Invest in Your Property: Improvements and Renovations Get Better Quality Tenants

Wondering if it’s already time to give your investment property a facelift? If you’re not certain about the steps, then let us give you an overview of how renovations work.

Renovations can either be just “as is” and budget-friendly or they can run into thousands of dollars, depending on what must be done on your property.

Nonetheless, it is important that your renovations result in making your property appeal to a better quality of tenant rather than spending your money for no reason.

Identify Your Target Audience

Definitely, knowing who you are targeting should be your priority in order to get great tenants. Talking with a property manager is essential, as he or she will be able to assist you in matching the right type of tenants with your current investment – couples, singles, families, students, youth, etc.

From here, you will then be able to strategise and make decisions on how you can do your renovations and attract these tenants.

Catering for Couples and Singles

For many investment owners, having couples and singles as tenants is a better option than having potential wear and tear of children.

For these types of tenants, facilities like a spacious kitchen and plenty of storage space are what they will appreciate the most. These include a dedicated study or office nook, an easy-to-clean flooring and garden areas. In fact, adding a covered outdoor area so they can bond with their friends and family over barbecue is also a great idea.

They often also enjoy bright, sunny rooms and a modern look, so changing your curtains, blinds, and adding a lick of paint are great ways to attract these tenants.

Catering for Students

If your rental property is close to schools, universities or educational campuses, then your biggest tenant base might be students.

They may not care so much about having top of the range appliances, but they will certainly want enough kitchen storage space so they could share it with their housemates, as well as study areas or rooms that are big enough to fit in a study desk. What students will also be requiring the most are safe and secure accommodation with good and stable Internet connection.

You may also wish to consider furnishing the property with a small fridge, washing machine and dryer.

Catering for Families

If you want families into your rental property, you must ensure it has family-friendly facilities such as outdoor areas where children can play safely, safety locks on doors, family-friendly furnishings that include tiles or laminate flooring, washable walls, a good-sized kitchen, and extra shelving.

If you can install another toilet, this is also often appreciated as well.

Now, here are some best renovation options for you to explore to help attract better quality tenants:

Budget-Friendly Renovations

For budget-friendly options, here are some steps to help you renovate and attract tenants into your property:

Reface Your Benchtops and Kitchen Cupboards

When on a budget, you can simply look at various products that are already available in the market. This will only not save you time and energy, but it will also make the job easy.

With just a weekend or two, you would be able to see your kitchen looking modern and fresh without spending a lot of dollars. Remember, modern kitchens, nowadays, are great ways to impress different types of tenants including couples and families.

Replace Your Bathroom Vanities

Don’t hesitate and start picking up good quality vanities at the nearest hardware stores in your area. It’s the perfect time to replace the old-style vanity that you have with a quite bigger storage room to give your current bathroom a two thumbs up from potential tenants. This is a quick and easy option, to improve and modernize the look of the whole room!

Paint Your Property to Give it a Fresh Look

Undeniably, one of the quickest ways to give your entire property a new look is with a coat of paint. If you’re looking for what colour works best, we suggest always going for neutral and light. You may also want to choose a colour that doesn’t easily show light marks.

If you think families with young children are your best audience, then having a paint that can easily be washed is something you can opt to use. On the other hand, couples and singles will enjoy a neutral colour to avoid their  furniture looking out of place.

Install Air-Conditioning and Heating

If your investment property is based in an area that sees high temperatures during summer or low temperatures during winter, then having a high-quality reverse cycle air-conditioning unit will be crucial for the tenants.

You should also consider ceiling fans in each room with a central air-conditioning system, especially in hot and humid areas.

In Summary

Once you decide to finally renovate your property and set it up for a certain type of tenant, always ensure that the weekly rent matches what the property is worth.

Listing at too low of a price may attract the type of tenants you don’t want, while too high of a price may mean that you’re pricing yourself out of the market.

Another important thing to remember as an investor is that a quality long-term tenant paying slightly below market rent is better than having new tenants every six or twelve months paying a higher rent.

Renovating to attract better, quality tenants doesn’t always need to be expensive; instead, doing some simple upgrades can make all the difference.