Welcome to The Shapiro Group Blog. We will write monthly on topics that are of interest or concern to homeowners who currently own rental properties. This month we are writing about the value of good curb appeal.
Maintaining a positive curb appeal for your rental property is important and need not be very expensive.
Your rental property is an asset and that asset has a value. You should be promoting the value of your property in a positive way. Hopefully your street, subdivision or development promotes good curb appeal. You do not want your rental property to become the black sheep of the neighborhood.
In renting or buying a home to live in, potential renters/buyers often make their decision with an emotional bias. They may start from their budgetary constraints and try to stick to the numbers, but ultimately that gets adjusted up or down based on what value the real estate market holds.
People search on line or contact a realtor and start looking at properties based on their numeric goals. Once the reality of pricing is established, they then move forward to look at properties in their price range. Once out shopping, they want the best looking, updated, clean property for the low end of their set price.
The properties they choose to look at are usually in neighborhoods with well-maintained lawns, along with freshly mulched and trimmed landscaping. If they pull up to a property for rent and they see a lawn with dried grass which is mostly weeds and has no landscaping, they do not even want to go in and view the property. They cannot look past the curb appeal to mentally see themselves living there, so why should they waste their time by going inside.
Not only is this property an eye sore but it is negatively impacting the values of the rest of the residences in the neighborhood. It may eventually rent… but for less money and probably to a less desirable applicant.
It is often not necessary to spend thousands of dollars to have a property with a good curb appeal. If the above mentioned property had at a minimum a green weed and fed lawn with some inexpensive plants it would not be noticed as a problem.
A few additional inexpensive, yet important items include: window screens, clean sidewalks/driveway and the wood trim. If a screen has a tear or a rip, either replace the screen or temporarily remove the frame with the screen until it is repaired or replaced. Trim that is showing wood or cracked paint should be fixed. Pressure cleaning the walkways, and using a new seal coat on the driveway are also inexpensive repairs that help to maintain and increase the value of your property and help to get potential renters inside.
Thanks for taking the time to read our blog. Please feel free to add comments or suggestions about other curb appeal fixes.
We hope you will contact us if you are thinking of hiring a property manager or are interested in renting one of our well managed properties.
