Many people opt to rent out their homes. Presenting them with an opportunity to generate cash flow, it can be a better option over selling your property. It can also be the first step towards creating a property portfolio if you’re looking to rent out other homes in the future.
But when you make the decision to rent out your home, you’ll want to ensure that it’s up to scratch. Without making certain improvements to it, chances are you won’t attract tenants. Now, these improvements don’t have to be extensive – it can be simple changes that transform the look and feel of your home so it’s ready to rent out.
Photo by Binyamin Mellish from Pexels
If you’re unsure as to where to start with this, however, this list can prove to be invaluable. Providing you with 5 budget-friendly improvements that you can replicate, you won’t have to worry about breaking the bank:
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Upcycle Your Furniture
When it comes to furniture, you might think that you need to go out and buy some new pieces. And while this is the case if your current furniture is in a very poor state, that’s not always the way. New furniture is expensive and something that will put a huge hole in your budget. So to prevent this from happening, why not upcycle some of it?
From reupholstering chairs to giving certain pieces a paint and varnish, it will breath new faith into the furniture so that it looks brand new. A simple yet very effective improvement you can make to space, your tenants will love the quirkiness of the pieces.
Upcycling is a pastime that can be easily learned – which makes it ideal for novices who have never restored furniture before. There’s also plenty of inspiration for projects on sites such as Pinterest.
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Fix The Heating
If your heating isn’t working as it should, you should see quality heating services before putting your house up for rent. As a prospective landlord, there are certain regulations regarding rental properties that you should be aware of – and one of these is to provide your tenants with fully functional and safe heating and electricity.
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Upgrade the Lighting
Lighting can completely transform the look and feel of a room. And when you’re trying to tempt new tenants into renting out your home, you need to ensure that the atmosphere is welcoming and inviting. And a great way of doing this is through lighting fixtures.
From pendant lighting to spotlights there are certain fixtures that you can add to your home that will make it very appealing to those viewing it.
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Give it a Lick of Paint
This might seem like an obvious one, but it’s still worth a mention. Another way of attracting potential tenants is by giving your house a lick of paint. A house or apartment that’s in need of paint might look very unappealing to tenants as it gives off the impression that the house wasn’t taken care of.
To get the best return, spend some time painting each room. Just make sure that the color you choose is inviting – not darker colors that make the room feel small.
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Clear Out Everything
Has it been a while since you’ve had a good clear out? If you want to rent out your home or potentially sell it in the future, you need to have a sort out of all your items.
Whatever you don’t need, either throw it away (if it’s in a poor condition) or give it to Goodwill. Any of the remaining items that you don’t want to leave in the house you can then put into storage or move into your new property. You don’t want to put your house up for rent without doing this – it will only put tenants off once they see all of your items still in the property.
Final Thoughts
So, there you go! Those are five budget-friendly home improvements that you can make to your property before you put it up for rent. What improvements you choose to make will, of course, depend on your budget and the amount of work that you want to do to the property.
Your property could already be move-in ready for tenants. But chances are that you will have to make certain changes before it’s ready for them to come and view it. Renting out a property is a big decision to make – and even more so when it’s your own house.
So it’s only something that you should do when you think that you’re ready – and you know that you have the security of another home to move into. You’ll also want to meet all the tenants and ensure that they are trustworthy too before agreeing to rent your house out to them.
