renters, especially young professionals. If you rent out a family home consider updating the washer and dryer.

If you want to get a lot of attention quickly and you are ready to make an investment in your property consider adding a modern heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. These can save your tenants a lot of money in energy bills, which is a growing concern for many. It also reassures people that a reliable heating system is in place to see them through the winter.

The outside of the property presents an opportunity to add some low-cost appliances and features that can pull in potential renters. A barbecue is an obvious choice, especially in a family home, or an outdoor heater or fire pit for some warmth on cold nights beneath the stars. Simple features like these can make people fall in love with your rental property.

Create An Office Space

More people are working from their homes than ever before. Whether they work a full-time job remotely or have an online side hustle supplementing their income, many renters will need a home office. This can be a unique selling point for many modern rental properties, especially in cities.

This used to be a popular room in the home twenty or thirty years ago when the home computer needed its own space for its massive monitor and tower. They have now become popular again as people need a special space for Zoom calls. You do not need to find much space either, just a corner of a room can be enough.

Make sure there is access to natural light in the home office space. This will help people to get their jobs done and ensure their Zoom callers can see them on their webcam. Try to have some smart storage space available too for charging cables and other clutter.

Switch Up Your Lighting

You can have a massive impact on how a space looks by simply changing its lighting. This can be from overhead or from lamps. The hue or color of the light can be used in some spaces to great effect, depending on the decor. A classic, vintage amber light can really bring out the period details of an older property. Bright LEDs are perfect in contemporary, minimalist spaces.

Consider using smart lighting too. Intelligent home features that can be controlled from an app on your phone or even by your voice are a popular addition to rental properties. They are an inexpensive way to add a modern feature to the home and can be combined with other smart devices. Smart thermostats and doorbells are other futuristic features that you can add to the property for less than a hundred dollars.

It only takes a few of these tweaks to get your property off the market and some rental income into your bank balance. These small improvement ideas often add value to your property too, helping you to get a further return on your investment. Set yourself a budget and see which you can add to your rental property and watch potential renters beat a path to its door.