While there is a wide pool of renters out there looking for a place to live, many rental properties are also waiting to be occupied. As the competition in the rental market is quite tight, making your property look appealing to potential tenants is an important step in rental property investing.
Whether you’ve bought a fixer-upper as rental property investment, or you already own a rental property that has been recently vacated, you will need to prepare your home to be shown. So, when before marketing a rental property, it’s important to ensure that it is rent-ready.
This is why we at Florida Property Management and Sales have put together the eight effective tips that you should keep in mind the next time you’re preparing your new or vacated property for staging:
Perform Any Repairs
If you just bought an investment property, chances are there are a few things that you need to fix to make it ready for your residents. Similarly, if your tenants just moved out after months or years of staying in your rental home, you can expect some aspects of the property to have declined due to normal wear and tear.
If you want to attract quality tenants and have your rental unit occupied immediately, it’s crucial to address these repair issues as soon as possible. Moreover, if some things are no longer working well, it’s best to replace them rather than try to fix them.
Hire Professional Cleaners
Depending on how big and untidy the rental space is, you should consider hiring a professional cleaner to conduct end-of-tenancy cleaning. Usually, rental spaces that are left messy need proper equipment for thorough sanitation.
Hiring professional cleaners can help you clean the challenging parts of the property. They also have proper cleaning supplies to completely sanitize the space, making it ready for the next occupants.
Here are the common areas that need proper tidying:
- Bathrooms, including sink, shower, tub, toilet, mirror, storage cabinets, walls, floor, and areas between tiles
- Kitchen, including sink, countertops, storage cabinets, stove, microwave oven, refrigerator, floor, and drawers
- Other areas like walls, ceilings, floors, windows, basement, garage space, closets, laundry area, moldings, and even lighting fixtures
Remove Any Mold
The presence of mold can break a deal with any potential tenant. Aside from being unsightly and unsanitary, mold growth is also a major health issue. This can be a ground the declare the property uninhabitable, which is a violation of the landlord-tenant laws of Florida and potentially the Fair Housing Act.
To check if there are signs of mold, make sure to inspect the areas where moisture is trapped or there is water damage, such as bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, and basements.
Schedule a Thorough Inspection
As soon as your tenant moves out and your investment property lies vacant, you should schedule an inspection to assess the condition of this property. This allows you to check for property damages and assess whether they are caused by a tenant’s negligence or normal wear and tear.
You should compare the condition of the rental unit before the tenant moves in and after the tenancy ends.
By doing this, you can determine which repairs are needed. Also, you’ll be able to identify the repairs you should cover and which ones you should charge to the tenants. Typically, repairs that are charged to tenants are deducted from the security deposit.
Check for Pest Infestations
A pest infestation is a major turn-off for prospective tenants. In fact, it is also among the top reasons why tenants do not stay long in a rental property. Make sure to get rid of pest infestation as soon as you notice any signs of it.
The presence of bed bugs, termites, rodents, and even mosquitoes can make your rental property unattractive to potential renters. You can choose to attend to pest infestations on your own, or you can hire a professional pest control service to help you get rid of them.
Perform Necessary Improvements
Once your property becomes vacant, it is the perfect time to conduct property upgrades to increase the value of your rental unit and entice new prospects into your home. You can repaint the walls, landscape the exterior, add storage areas, or even expand a room.
Breaking down walls to make the rental home look more spacious is a great way to improve its general appearance. Improvements like these make your property more appealing to renters, allowing you to charge a higher rental rate.
Replace the Locks
As a security measure, it’s best to replace the locks for the main doors so that only your new tenants can access the property.
For every turnover, landlords are recommended to change the keys and install new locks. If the option is available to you, you should consider installing electronic locks, as you only need to change passwords every time a tenant moves out.
Market on Listing Sites
Once your property is physically ready, you should market your rental home to a variety of listing platforms so that it gets the exposure that it deserves. Through this, potential renters will be made aware of the vacancy.
Make sure to use professional photography to highlight the best features of your rental unit. Your goal is to make a good first impression on prospects so that you can get several inquiries. Once a pool of renters is interested, you can easily screen these applicants to choose the best ones.
Bottom Line
Getting your property ready to rent is a critical and sometimes difficult process, especially if you’re new to being a landlord. But by marketing the property right, completing the right improvements, and making sure your property looks its best, you will find your property is ready to rent in no time.
If you have any further questions or need the help of an expert property management company. Contact us at Florida Property Management and Sales today!