Rental property renovation can be quite an exciting task but it should also be done prudently and carefully. Your biggest concern as a landlord is always the cost and without a good plan and a few nifty remodeling tricks, you can easily break the bank.
Surely, there’s always the worry of tenants damaging your investment, but when you summarize all the benefits of interior redesign, you’ll see they far outweigh the downsides and are very helpful in attracting the right tenants and increasing your profits. The key factor in boosting your rental’s appeal is finding out what attracts the right people and incorporating it into your renovation project. To help you get started, here are several practical tips.
Give up the neutrals
It’s a general recommendation to stick to neutral wall color in your rental property and paint everything in a classic shade such as magnolia, but there may be more benefits if you go with a bit bolder palette combination. For instance, stains and dirt marks that follow everyday life would be less visible on a wall painted in a darker color. If you fear it would make the place look gloomy, paint only those walls that are exposed the most and they can also become the feature walls.
For good flow and consistency within the house, use the same color tones that you can easily find in most color cards in hardware and paint stores. Your best choice may be going with one focal color such as dark green or navy and building it on from there.
Get into details
Details are crucial elements of any interior design that always draw the eye first and can increase your rental’s worth. Your choice of details will depend on the target group of your décor style but avoid using anything that is of material or sentimental value to you. It’s too personal and it might end up damaged.
The right details aren’t usually expensive and are mostly unusual and quirky details like a vintage find or an recycled item. Use an old dresser or a display case, paint it and distress it and in combination with a few modern furniture items, they can look quite fancy and luxurious.
The only thing you should avoid is putting furniture pieces that are broken or damaged. Leather is one of the most durable materials and a great choice for living room furniture as they endure a lot of wear and tear, but if you allow it to stay cracked, chipped, torn or stained, you’ll take away from their comfort, longevity and overall appearance. Instead of purchasing a new leather sofa or an armchair, consider leather upholstery recovering to restore the pieces to their former glory. It’s much cheaper and it has a remarkable effect on the appeal and ambience of the room.
Abandon the stereotypes
Carpeting the entire property may be a quick and cheap fix, but that’s all it is and in the long run, it will be more expensive with the massive cleaning bills you’ll end up paying! The better option is to abandon this stereotype and go for affordable and durable tiles. There’s a much wider choice of tiles available today ranging from the classic porcelain tiles to those mimicking wood planks. You could also choose vinyl in the form of similar wooden planks that are inexpensive, easily installed and offer very little maintenance.
Spruce up the kitchen and bathroom
Bathrooms and kitchens are always worth your investment as they offer the highest returns. When renovating the kitchen, go with a classic style rather than ultra-modern because when you decide to do later upgrades and buy new fittings, things won’t look out of place and outdated. Classic cabinet doors can easily be repainted and with new door handles and rustic knobs, they’ll have a truly homey feel.
As for the bathroom upgrades, there are many cost-effective ways to create a clean and modern look such as getting a classic vanity unit that is paired with a glass or copper basin and a few repurposed cast iron towel bars and am elegant mirror.
Make it light and bright
The final ingredient that will boost your rental’s appeal is the light. Making it bright, light and airy is a sure way of attracting the right tenants. Even if there’s not enough natural light, you can incorporate a lot of different light sources that will illuminate the space but are trendy, simple and affordable. For instance, Edison bulbs are very popular now that blend the rustic with the industrial and require no shade, which means no additional costs.
Hopefully, these tips will help you easily boost the appeal of your rental property.
