Top 6 Renovations That Increase the Value of Your Rental Property

There is an old proverb that says that “you need to spend money to make money.” The saying holds true for any kind of investment, even the good old rental properties that have always been considered amongst the safest. If you want to keep your property relevant and competitive, you need to make constant upgrades.

However, smart improvements that produce good ROI and burning money on fruitless efforts are not the same. Let us take a look at a couple of moves that will actually help you increase the value of your property.

Take care of the floors

Besides the walls, floors are the element that probably has the biggest impact on the room’s overall visual impression, and therefore the tenants’ perceptions. Hiding the rotten and damaged patches with rugs can serve as a temporary solution, but people know to recognize lumber when they see it. So, start the renovation by replacing your old flooring with some durable and easy to maintain alternatives like linoleum and bamboo. As for the kitchen, you can get away with vinyl as well.

Expand storage options

Every tenant appreciates ample storage options. Play to this tune, and give your future residents what they want. For a start, find a couple of places where you can build closets. They are neat, spacious, and don’t take away anything from the apartment’s square footage. You can even go as far as to turn them into small, transitional closet rooms. Also, you can think in terms of multifunctional furniture that doubles down as storage as well (e.g. beds with built-in storage compartments).

Invest in a bathroom

The bathroom (alongside the kitchen) is the room with the biggest tenant appeal. What you need to do is make it as good-looking and functional as possible. Keep in mind, though, that some countries prescribe harsh measures against unlicensed work. For example, experts for blocked drains from Sydney are the only professionals that can solve the issue in the area. So, as soon as you find capable labor, replace all of the fixtures and rework the tiles to make the bathroom more appealing.

Embrace open floor design

Older properties often suffer from two big drawbacks – they are highly compartmentalized and feature large corridors that take away a lot of space form the rest of the rooms. These two things couldn’t be more removed from the open-floor concept that gained a lot of traction over the last couple of years. What does this layout do? Well, it erases the artificial boundaries between the living room, kitchen and the dining room and brings them together into one functional, uninterrupted environment.

Put the highlight on the countertops

We’ve already briefly mentioned how tenants pay a lot of attention to the look and the functionality of the kitchen. So, regardless of the layout you are going to use, sway the visitors with a beautiful and massive countertop. If you can’t afford natural stone, you can use some more affordable and easier to maintain materials like engineered stone, quartz and butcher blocks. Of course, if you are going to use open design, a kitchen isle will prove to be a much more functional solution.

Install sustainable upgrades

Whether for increased environmental awareness or more practical reasons (increasing energy prices), but modern tenants have become very fond of the properties that feature various sustainability efforts. So, be sure to give them what they want and make your property more energy-efficient. Some of the most obvious upgrades you can make are CFL/LED lights, double-glazed windows, and property-wide insulation.

We hope these few tips will help you make your rental property more competitive and relevant in the current market circumstances. The real estate market was always considered a safe investment playing ground. Keep in mind, though, that there is a big difference between being safe and making real money.