More people move in the spring and early summer than in any other time of the year, so if you want to be ready to get the tenants you want, then you have to get your units ready to impress them. Most basic upkeep is extremely important, but there are also a few other things you can do to increase the appeal of the home without spending a great deal of money. Sure, you could renovate all of the kitchens, tear out the carpeting, and replace it with entirely new and modern elements (and you should if they need it), but there are also a few very inexpensive upgrades that you can make to ensure that tenants like what they see. Here are a couple of tips from your local Bothell Property Management company.
Steam Clean
There’s nothing like a good clean apartment or house to make a tenant feel like they’re looking at a great bargain. In fact, spending money on a simple steam clean for carpet alone can make the entire place look like you put in new carpeting. You can usually cut a deal with a single carpet cleaning company or steam cleaner to clean every unit you have, or you can purchase a steamer yourself and do the work yourself, although that does require a great deal of time on your part.
Curb Appeal
Curb appeal is a huge part of decision making because tenants can and will form their first impression based on the curb. Make sure you have plants, water the grass, and if necessary hire a gardener or landscaping artist to maintain the outside of the property and keep it looking nice. It will effect the satisfaction levels of current tenants and make it easier to get new ones. How do you improve curb appeal? Plants, cleaning up garbage, cleaning windowsills, cleaning windows, and painting wherever necessary are the easiest ways to do so.
Paint
Sometimes the best way to make an apartment look like new is to give it a fresh coat of paint. You can choose something basic like white, which will go over well with the majority of tenants, or choose a light neutral shade of beige or grey to soften the color a bit. You do want to steer away from anything with too much personality (like a red wall) unless you’re trying to attract tenants who would enjoy that sort of thing. Overall, you want to go for clean, modern, and ‘new’.
Replace Small Items
Sometimes you can improve the entire unit and bring it together by going around the place and replacing small items. For example, by removing all of your door knobs, drawer pulls, and cabinet knobs and replacing them all with matching ones, you change the look and feel of the home and bring it together. By changing shower curtains to match the curtains in the kitchen you pull the two most important rooms in the house together. If you have wood paneling on the floor you can replace the toilet seat with something inexpensive in faux wood to bring it together. There are literally dozens of small replacement items that you can find that can and will make your units look more appealing.