How Can We Help You?
- Walk-in Traffic is by Appointment Only - More Details
How to Become a Landlord and Earn Rental Income – Part 2
How to Become a Landlord and Earn Rental Income – Part 3
August 14, 2019How to Become a Landlord and Earn Rental Income – Part 1
August 20, 2019Get Your Property Ready to Rent.
Welcome to part two of our series on becoming a landlord and earning rental income! Just in case you missed it, you may want to check out the first post on this topic before you read any further – Find the Right Investment Property. Now that you have put in the work of finding and purchasing an investment property, it is time to get the place ready to rent.
Before you show your property to potential residents, it is important to have everything in working order and things looking as best as possible. This does not always require a lot of money, but there are certain details you need to make sure are addressed.
Re-key all locks on the property.
As an extra safety precaution for your residents and to streamline things for yourself, go ahead and have all the exterior locks of the property re-keyed. While you are having this done, make sure that one key can be used for all the locks. This way, only one key will be needed for the front door, back door, garage, gate, etc. The same goes for anything that has a code. If you have an electronic lock on any of the doors, go ahead and reset these codes as well.
Make sure all appliances are working properly.
There is nothing worse than having a resident move in, only to receive a message a few days later that the dryer isn’t getting hot or the dishwasher isn’t draining. Just because an appliance turns on does not always mean it is working properly! Run a full cycle on each appliance to ensure that everything is working as it should. If you find any issues, this gives you the opportunity to make any repairs or replacements before your resident moves in.
Deep clean the entire apartment.
Whether you want to do it on your own or hire a cleaning service, you should always deep clean a rental property before your resident moves in. If you want to set the expectation of keeping the place looking nice and in pristine condition, then you should start out their experience with the property looking that way. This includes mopping the floors, wiping the baseboards, cleaning all the kitchen appliances, washing the windows, and shampooing the carpets if necessary.
Paint the walls.
If the paint colors in your rental property are dated or the walls are starting to look a little dingy, you may want to consider painting the walls. A fresh coat of paint can work wonders in a home. Professional painting can get a little costly, depending on the size of the project, but this is also a project you could tackle yourself.
Give some attention to the landscaping.
Not only do you want the inside of your rental property to look nice, but you also want to make a great impression on the exterior as well. Trim the bushes, mow the lawn, and plant a few flowers to make potential residents feel at home.
Shelly Henderson
Shelly calls herself a “Charlottean” because her family has been there since her elementary school days. She serves as Henderson Properties’ co-founder, along with her husband Phil, managing the day-to-day operations, social media branding and leadership development. Her different life experiences, both positive and challenging, earned the title to her first book Starting From Scratch. Shelly has a servant’s heart and leads her company with purpose and passion. She is mom to two sons who continue as young adults to make her heart swell.