Getting the most out of your investment is the goal of every landlord and property manager. If you have a single-family home and want the most bang for your buck, these mini-projects will provide a great return on investment (ROI) without committing to a large-scale renovation.
Paint Your Rental’s Front Door
Painting the front door of a home is a relatively simple project, but you would be surprised how much of an impact it can have on your bottom line. Eye-catching door colors are trending right now and for a good reason. Bold colors like red, navy blue, and black or charcoal can draw the eye of potential tenants and even raise the value on the property itself. In fact, black or charcoal front doors tend to raise a single-family home’s value by $6271. That is a hefty return on investment, especially if you are willing to go the DIY route when painting.
Make it Smarter
Smart home products are no longer futuristic-feeling novelty features, but instead, are becoming commonplace and sought-after amenities in a rental home. Thankfully, many smart home products are relatively inexpensive, simple to install, easy to use, and can even provide savings to the person paying the utilities. If you are a landlord who bundles utilities within your rent price, this provides significant savings for you. Alternatively, tenants who pay their own utilities will love that your rental has features that will offer them savings each month.
Some notable smart home products to consider adding to your rental include:
- A smart thermostat: These can save your tenants money on heating and cooling costs throughout the year. Since they go a step above programmable thermostats, not only can tenants put them into an eco-mode during specific hours during the day, the thermostat can also detect movement and the presence of paired devices. If it detects neither, it will automatically begin an eco setting to save energy. It can also remind your tenants to change the HVAC filters, which can save you fees from avoidable repairs or replacements to your HVAC down the road.
- Smart Locks: An item that seems to be made for landlords and property managers, smart locks can be an ideal investment in the right circumstances. While these can range in price, the higher-end smart locks can offer a variety of features that make managing a rental property easier than ever before. Smart locks cannot be physically picked, and many models have features that allow Bluetooth-to-smartphone connectivity, and biometric scans. Your unit’s lock can be monitored and managed from anywhere using a smartphone app, meaning you can easily let in contractors without needing to be onsite, and you will no longer have to worry about changing locks between tenants.
- Moisture Sensors: A smart moisture sensor can be placed under sinks and other leak-prone areas to detect excess moisture. If the sensor detects a leak, it will send an alert to the manager or landlord’s smartphone. No longer relying solely on tenant reporting guarantees that plumbing issues, broken pipes, or damp basements can be addressed as soon as possible, and before more costly damage occurs.
Refresh Appliances
For most rentals, it’s not the best idea to buy the most expensive products on the market, but nice appliances are still worth the investment. Current and future tenants will certainly appreciate an appliance refresh, and you may save time and money long-term by buying a modern midline appliance than going for the bottom-rung or an outdated model. Midline appliances can withstand a little more wear and tear than their bottom-tier counterparts, and they will serve to entice tenants who heavily consider the feel and energy-saving features of a kitchen before choosing their dream rental.
Update the Details
When it comes to updates with the best ROI, sometimes simplicity is key. You may not have plans (or the budget) to paint the exterior of your rentals, for instance, but simply repainting the trim or shutters as-needed can give your exterior the refresh it needs. This can be true for the interior of any rental unit as well, molding or windowsills collect scuffs, dust, and debris. If prior tenants were not the most effective cleaners, these areas may benefit from a quick repaint to hide any staining and update the unit’s aesthetic.
Getting the most out of your time and money is always the goal when it comes to managing a rental property, and these mini-projects take just that into consideration. Boost your rental’s value, make your unit stand out while attracting renters, and keep turnover low with these simple projects today.
This is such a great post, thank you. Whenever I approach the home owners of the properties I manage, they often think that I am proposing a very costly and time consuming renovation on their home. These are such simple and effective updates that can truly impact the appeal to a prospective renter, but don’t require a lot of time or money from the owner. Great post Brentnie.
Thanks for your feedback, Braden. I’ll be sure to pass it on to Brentnie. I totally agree, it doesn’t take much to make an impact and I hope this article is helpful when trying to persuade owners to invest in improvements.
The information you’ve shared in this blog is remarkable. Thanks for sharing such quality information.
You are welcome, Victoria. Thank you for your kind feedback.