As a tenant, you don’t get much say in the way in which your rental home looks like. They look in the way that the landlord designs it for you. Even so, while you may live in a rented home, you still want to feel that the place is as close to home as possible. With that in mind, many rentals follow a certain pattern – one that tenants have to accept and live with.
That being said, when it comes to rental houses, most tenants won’t mind paying a bit more if it means increasing their comfort level. This applies mostly to the bathroom, which people spend their most vulnerable moments in, so to speak. Here are some upgrades to the common rental home that tenants wish they had.
Create Enough Storage Space
Make sure that you’ll create enough storage space for all the items that you’ll store in your bathroom.
Remember that as a bare minimum, you’ll have the following items to store:
- Linen
- Toiletries
- Extra towels
- Bathroom rugs
- Wash cloths
- Cleaning supplies
Having a home for all of these can help you to achieve a tidy and clutter-free bathroom. As much as possible, you’ll want to keep these items hidden from plain sight.
Just be sure, however, that any permanent fixtures you put in your bathroom are done by an expert, like a Dallas plumber, so you don’t damage anything else in your bathroom. The plumbing system of your home can be costly to fix if unnecessarily damaged, so it’s important to be very cautious.
Baths Instead of Showers
Most rentals on the market, particularly apartments with small bathrooms, tend to have showers instead of a regular bathtub. Indeed, in some cases, this cannot be avoided – particularly if the bathroom is very small. Here, homeowners would not be able to install a regular bathtub even if they wanted to.
However, regardless of the size of the bathroom, most homeowners prefer to install showers instead of a bathtub – mostly because of the cost. By doing this, they manage to save money on their initial budget and less maintenance comes with a shower than a shower/tub combo.
While this might be understandable, most residents find this quite inconvenient. They may live in a rented house – but they would still like to enjoy a nice, long bath now and again. Even a small bathtub with an attached showerhead might be a very well-appreciated addition.
Repaint Your Bathroom
The bathroom may only be a small part of your home, but it’s something you’ll have to put attention to. This means rejuvenating it whenever it’s clearly in need of a new paint job. If there’s one major upgrade that you can do for your bathroom, you’ll never regret repainting the space.
Painting the walls in various colors will make your entire bathroom appear larger than it actually is. Think of having one accent wall, preferably one without fixtures or fittings.. It’ll make everything else in the room blend together nicely, and it also gives you more options when it comes to adding accessories to the room.
Glass Doors for Showers
As mentioned above, if they do not have the possibility to add a bathtub, homeowners will install a shower. However, since it is much more affordable, they prefer to add curtains. These do not require as much effort or maintenance, making them the ideal choice for the homeowner.
All things considered, for the tenant, this choice is quite inconvenient. They would all like to take a shower without accidentally sticking to the curtain – which tends to happen often when steam starts going around. Plus, water might escape the shower area quite a lot, causing it to pool up on the floor.
Cleanliness and order are always appreciated by new tenants, which is why installing a glass door to the shower area would change the look of the bathroom entirely. This will keep the water contained, and it will also bring the look of the bathroom to a new level – making it seem more modern.
Be Creative With Smaller Fixtures
Other than big changes you can make in your bathroom, there are also little ones you can put in, especially if your renovation budget is quite limited. For instance, you can install features that’ll enhance the look of the bathroom.
Instead of just hanging towels and other bathroom necessities on the rack by the door, why not add a nice decorative towel rack here as well? Not only will you provide convenience to the people using the bathroom, but you also improve the appearance of the bathroom.
If you browse around the internet, there are so many ideas for inspiration you can apply, to make your bathroom look more aesthetically-pleasing.
Regular Maintenance
In many cases, standard maintenance is left in the hands of the tenant. That being said, since tenants cannot make any modifications to the home (aside from adding pictures to the walls and perhaps painting), they are not free to do whatever they want. They’ll have to call the landlord every time – an action that might sometimes cause anxiety.
Granted, some homeowners are less strict in this regard and allow the tenant to make the necessary modifications.
This is why regular maintenance is something that every homeowner renting out their house need to plan for. People living in your home would like to know that their toilets and faucets are working properly, that the electrical outlets aren’t a safety hazard, and that there aren’t any issues with leaking pipes. More importantly, they want to know that it will be done quickly and without any hassle.
Plan doing maintenance as part of your schedule. Here are some items to consider adding to a schedule
- trees need to be trimmed
- roofing needs to be checked and maintained
- gutters need to be cleaned, so you might consider hiring a pro to get it done.
- the exterior paint should be kept both for appearance and to protect the siding
- plumbing lines under the sinks should be checked for leaks
- windows, doors, and ceilings need to be checked for any water leakage
- HVAC filters and system cleaning-this should be done frequently
Your tenants are paying to live in a house that runs smoothly. If you make your tenants have to do the maintenance they should be getting a healthy discount on the rent.
Quality Surfaces
In the end, people are aesthetical beings –kitchen and bathrooms tend to be the most important rooms. Most landlords do not really think much about this, but residents like it when the house they move into has .
It feels nice for tenants to walk into a bathroom and see that the walls have received a fresh coat of paint, the flooring is not damaged, and everything works properly.
Nowadays, bathrooms and kitchens tend to have a mixed look of tiles or laminate flooring. Its time to upgrade from vinyl and cheap countertops, tenants want better finishes and in most cases, they are willing to pay for it in the rent.
Consider using tile in the kitchen and bathroom for longevity. Unlike vinyl or laminate flooring, a well-maintained tile floor will last indefinitely.
If your cabinets are beaten up or low quality then you will generally see a difference in the amount you can charge. An easy way to replace cabinets is to put them together yourself. By doing so you can literally save thousands of dollars. Find more tips on upgrading your kitchen and bathroom from the experts at RTA Cabinet Supply.
Quality Toilets
Most landlords do not really focus on toilets– not until they are completely broken, that is. Many of them buy contractor-grade toilets (cheap) and durable toilet seats, but very few of them focus on performance or comfort level.
First things first, you should buy toilet seats that are stable and don’t wiggle under the weight of the person. If a toilet seat is stained, chipped, or has an odd color its time to replace it.
Secondly, no one wants to deal with clogged toilets all the time. Many toilet papers today are fluffy and clog toilets easier than before. In addition, many people are now using wet wipes which makes the situation even worse. Never cheap out on a toilet, between repairs and tenant frustration, it’s never worth it.
The Bottom Line
All of these upgrades might indeed take a bite out of your initial budget – but in the future, everything should pay off. Not to mention that these upgrades will raise the value of your home, which means you will be able to get a better monthly price for it. Not only will the tenant be happy, but your budget will also be happier in the long run.
