Hi, I am new to this forum and to investing. I was wondering if there is anything I can do cosmetically, without completing a complete renovation, to quickly add some value to obtain a slightly higher rent?
Paint is usually the biggest bang for buck for making a property look fresh and inviting.
Jamie’s picked up on a great one – pets! So many renters find difficulty in getting a pet friendly rental, I’ve found that when you offer them a place they will be a good long term option as they know how hard it is to find another one to accept their furry member of the family.
Also, something as simple as re-grouting the shower, or re-siliconing around the edges of sinks/tiles/splash backs can make a bathroom or kitchen seem freshly spruced up.
Speak with your tenants directly. See if you can strike up a win win deal with them to boost the rent in exchange for…..
$10 a week and we will have a professional gardener come in every month…
$xx and we could install an airconditioner in that other room…
$xx and we will buy an outdoor fridge and BBQ….
Paint is the biggie, then floor coverings, then some street appeal with garden tidy/new mulch etc. Next is a reverse cycle airconditioner. Particularly in more extreme climates and with shift workers this will add rent.
South Coast NSW Independent Buyers Agent - Wollongong to Batemans Bay and Regional NSW. DOWNLOAD OUR FREE 14 POINT PROPERTY BUYER'S CHEATSHEET to avoid painful mistakes at precium.com.au
What about a fresh modern driveway? I’m a concretor by trade so I could get away with just my own time and the costs of materials it could cost $4,000 for a 50m2 driveway which is an average size , if they are stuck with an old strip driveway or none do you think it will do more for rent or house value
Also if the window-coverings are getting a bit shabby, changing those can really improve a room also. If the room is dark, go for light-coloured window coverings such as white 50mm PVC venetians (Bunnings/Spotlight). Otherwise eyelet curtains. Also look at light globes and light-fittings. The current tenant may have put in a light globe that makes the place seem really gloomy. At last check a lightglobe is about $7 so you can solve that sort of problem very easily. Light fittings can often be replaced really cheaply with something from Bunnings too.
With paint, remember there is an inside and an outside. Painting concrete paths and driveways can really lift the appearance of a place.
Dishwashers and aircon are also good provided you can afford to maintain them. If you are early on in your investing you might not have a huge buffer and as such want to minimize the facilities provided that can break down or require a tradesperson to attend regularly.
We allow pets as a vacancy minimisation exercise rather than trying to get an extra $10/wk
Concentrate on clean and fresh Kitchen, Bathroom, Toilet and getting rid of odours and street appeal in first 30 seconds. Paint, Paint, Paint
Friend of ours just raised her rent from $290 to $350/wk via much needed reno. 4 people, 2 solid w/e’s of labour. That’s extra $3000/yr and in a single year easily recovers the materials and mates rates labour of the reno
We:
Scrubbed, cleaned kitchen wall tiles and walls
We scrubbed, cleaned, scrubbed, cleaned (should have replaced) the oven/stove (4-5 hrs labour)
Cleaned and cleaned the kitchen shelves (still door less)
In the bathroom we patched huge wall cracks and repainted the whole thing in white (from blue). We tile painted the wall tiles from blue to white and fitted a $15 shower curtain. Massive massive impact
Painted the toilet from baby poo mustard to white, white, white (that was worth $20/wk alone)
Patched, plastered cracks and painted all other internal walls to a neutral shade (1/4 Hogsbristle), and ceiling white
Tubes and tubes of gap filler
Repaired doorknobs and hinges on doors
Repaired a sloping and broken kitchen cabinet and kitchen work surface. Removed dirty grubby silicone
Replaced all the all tap washers and many of the spindles (saves expensive plumber call later) and installed water saving washers (keep the receipt) to make sure PM passes water usage to tenant
Replaced broken fibro cement ceiling sheet on back patio
Basic front garden tidy
Washed external front of house only (sides left) and painted neutral with white window frames
Removed rubbish from garage
House also needed new gutters but that didn’t help the rent/wk
cheers
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