Attracting Tenants to Your Rental Home
What do tenants look for when they’re driving around town, searching for rental homes?
A Neat Appearance: Take time to spruce things up on a vacant rental. Pressure-wash the exterior to get rid of dirt. If it needs a coat of paint, do it. Don’t skimp on something that is relatively inexpensive. Trim shrubs, cut the grass, and remove dead tree branches. Put a planter with some inexpensive flowers on the porch for instant appeal
Garages: If you have a garage, say so in your ads. If the garage has some storage cabinets or work benches, even better! This is premium stuff that you can charge extra for.
Newer Appliances: You don’t have to supply brand-new, top-of-the line appliances. But newish appliances that work perfectly just make life easier. Dishwashers are not super-expensive, and tenants love them. If your place comes with a washer and dryer, get ready to sign a lease much quicker!
Cleanliness: Look at your rental with a critical eye. Even if you are not the neatest, cleanest person in the world, your rental property needs to be as clean as possible. Landlords know that all tenants don’t keep things as clean as when they move in. But at least you can start out that way! The sure bet is that dirt and trash will turn off most potential tenants.
Storage: Update standard closets with new shelving systems. You can find these at every home improvement store. Put shelves in the laundry room. Add a few shelves in the storage area or garage. You’ll be surprised at how extra storage can entice new tenants into signing a lease!
RV/Boat Parking: Storage is expensive. If you have sufficient space for an RV or boat at your rental house, you’ve just attracted a whole bunch of potential tenants. IF it’s surrounded by fencing or trees to make the RV or boat invisible to neightbors, they will love you.
Great Location: If your rental unit is not located close to parks, trails, schools, or shopping, can’t do much about it. But when you’re considering buying a rental property, consider how much easier it will be to rent if it has all of those factors going for it!