Once you post a listing for a rental property, you can expect to start seeing potential tenants coming around for inspection. You need to be ready and you need to get the property ready before taking the potential tenants on the tour of the property.
No doubt, the prospect of attracting the best possible tenants can be stressful to both the property managers and the property owners. To make sure you get the best, we’ve listed the 5 things you must do before you listing goes live, these will ensure you are fully ready to take the potential tenants on tour of the rental property:
- Carry Out Inspection and Repairs
Before you consider bringing a potential tenant to inspect the property, you should be the first to inspect the property and carry out the needed repairs. In fact, this should be your priority. Check for obvious damages – broken windows, damaged toilet, hole in the wall, leaks from the roof, problems with the plumbing and more. Don’t limit yourself to the interior, check the outside as well. Make sure you remove or repair anything that could bring down the attractiveness of your rental property.
- Clean the Property Thoroughly
In the ideal world, your previous tenant will leave the property in the exact same way they found it, but you’ve been a property manager far too long to know that rarely happens. You will notice things that are needed to be done to put the house in the best condition during your inspection.
You will need to thoroughly clean the property in other to bring back its freshness. Check out for windows and the walls, these are most commonly neglected areas, the color of the walls can hide lots of grime. Don’t forget to vacuum the carpet, you can see a lot of dirt on the carpet especially the corners where it isn’t easy to get to with a vacuum.
Finally, ensure that the kitchen and the bathroom are spotless. No potential tenant will want to move into a property with disgusting kitchen or toilet.
- Evaluate Appliances
While you were cleaning the kitchen, don’t forget to evaluate the appliances and check for appliances that need replacing. Most of these appliances are inexpensive and will make a great difference in the appearance of a clean range top. Test the oven and burners to ensure they are working. If there is a gas range available, test the connections for a possible leakage.
Don’t forget the refrigerator; most tenants will leave unwanted food particles inside the refrigerator, shelves, and food drawers. Clean these out and make sure no food debris or mold is lurking in any appliance or in hard to reach areas.
- Change the Locks
You will definitely need to change the locks to the rental property once a tenant moves out. It doesn’t matter whether the previous tenant returned their keys or not, there is no way for you to be absolutely sure they didn’t make additional keys. There have been cases where previous tenants came back and rob new tenants.
If you don’t want to change the locks yourself, although I recommend you should, you can offer your future tenants an option to do so for their own safety.
At this stage, you may also consider installing extra security that could make your property more attractive to tenants. Think about installing security appliances such as deadbolts, chain locks or may be security alarms. All these will help you attract the best tenant to your rental property.
- Determine the Market Value of Your Property
Now you’ve put the property in the best possible condition, it is time to determine the market value of the property especially if it has been a while since your property was on the market. If you are working with a reputable property management company in San Fernando Valley, they will easily help you to determine the best value for your rental property.
You can check out the comparable rentals in the area online or in persons. When setting the rent, make sure you take your monthly expenses on the property into account.
