The safest way to protect your investment is to make sure you have a comprehensive plan to make some upgrades to your single-family rental homes. Doing so each year is an assurance that they will be kept up to date on what is current therefore making them competitive in the market. Property values throughout Copperas Cove point to the condition of the home, which is why setting aside a little to upgrade things now and then is worth the time and the cost associated.
Be advised though that not all upgrades extend direct benefits for property owners. As a matter of fact, some upgrades mostly have clear advantages for the residents but don’t contribute enough to the value of the property or help you protect your investment considerably.
For instance, installing new kitchen cabinets in your rental properties could appear as if it were an upgrade that could potentially benefit both you and your residents. Your residents will mostly be celebrating the quality cabinets, and you might think that new cabinets would keep your property values going up. But the sad reality is, kitchen cabinets are one upgrade that won’t quite merit the cost because any improvement in value you might see won’t be equal to what you’ve spent on the job. If the kitchen cabinets in your rental are in a genuinely horrible case, you should replace them with something better. Otherwise, a meticulous cleaning or maybe a coat of paint or stain is all your cabinets need to keep them nice. In case you’ve taken steps to do regular maintenance on your kitchen cabinets, floors, countertops, and appliances, the chances are that your rental property’s kitchen will stay in good condition anywhere between 10 and 15 years. Appliances are typically built to last about seven years, while cabinets and countertops might hold up a little longer. Simply replacing each element as it starts to look worn or breaks down is one approach, or you could lay out a timeline for upgrades to better control the cost.
Bathrooms are another heavily used area in your rental house that will need regular updates. A lot of similar philosophies of making a sturdy, appealing kitchen can be applied to a bathroom as well. Good quality, mid-grade fixtures, and materials will hold up better in a rental home than fancier, more expensive features. Things like faucets and showerheads will need to be replaced every few years, while a good quality toilet can last several decades or more. If your rental’s bathrooms don’t already have durable, easy-to-clean tile or solid surfaces in and around the bathtub, shower, and so on, consider planning to upgrade to prevent mold and water damage and to make sure that the bathroom is in good shape.
Flooring is another aspect of a rental house that must be replaced regularly. Laminate or vinyl flooring in kitchens, bathrooms, and other areas will typically last anywhere between 15 and 30 years, although heavy wear will greatly affect that timeframe. In contrast, carpet in a rental home has a useful life of about five years. While the carpet in your rental may last longer than that, it is also likely that it will need to be replaced even more frequently. Still, five years is a good rule of thumb, to begin with, and then adjust as required.
One other upgrade that benefits the residents of a rental home more than the owner is high-end window treatments. Residents may bargain for upgraded blinds, valences, or drapery systems to customize their space. But while owners presume residents to make a rental home convenient, there’s no real benefit to providing any window treatments other than some quality but basic blinds or shutters. Fancy window treatments don’t add a lot to the overall value of your property and are tied so strongly to a particular characteristic that they rarely have broad appeal.
Speaking of personal style, additional ornamental pieces like custom garage doors, stylish paint colors, and so on might seem like an excellent move to entice quality residents. However, as with window treatments, the charm of decorative features is a matter of character. For this logic, upgrading beyond good quality, basic doors, windows, and interiors holds little to no benefit for property owners.
Residents may dig contemporary beautifying features for a while, but as trends evolve, so too will that appeal. To produce a quality rental home with enduring allure, veer away from the latest trends and adhere to the less exciting but unmistakably more tried-and-true décor natural to rental homes.
Lastly, most homes will require the exteriors updated regularly as well. If your rental property has a stucco or painted wood exterior, you will need to check the condition of the paint periodically to determine when it’s time to update. The majority of quality paint jobs on both wood and stucco will last around seven to 10 years, although the frequency varies depending on your climate. Vinyl siding and stone will last much longer with regular cleaning, and likely won’t need to be replaced for at least 25 years or more as long as there is no visible damage.
Whether you’ve made upgrades or not, rental property maintenance should always be a priority in order to maintain value. At Real Property Management Apex, we are dedicated to protecting your investment while building great relationships with your residents. For more information about our property management services, please contact us online or call us directly at 254-732-1599. If you’d like to do more research about renovating and upgrading your rental property, check out these blogs:
- The Do’s and Don’ts of Electrical Wiring Upgrades for Your Temple Rental Property
- The Pros and Cons of Belton Rental Property Upgrades
- Color Psychology: Making Your Temple Rental Property More Inviting
- Upgrading Your Harker Heights Rental Property to a Smart Home: Thermostats, Lighting, and Locks
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