Preparing your home to be a rental property is a must to turn it into a successful business. For sellers that face difficulty in selling, renting their property is an excellent alternative. Many Pembroke Pines homeowners take advantage of generous tax benefits, along with assured maintenance of their homes, when renting. However, before looking to make profits, here are some thoughts to consider. Follow this list to prioritize your efforts to turn your home into a rental property.
Preparing Your Home: Personal Effects
Start by sorting through and removing the personal stuff that has been collected on your property over time. Preparing your home is always an opportunity to de-clutter and get rid of things that no longer have any use, and are hiding out of sight. Generally speaking, any personal property left inside a house or on the grounds, is considered a part of the lease. And is subject to tenants’ use when renting the property. So think about what you want to remove from the property, and what you want to leave behind for tenants to use.
Remove damaged and worn-down items, and non-essential clutter to improve the appearance of your property. This is very important for taking photos needed for advertising your property. It is a fact that good photographs make your property look more appealing. It’s a fact, that well-presented properties have a much better chance of being noticed over others!
Clean! Clean! Clean Your Property
Preparing your property invariably requires thorough cleaning. Once you have gone through your belongings, you can start preparing for the cleaning process. Depending on the condition, you can handle the cleaning tasks by yourself. If you have the time and are good at handling cleaning equipment, you can generally handle most tasks. Especially tasks that do not require special tools or professional expertise. However, consider hiring a professional cleaning company if the property has not been maintained and deep-cleaned in a long time. Such services are useful if you need to complete the job in a short time or meet closing deadlines.
Dirty windows, soiled carpeting, and layers of dust turn off potential tenants and give you the reputation of a slumlord. On the other hand, immaculately maintained homes and clean living spaces always leave the most positive impression. They attract the best renters, the highest rents, and long-term loyalty.
Preparing Your Home For Curb Appeal
Minor inexpensive repairs, combined with a cosmetic touch can make a world of differences to any property. If you want your property to be as attractive as possible, from the road, you must focus on its curb appeal. Clean out the weeds, tidy up the flowerbeds, trim the grass, and put on a fresh coat on the fence. If you have a power washer, make sure to wash the siding and power-wash the driveway, to make a world of difference.
Paint the entryways, fix any broken light bulbs, and oil the woodwork, to give it a glow. Replace any curled shingles on the roof and replace leaking faucets. Remember to fix any broken windows and fix up peeling wallpaper. Oh, and do replace the broken lock, you have been putting off all this while. Also, clean the kitchen appliances, replace HVAC filters, and make sure everything is operating as it is meant to. Consider a fresh coat of paint, and polish off the brass doorknobs if you have them.
These are small tasks that do not take specialist skills. But they go a long way in improving the curb appeal of your home.
Preparing Your Home: Code Compliance
Preparing your home to be a rental property requires it is up to code. The easiest way to do this is to hire a licensed property inspector. But first, you need to advise him about your intention to make your home a rental property. The home inspection covers a lot of areas such as the safety of operation of electrical wiring, fittings, roofing, HVAC operation, and the general condition of the property. Fire alarms, leaking plumbing, and signs of water damage are also included in the inspection. So prepare to spend time on home inspection, and obtain a clear report.
If everything is up to scratch, you have the all-clear. Or else, you need to go back to rectify items marked up in the report and ace the inspection. The assurance will be welcome news and an important milestone in preparing your home to be a rental property.
Landlord Insurance
Without a doubt, your rental property is a valuable investment and an important source of income. Any untoward instance like a kitchen fire or hurricane damage could render it uninhabitable. Besides, without adequate insurance, you could be left with bills for thousands of dollars to make the repairs and make it rent-ready again.
In Florida, landlords carry property insurance for both, property damage and liability. This includes damage from the elements and also tenants, guests, contractors, and others. Make sure to take one out yourself.
How We Can Help?
Completing the preparation process yourself can take anywhere from 8 hours to a couple of days (or even longer) depending on the condition of your house. However, using a professional property manager takes considerably less. Also, bear in mind, that you need certified vendors for all the different kinds of repairs. Plus ensure the vendors can complete the job in time and to the desired spec. This can come with additional costs and hassles if you are not mechanically minded, and have some experience of property repairs.
Instead of trying to manage all this by yourself, why not let Real Property Management Premier do it for you? Our property management professionals have the necessary knowledge and required experience.
Give us a call today!
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