How to make your home a renters dream.

It’s one thing to look at buying your dream home in your dream suburb. It’s another thing to make it a reality. More and more we are starting to see people invest in urban growth areas and rent in their desired location. For many, this provides a great way to gain off the capital growth of a growing area, whilst living in highly urbanised suburbs. The only issue that can arise however is finding a tenant for your investment property, as having it tenanted is essential to cover the rental costs you will have to live in your dream suburb.

”The smartest property owners know that they can spend a little to earn a lot. Some landlords are reluctant to spend money, but they do not realise that approach is a false economy if the property does not lease quickly or does not achieve the rental growth that it could,” CEO of RUN Property Rob Farmer, says. 

So how do you make your investment property a rental dream? Today we represent a few tips to make sure that your house stands out. Whilst you aren’t living there, it is essential to keep it in tip top shape to drive as much interest and return as possible. Take a read on how to do it: 

1. Invest in good appliances. Your initial outlays will be more, but it will prevent frequent breakdowns and the need to replace the item earlier than expected.  

2. Focus on essentials, not snazziness. A lot of people go wrong in putting in ultra modern items in to a rental. With in 12 months they have either worn out or look dated. Buy items that are minimal, classic and not over the top. 

3. Make liveability the number one goal. A lot of investors try to add bells and whistles to get people in, and when they do, they experience endless problems. Make sure the main functions work and you prevent any costs that would involve a compromise of liveability. 

4. Simplify the offerings. One big mistake people make is they try to offer too much. People like to come in and give a home it’s own taste. Don’t over design the property or people won’t have the vision of how they can make it homely. 

5. Let them breathe! If you’ve bought this property purely as an investment, you may not be too concerned about heating and cooling options. This can be a make or break for tenants so it’s strongly advised to have this built in. 

6. Add the amenities if you can: Simple things can be a make or break. If you have the money, add a washer, dryer and dishwasher. You will be able to write off the depreciation of these items as well as be more attractive to tenants who have seen similar properties that don’t have those facilities. For the long term investment, you can easily cover this by charging an extra $10 a week. 

7. Make it look good upon the inspection: You would be shocked at the amount of people that show their rental property to prospective tenants in a shocking state. It may be because they have current tenants in there and they are untidy, however long term this will severely impact the return. A few days before, tell the tenants that it is being inspected (they may not be happy because they may want to stay) but offer to have it cleaned for free for them, and some other bonuses to have them on side. They could ultimately bring the value down drastically if you aren’t careful. 

8. Make it smell nice and clean: The worst things you can do is have someone walk in to your apartment and say “What’s that smell!?” – to conquer this, it won’t hurt to have some neutral smelling candles and also the maybe have an air freshener running a few days before an inspection. A bad smell can put someone off from the beginning. 

Ultimately you need to provide something that is more value than the competition for them to pick you. It may mean going over and above in a couple of the above mentioned categories to have it stand out. At the end of the day, the extra costs associated in getting your home up to a desired level are generally covered within a few weeks rental income. The cost associated with not getting a tenant in however can be catastrophic.