“Rental properties are great for extra income for many homeowners, but if you want to have a consistently rented property, you’ve got to know where to invest your money to get the highest return on your investment. Minor upgrades and renovations not only help boost your rental property’s value, but they also attract renters that may not have been interested before.
You don’t need to break the bank when it comes to changing things up: invest wisely and always be aware of ways of keeping your home competitive for your local market to ensure a consistent stream of additional income for you and/or your family.
Here’s some areas to focus on updating:
Functional Bathrooms – To help increase the value of your rental property and catch potential renters’ eyes, ensure that ALL bathrooms in the home are functional and that the bathrooms are clean and don’t frighten people away.
Practical Kitchens – For many, the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in an entire house. For a rental property, the kitchen needs to not only be practical in terms of working appliances and ample storage, it also should look nice and updated.
Energy Efficiency – People like knowing they’re being energy efficient. Many of the new appliances help cut down on operating costs – meaning smaller energy bills for everyone. While you don’t need to go investing in geothermal heating for your rental, consider changing appliances to energy efficient ones, installing a programmable thermostat, and changing out any incandescent light bulbs to CFL
Low-Maintenance Landscaping – Investing in low-maintenance or no-maintenance landscaping for your rental property can give it an extra boost above the local competition.
When it comes to a rental or income property, make sure your property stands out, especially if you happen to own in a competitive real estate market. While full-blown renovations and remodeling can be daunting (and expensive), small updates can help your property shine!”
Content quoted from RE/MAX™ October’s “Real Estate Advisor” email campaign. Oct. 7th, 2018