Being a landlord can be a fantastic way to bring in additional income. If you have the right property or even properties, you can make a good living as a landlord. However, if your properties are ever lying empty for any length of time, you will be missing out on that income, and if you have a mortgage on the property, it will be even harder to maintain it without anyone paying you rent to live there.
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This is why it is so essential to ensure your rental property is attractive to tenants. Not only will that mean you will more easily find people to live there once the current tenants leave, but you will also be able to keep those tenants there for longer. Here are some tips for what you can do.
Use A Management Company
Before we get to the décor and facilities you provide within the property; you need to think about the management of the rental. It is entirely possible for you to do it all yourself, but is that something you want to do? If you work full time, or you live far away from the property, or even if you just prefer not to get involved with anything that needs to be fixed or solved, you can use a management company. Gerald Eve’s property sectors will show you precisely what a good management company can do.
It’s easy to see what benefits a management company can give you as a landlord, but what about your tenants? For the most part, tenants will be pleased to deal with a management company rather than a landlord. It allows for some distance (and therefore makes their rental feel more like home) plus they can have more confidence that issues will be resolved quickly.
The Kitchen And Bathroom
Once you have a management company arranged, you will need to look at the interior of the property. Try to look at it objectively, or bring in someone who will give you an unbiased opinion about whether or not they would be comfortable living there and paying the rent that you want to charge.
Rooms to pay attention to are the bathroom and the kitchen. These are the rooms that will make all the difference when someone comes to view the property – if these rooms are clean and bright with modern fixtures and fittings then it will give them a much more positive idea of the property as a whole. You don’t need to install a brand new kitchen and bathroom every time you want to find a new tenant, but don’t be afraid to do so if it needs to be done. Often, however, simply changing the faucets or tiling can make the rooms look much better.
Curb Appeal
Clearly the inside of the property needs to be clean and tidy, and ideally freshly painted. New carpets can also be a good idea if the old ones are stained, have holes in them, or are just old. However, while the inside is important, you shouldn’t forget the outside. This is the first thing that prospective tenants will see and if it is not well maintained or attractive, you might not get as many viewers in to see the property as you would if it looked better.
Take the time to tidy up the yard if the property has one, and clear the path to the front door. You can even repaint the front door as well, and ensure that any repairs are made.
