There are many different ways to increase the return on your investment when it comes to the management of rental properties. While considering the standard moves of updating décor, replacing aged materials and undergoing renovations, you’ll also want to consider what amenities you may be able to provide that will increase the perceived value of the property to prospective tenants.
Amenities are defined as desirable or useful features or facilities of a building or place. The more desirable the features, the more willing tenants will be to pay premium rates. Renters will pay more for convenience of features that make their lives simpler and safer. When you pay attention to the details your ideal tenants appreciate most, you can easily build small perks into your real estate investment to increase your income.
Like in the housing market, kitchen improvements tend to have the most impact on income. Finding the space for a dishwasher and installing a garbage disposal are your best bets for improvement in suites that don’t have them. They are both relatively inexpensive ways to increase the perceived value of the suite. This has the potential to attract higher income tenants who grew up in homes with such amenities.
Laundry facilities within the building are another big seller. While the ability to do laundry in-suite is one of the most coveted amenities, it can often be challenging to retro-fit older buildings to accommodate the appliances. Luckily, any arrangement that eliminates the need to go to a laundromat will delight prospective tenants.
Just carving out space for shared laundry facilities will be a great improvement. Whether you include the cost through rent or provide pay per use machines that accept tokens or coins, is a decision that you’ll want to research and weigh carefully based on your own market.
The availability of convenient parking is a bigger issue in some areas than in others so you’ll want to know your market well enough before you make an investment in this area. You may not find this a deal-breaker in areas where public transportation is widely utilized. However, if your ideal tenants are likely to own and drive cars, then being able to provide close to the door parking will increase the rental value of your property.
Adding air conditioning to your units is another amenity that can increase appeal. While it’s much more of an essential feature in southern climates, even northern locations will benefit from an air conditioning unit. Air conditioning does increase electrical costs while in use, so be sure to calculate the added costs into rental rates if utilities are included.
You may not be able to control the availability of public amenities like the schools, stores and restaurants nearby, but you can certainly increase the perceived value of your property with in-house amenities. As you can see, that doesn’t need to be the premium or luxury services, like swimming pools and weight rooms that are normally thought of when you say the word “amenities”. Even a simple appliance like a dishwasher can be enough to justify higher rental rates and provide a long term boost in revenue.