Making Your Home Look Great For Potential Tenants

A rental property that has been vacant for even a few months can rapidly erode your savings. There are, however, simple fixes to make your property look great for potential tenants. Learn these nine tips to improve the rentability of the property significantly.

1. Improve Curb Appeal

As vain as it might seem, curb appeal is first and foremost. Improving your home’s curb appeal is one sure way of making your property more appealing to viewers. Here are some inexpensive ways to increase the curb appeal of your home:

• Get rid of any chipped paint, torn window screens, or broken banisters.
• If you have an outdoor area or a porch, add some flowers and plants to create a more inviting, lived-in feel. Dead plants are worse than no plants, so make sure to keep them alive.
• Remove any debris, trash, or weeds.
• Make sure the lawn and shrubbery are well-manicured.
• Have a designated area with proper receptacles for all trash and recycling if the area is out of sight, the better.
• Make sure the address numbers, light fixtures, and mailbox are in good condition. If not, quickly breathe new life into them by simply buying a can of outdoor spray paint. Or purchase new ones at a local hardware store.

2. Stage Your Home

If you’re serious about getting your rental property occupied, you might want to consider staging it. You don’t have to be a successful interior designer to stage your home successfully. Staging helps highlight your rental’s positive aspects and downplay its drawbacks.

Here are seven staging techniques that will make your house sell:

• Less is more. Remove personal items and clutter so potential clients can visualize themselves living in the home. Remove things like magazines, papers, toys, family photos, and bathroom appliances.
• Your home needs to be neat. But, make no mistake; prospective tenants will scrutinize every room in the house when they come visiting.
• What you own can work. Existing furnishings, in most cases, can be used for staging. In addition, you can supplement some details, such as artwork, pillows, or rugs to brighten the room or highlight the positives of the room.
• Remove religious symbols and family photos. Home stagers and real estate agents will probably be the first to tell you this. But, again, this helps potential tenants or buyers picture themselves there.
• Remove extra or bulky furniture, which might be over-crowding space.
• Give your house a “blank slate” feel, so you appeal to the larger audience.
• Furnish your home. Furnishings also can dramatically increase your home staging efforts. This helps prospective tenants get a sense of the actual layout of the home.

3. Use Paint To Transform Your Home

Paint has the ability to transform a space completely. As with any property up for sale or rent, a fresh coat of paint throughout the home’s wall is a great idea. However, it costs less than any other decorating tip—a can of paint costs about $25.

In a rental, your best bet is to go with semi-gloss paint. With this type of paint, scuff marks, crayon marks, and even grease can easily be wiped off.

Make sure to choose a suitable exterior paint if you are painting siding shutters, outdoor railings, etc. Generally, exterior paints are formulated to handle harsh weather conditions. For long-lasting, quality results, it is crucial to prepare the exterior surface before applying paint properly.

Here are some amazing paint colors for rental properties.

4. Maximize Lighting

There is a lot you can do to increase the amount of sunlight coming into your home, such as:

• Avoid heavy, light-blocking window treatments. Opt instead for ones that provide privacy while still allowing sunlight like translucent shades.
• Use reflective surfaces like a back-painted glass backsplash. These give an impression of more light, especially when you have limited windows.
• Place a mirror on a wall adjacent to a window or opposite a window. This will also give the impression of more windows.
• Keep windows, bulbs, and fixtures clean.
• Consider ceilings that are painted a little lighter than walls. Matte paint is a good choice for this purpose.

5. Update Your Bathrooms And Kitchens

No one is saying you have to go out and completely remodel your kitchen or bathroom. Just begin by cleaning them. Scrub cabinets inside and out, polish all appliances, mop the floors, clean the tub, toilet, and all hardware, and don’t forget to give the grout a proper scrubbing.

Reflective surfaces and mirrors should be free from fingerprints and filth. Don’t forget to look up while you are cleaning. Make sure light fixtures and fans are free from grease, cobwebs, and dust.

6. Secure The Property

It’s common for tenants to feel a bit uneasy about moving into a new neighborhood. To relieve their anxieties, invest in a home security system. In fact, a home security system can also put you at ease, knowing that your property is less likely to be burglarized.

You can also install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Additionally, you can fit a child-safe fence with a lockable entrance. This will especially appeal to prospective tenants with children or pets.

7. Clean The Floors

Flooring is one of the first things that potential tenants will notice when they enter a home. So, dust, vacuum, and mop the floors before every show.

Vacuum and use a floor shiner for laminate flooring. Replace a floor that’s broken or irreparably stained. If you have a carpet, consider using a high-quality Berber carpet.

If you’re lucky enough to have hardwood flooring under your carpet, pull the carpet up and refinish it. You can keep them clean and attractive for other types of flooring by just vacuuming and mopping them.

8. Provide Ample Storage

Whether it be cupboards, attic space, or garage room – providing your tenants with enough general storage can help convince them it will be a good move.

9. Small Updates And Upgrades Make Big Impressions

Often, a few simple changes can result in a drastically improved overall impression. For example, it doesn’t cost much to replace worn-out faucets with new ones or switch out an outdated ceiling fan with a modern model.

You could ask a friend or your realtor to walk through your house and point out fixtures that could benefit from an upgrade.

Every property has something special. You have to understand what makes your property attractive and capitalize on it. Consider these tried and tested tips when you’re getting your property ready to rent. You’ll be glad you did.