5 Rental Property Improvements That Turn Off Renters
Hard to Maintain Landscape. Cottage gardens are definitely curb appeal boosters, but they spell “aching back” for a tenant. No one wants to weed a fussy landscape, or worry about water, or insects…. Most tenants don’t want to be tied down by the property. Go with something native and xeric, and provide automatic watering. Or, let the tenant who wants a garden plant their own.
Teaser Spaces. Touting your under-stair storage, garage shelving or new storage shed is great – as long as you haven’t filled those spaces up with your own property or rental supplies. What’s more frustrating than finding a crate of furnace filters in the tenant’s storage space?
Private Water Features. Pools, hot tubs, waterfalls all translate into leaf picking, algae taming and child-hovering. Now if it’s a properly fenced community pool that you maintain, well that’s another matter.
Going Bold and Beautiful. Because rental properties have to appeal to a wide range of tastes, neutral is king. That doesn’t necessarily mean white, but it certainly means not red.
Niche decor– Ethnic, retro, Pottery Barn – whatever trend you are into, it may be too personal for others to fall in love with. The rental property won’t feel like home if the tenant’s personal belongings won’t fit it. The same is true for over-the-top kitchens. Not every family would give up coveted cabinet space for an over-sized wine rack.
Keep upgrades simple and functional to attract the most tenants and avoid frequent updates.
See our feature, Make More Money From Your Rental Property.
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