Owning a rental property can be a very lucrative business, but besides its rewards, it does bring a lot of challenges. One of them is surely keeping it in good, rentable condition when it’s time to look for new tenants.
Investing your time and effort into maintaining your rental will bring you great benefits when trying to rent it out. Most landlords focus mainly on sprucing up the interior and forget just how much of an advantage great exterior and curb appeal can provide over the competition and attract the right tenants.
Investing into your rental’s exterior will be money well spent, as it’s an influential factor that can keep your property from staying vacant for too long. Whether you’re planning short-term or long-term renting, the following curb appeal tricks will help you stay in business.
The Front Door and Exterior Lamp
One of the quickest and easiest things you can do to boost your property’s curb appeal is re-painting your front door. Over the years and under the influence of the elements, the paint gets worn and chipped, giving an impression of a poorly maintained place. Such a bad first impression is definitely something that will put off potential tenants.
All you need to do is to give it a fresh new coat of paint and the result will be astonishing! A vibrant colour will instantly brighten up the entrance and truly boost the curb appeal.
An exterior lamp is another easy project to add on. It’s right there by your front door and leaving it in bad shape next to a freshly painted front door will create a miss-matched and sloppy look. If you’re already starting to panic thinking you’ll need to be bothered with electronics – no need to worry! There’s an easy DIY trick: remove the glass inserts and the bulb, tape some newspaper on the wall around it and spray paint it!
If necessary, replace the bulb with a stronger one, and inspect all the fixtures around the property to make sure they’re all functional. Proper outdoor lighting will not only boost your curb appeal, but it’ll improve property security as well.
The Garage
One thing that many landlords tend to omit is the garage. Even if the previous tenants didn’t own a car, they’d probably used it for storage and storages can get quite messy and dirty over time. If you have done your best to spruce up the exterior and the landscaping, imagine the disappointment of the new tenants when they open the garage and see the stains and smell the odours! So, give it a good sweep and a pressure wash, and if necessary, re-paint the floor with durable floor paint. It will give your garage an instant makeover and make cleaning and maintenance in the future as easy as pie!
The Façade
Cleaning up the façade might be the biggest and most challenging task, but if you have a good pressure washer, even this will be child’s play. Years of dust, dirt and grime accumulated on parts of the façade can be removed by pressure washing in just a few hours’ work.
Provided your exterior walls are in good shape with no need for repairs or paint, this will just be an easy cosmetic procedure. On the plus side, you might immensely enjoy watching how the water under pressure slides across the dirt and wipes it away!
Landscaping
If you enjoy gardening and spending time outside, landscaping will probably be your favourite part of the project. It doesn’t take a lot, only a few small improvements that will make all the difference: re-align the border bricks of the flower beds, replace the mulch, plant new colourful plants, mow the grass and trim the hedges. Add a pretty planter next to the front door and it’ll do wonders for your curb appeal. You don’t have to invest much, just make sure everything is neat and tidy.
In the rental business, first impressions are extremely important, so however large or small improvements you make, it’ll be well worth it in the end. By incorporating these tips when renovating your rental’s exterior, you’ll show your potential tenants that what you’re offering can truly be called a home.
Author Bio: Lillian Connors can’t resist the urge to embark on a myriad of green living/home improvement projects and spread the word about them. She cherishes the notion that sustainable housing and gardening will not only make us far less dependent on others regarding the dwellings we inhabit but also contribute to our planet being a better place to live on. You can check her out on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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