Being a landlord can be tough. Knowing what to charge, when to raise rent and how to find and retain the best tenants is a lot of work. If you aren’t seeing the profits you’d like, you can either walk away or do some of these simple things to add value. In our latest post, we will help you learn how to add value to your investment property in Orange County.
How Much Do You Want To Spend?
Before you begin blindly improving things, get a clear idea of how much you want to spend. Take that amount, and determine which upgrades at your price point will provide the biggest jump in value. Can you do some or all of the work yourself? By doing so, you will be able to save quite a bit on labor costs… just be sure you know what you are doing.
Upgrade Fixtures
Adding new fixtures to your Orange County house is an excellent way to increase the value. New handles, drawer pulls, and doorknobs will instantly update and modernize the look of your kitchen or bathroom. You can also replace the sinks and faucets to quickly and easily update your investment property.
Add Some Curb Appeal
Imagine being a prospective renter coming to view the property. You would likely rather see a well-kept yard, with flowers, a freshly mowed lawn and an inviting seating area as opposed to a neglected, barren and dismal looking yard. If you want to add value to your Orange County house, it helps to have people fall in love with it from the minute they step out of their car.
New Appliances
If your rental property has a stove older than your tenant or a fridge that came with the place when you bought it… 15 years ago, it might be time to upgrade. If you plan on making some improvements to the house, new appliances are a great way to go. You might be able to get a discount by purchasing a few things at once. You could also take advantage of departments store sales, typically help on holiday weekends. Another option would be to keep your eye on your local “scratch and dent” store if you have one nearby. Sometimes a small scratch on the back of an appliance can lead to big savings for you.
Flooring
Carpets can be a nuisance in some rental properties. Whenever possible, choose a nice tile, high-quality laminate or wood flooring. It will be more durable and will last for years to come. Carpets, on the other hand, are replaced much more often. In some cases, they are replaced after every tenant! Even if you use cheap carpeting (which won’t help add value) you are still looking at a significant cost to replace it.
Countertops
Depending on your space, replacing the countertops might be easier than you think. If your rental property has a smaller kitchen, you can often times find countertop “scraps” that will easily be able to replace what’s currently in the house. Many countertop dealers will sell these large scraps at massive discounts.
Storage
Adding storage to a house will add value to the home and make it more appealing to prospective renters. You could add shelving to a walk-in closet, or add a linen closet where there wasn’t one previously. People love a good closet and places to store away their things If your Orange County rental property lacks storage space, consider adding some to increase the overall value.
Add A Bedroom
This is a larger upgrade, but depending on the space, it can easily be done. Let’s say you have a house with a living room and a den. You might consider adding a wall and a door to quickly convert the den into an additional bedroom. This will help you add value to your investment property. A three-bedroom house will most likely fetch more than a two-bedroom. Just make sure the costs are worth it before making such a large renovation.