When you enter the real estate industry and start purchasing rental properties, you immediately become a landlord once you rent those properties out. Becoming a landlord is quite a responsibility too. As Cavalier Estates explains, not only do you have to screen your potential tenants, but you also have to get the property ready to rent.
The process of getting your property ready to rent encompasses several different things, but one of the first things you have to do is get people interested in your property before you can rent to them.
How do you do this?
By enhancing your property’s curb appeal.
Did you know that it takes a buyer 7-10 seconds to form a first impression of a home? According to livabl.com, the psychology behind home buying (even renting) lies in the fact that people buy based on emotions and try to justify their emotions with logic later on.
That’s saying that potential tenants will need to feel a connection with your property first before they even think about signing a lease or any other type of paperwork…
So that goes to show you that making the exteriors of your home appealing is just as important as making the interiors of your home look appealing as well… They need to feel that connection outside the house that will travel to the home’s interiors.
Lots of rental property owners will host open houses to draw potential tenants in, but it’s a safe bet that they’ve taken the time to ensure the exteriors of their property is attention-grabbing.
When you’re in the process of sprucing up your home’s exteriors, there will be things that you’ll more than likely need to hire a contractor for, but then again, there will be things that you can do on your own as well. The biggest thing to keep in when hiring out lawn care services is to make sure they have lawn care insurance coverage before turning them loose in your yard.
If you do it yourself, other types of insurance are needed. Let’s say you’ve been prepping the exterior for an open house later that day but make the mistake of leaving a trowel out, and a potential tenant steps on it and falls, seriously injuring themselves. That potential tenant could want to take legal action and sue you due to your negligence of forgetting to put that tool away, despite it being an accident.
The point is to make sure you’re protected in every aspect during your entire process of prepping your rental property. But you especially want to be careful when working on the property’s exteriors… It’s a potential tenant’s first encounter with your property!
Nonetheless, whether you choose to work on the exteriors yourself or hire a contractor, here are some of the best ways to enhance the exteriors of your rental property that’s sure to draw potential tenants in!
Top Ways to Boost Your Rental Property’s Curb Appeal
Give Your Front Door A Pop of Color
When your rental looks tired or plain, you don’t always have to rip off the siding… Sometimes, the “pick me up” your home needs is a fresh coat of paint on your front door to liven it up! You can always opt for the same color your door currently is and refresh the paint, but if you’re trying to grab the attention of good tenants, you’re going to want to make your front door pop with a bright color.
If your home’s exteriors are red brick, you’ll want loud colors like a bright yellow or turquoise. If your home has white siding, dark or neutral colors work well. You have to play around with colors to see which works best for your home.
Treat Your Lawn
One of the biggest things that potential tenants notice about a property is the lawn. They not only look at it to see how nice it is, but they also look at it to get an idea of just what it would take to maintain such a lush green lawn. They’re looking at it from the perspective of how much work the lawn would require.
Some people have hectic schedules and aren’t able to maintain a tedious lawn, so when doing your enhancements, make your lawn look classy, but you don’t want to add too many features to it to make it look like “work.” For example, it probably isn’t a good idea to add a Coy pond or a fountain to the front yard… It may come off as extra work and turn potential renters away.
Give Your Mailbox A New Look
You may not realize it, but your mailbox is a reflection of your home, so if your home looks beautiful, then your mailbox needs to look just as nice. Sometimes updating your mailbox can mean slapping a coat of paint on it and adding shiny new address numbers to it! The main thing is to make sure your mailbox doesn’t look outdated and rusted over. If you paint your front door, you can always paint your mailbox that same color to color coordinate!
