If you’ve been renting out your property for a while now, you understand that collecting a big wad of cash every month is not the only thing on your landlord’s to-do list. Being a landlord takes work, and preparing the property for your tenants is a big part of it. For starters, you should think of it as part of your overall investment strategy. Likewise, maintaining your property and making it attractive for the people who will be occupying your investment is essential if you want to attract quality renters. Without further ado, here are some issues to address before new tenants move in.
1. The day-to-day operations of your unit
Most state and local laws require landlords to offer and maintain housing that complies with basic habitability requirements. This implies adequate weatherproofing, water and electricity, available heat in all rooms, and hygienic and structurally safe premises. Inspection is a must at this point if you want to avoid getting that 911 call for a water leakage at 2 am. The outlets and overhead lights in every room should be operational. If there are clogs or leaks in the plumbing, make sure to handle this in a timely fashion. Also, as a landlord, you must provide tenants with a recent gas safety certificate, evidence of electrical examinations, and tests for carbon monoxide and smoke detectors. Next, rental housing must be free from significant danger from mold, lead, and asbestos and reasonably protected against criminal intrusion.
2. Repairs and minor aesthetic upgrades
Once you’ve succeeded in finding suitable tenants, you want to do whatever’s in your power to keep them in your property longer. Maintaining common areas and providing your tenants with a nice and pleasant place to live will help you with that. Tenant turnover is the perfect opportunity to fix that broken window lock, dripping bathroom faucet, or that hole in the wall. Property managers come in pretty handy for successfully transitioning between tenants, especially if you do not live near your rental property. The property manager is the landlord’s eyes and ears on the property, ensuring that any issues are being dealt with promptly and the premises itself is cared for professionally.
Make any other fixes as your budget allows. However, be mindful of the fact that tenant turnovers can kill profitability if they take too long. So, if you plan on doing any upgrades, try to stick with minor and cost-effective ones that still have a high impact. For instance, no one