For residential property owners, maximizing property value is an ongoing goal. In this blog post, we’ll explore practical tips and strategies to enhance the value of your investment, ensuring long-term financial success. Well-maintained properties not only attract quality tenants but also retain their value over time.
Proactive Maintenance
Proactive repairs and maintenance are key components of properly managing real estate. Avoiding unexpected repairs with regular maintenance is far more affordable, and convenient. Here are some key components to monitor:
- Loose or leaking faucets
- Rusting water heaters
- Noisy furnace or A/C
- Hard and cracking caulking, inside and out
Upgrading Key Features:
The most common problems we run into are things like running toilets, problematic doors and windows, insect and animal infestations, and water leaks. Ensure your exterior caulking and roof are in good shape, repair or replace any damaged or missing exterior vent covers, inspect and upgrade water shutoff valves that are seized, or near difficult to open and close, among other things.
Strategic Landscaping:
The key with landscaping rental properties is to keep it low maintenance. While we’ve met countless tenants who take better care of their lawn and garden than many home owners, it’s uncommon. The lower maintenance the house and property are, the better. Stick to perennials, resilient, and even consider having a company go in once a year to edge gardens and clean things up a bit.
If you have a tenant turnover coming up, plan for upgrades in between tenants. It is the perfect opportunity to get in the house and do some work, and it could even fetch you higher rent with the next tenant.