Landlord Tips for DIY Investors: Getting Home Rent Ready

Getting Your Property Ready to Rent Out

Getting ready to rent out your property? When you’re ready to rent out your home or investment property, whether for the first time or to a new tenant, there are a couple of steps you’ll want to go through to make sure you cover all your bases. It’s important to get this right, so you can secure a long-term tenant which helps increase your return on your property.

With so many DIY landlords out there, I decided to put this article together. This way, you have an idea of what you need to do, and these are often overlooked steps. I hope you find this helpful and it saves you a bit of frustration. Be sure to go through each of these areas before jumping into the renting process, and you’ll save yourself a major headache.

Prepping Your Rental:

• Do a thorough walk-through and take notes so you don’t forget anything
• Test each window, door, and light switch to make sure everything is working smoothly, and no bulbs need to be replaced.
• Go into the kitchen and check your appliances. Is everything working correctly, efficiently, and as it should be? That means turning the knobs on the stove, checking faucets, and that the refrigerator is in good condition.
• Check heating and air conditioning units to see that they’re fully operational and functioning properly
• Check your septic system if you have one. Has it been pumped recently?
• What condition are the roof, attic, or basement in?
• Have your home thoroughly cleaned, and I do mean thoroughly. Include things like the oven, fixtures, windowsill tracks, baseboards, and fans.
• Make sure your exterior landscaping is in good order, meaning lawn mowed and shrubs or bushes trimmed.

There are important reasons for each, and it’s important not to overlook any of these areas, or you may regret it later.

Let me explain…

First, something worth mentioning is it’s much easier to do a repair before a tenant moves in. By taking care of things like making sure your septic system is in good condition, or having your air conditioning serviced, you’re going to make life easier on yourself. Plus, the tenant will notice right away if there are problems, and that looks bad. Handle things easily and quickly before you put your home on the rental market.

The comment about the lightbulb above seems easy to overlook. Trust me, the simplicity of a burnt-out bulb, yes, it’s an easy fix, but if a potential client is walking through your home, flips a switch and the light won’t even turn on, it doesn’t look good. They notice.

Kitchen appliances are something we all rely on daily. They need to be in good working order, and I’ll mention again, it’s much simpler to fix something before somebody moves in. These are things that your tenant expects will perform properly, and they should.

Service air conditioning or heating units. If they’re moving in and it’s smoking hot outside, they’ll want that AC to cool them down. Do you blame them? Don’t have them go through the process of moving in, flip the switch to turn the AC on and nothing happens. It looks bad, and it ends up being a hassle to correct it after they’ve moved in. Start on the right note, and have these things taken care of first. Besides, regular maintenance of your HVAC units will help them run more efficiently.

How’s the septic system doing? What’s the roof look like? How will it hold up in a storm? Each of these things need to be on your list each and every time you’re putting your property up to rent.

Professional cleaners are a smart move. They’re going to get all the nooks and crannies that are easy to overlook. Running a vacuum isn’t enough. Make sure baseboards are clean, fans, and things like the oven. There are two good reasons to do it this way, so keep reading to understand why this is an important investment. First, you want your property to gleam and shine. This not only shows the client you care about the property, but it also shows them how it should be left when they leave. Secondly, it’s easy to overlook areas like windowsills and other areas you don’t normally think of. If it’s not sparkling clean when they move in, you’re going to hear about it from your tenant.

Lastly, remember that your grass keeps growing, even if you’re not there. Keep the exterior of the home well-kept, trimmed, and groomed. That means making sure any landscaping is taken care of, and the grass is maintained.

With these tips in mind, you’re set to go! Good luck renting your property.

If you’d like to talk about how property management services work, you can contact us online or call 352-414-5292 for a zero-pressure conversation.