reno's to lure a good tenant?!

[suzieq]

Hi folks,

Wondering if anyone could share what basic reno's should be done to firstly lure a good tenant, and secondly keep them. We have just purchased our 2nd IP which needs a facelift and we have a fairly tight budget (around the $6,000). What do you guys consider to be the most important factors for a reno/facelift in our situation. Our strategy is buy/reno/hold & tenant for long term. Any suggestions or input would be appreciated.

thanks sq

 

[Kristine..]

suzieq

It may sound simplistic, but Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

Unless there are some really obvious maintenance issues, firstly make sure that every bit of the property is washed.

Ceilings, paintwork, inside and outside cupboards, the windows, outside the house, paths & driveways (obviously, observe water restrictions), inside the garage, everywhere, plus carpets, blinds & curtains etc. However, it is often cheaper to replace drapes with the ready made variety from Spotlight, than it is to have drapes dry cleaned. Throw out the old terylenes if they are tatty, new ones are very cheap and really jazz a place up - even tho I hate them myself!

When you have finished Spring Cleaning, you will be amazed.

The place will smell, and feel, quite different. It will look as if it has been painted, but if there are areas which are badly scuffed, do one coat of quality paint in the same shade over the freshly washed surface.

Change lamp shades if they are dated or unfashionable, and have an electrician check the wiring if the house if more than about 15 years old. It probably won't have a safety circuit breaker thingy or wired in smoke alarms so have them fitted.

A new upright stove (if appropriate) works wonders in the kitchen.

Give the garden a thorough pruning and remove all rubbish.

Check all the plumbing.

If the budget runs to it, paint out the Mission Brown (Bristol Rye Bread is a lovely colour and covers with one coat).

While all this is going on appoint a busy property manager and have a 'For Let' sign erected at the front boundary.

I have always been blessed with lovely people as my tenants, who enjoy the houses and stay a long time.

Houses don't have to be flash with high tech stuff, just clean and confortable where families can relax, and be proud to invite their friends over.

In my experience, the tenant finds the house that's right for them, and as quality speaks for itself, no lure will be necessary

Good luck with your investment. I hope your tenants are happy in your house and stay a long time.

Regards

Kristine

Suzie, I wouldn't recommend trying to paint the whole house straight up, and only start painting if you are going to complete an entire section, otherwise the existing paint will look even more shabby.

Sugar soap, or my favourtie, Tricleanium, are amazing products which produce amazing results.

 

[Sunstone]

Dear Suzie,

For curtains keep an open mind and look in 2nd hand stores.

With my last one totally outfitted a two story house with good looking curtains for........... $88. My pm couldn't believe it when I took her through and showed her what we had done. I know I have previously spent for ONE WINDOW $290 on a new curtain.

Remember not being a snob allows you to make prudent business decisions.

Also if it has a shower curtain seriously look at putting in a new swing type shower door. Bought my last one from regency. Cost ......... $208 inc installed. I know of some companies that try and charge $1k for shower screens.

Cheers,

Sunstone.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Another thing that worked well for me, we spent about 4 weeks facelifting a tired house and at the end when tenants were about to move in, we made an executive decision to take old curtain off shower and put shower screen in but this could not be done before they moved in.

Looking at how much we had done to the house, I believe it was the "icing on the cake" for the tenants because they knew how much was done to it (the paint still smelled fresh) and got to see their own little before and after aswell.

They have only been in there 4 months but so far so good.

I think in hindsight it may have been good for the tenant to see that the landlord is doing stuff for them. Not sure if I'd go through it again that way though... time will tell

Take from this what you will...

 

[mmerlin]

A property manager recently told me that renters prefer houses with dishwashers.

Makes sense... who likes washing the dishes?

Plus you can add a dishwasher to your depreciation schedule.

 

[Jean]

Hi Mmerlin

They are prone to failure. The electronic ones are the worst.

Failure usually occurs Fri or Sat evening and tenants rank it as an emergency repair. However repair can take a week or more if parts are needed.

I don't know if there is a better solution but we have a spare on hand. Slip one out and the other in. U/S one goes to repair.

Like washing machines, you would expect that such simple appliances would be reasonably bullet proof by now. Not so though.

 

[mmerlin]

Originally posted by Jean
They are prone to failure. The electronic ones are the worst.

Failure usually occurs Fri or Sat evening and tenants rank it as an emergency repair. However repair can take a week or more if parts are needed.

I don't know if there is a better solution but we have a spare on hand. Slip one out and the other in. U/S one goes to repair.

Like washing machines, you would expect that such simple appliances would be reasonably bullet proof by now. Not so though.

Hmmm good point!

I've had tenants in my IP for only 12 months but the dishwasher is 8 years old. When it decides to break down I hope it happens on a weekday

A counter argument to not having a dishwasher (plus repairing it) would be if the property is leased quickly rather than sitting vacant for weeks, and the dishwasher was a deciding factor in the property being leased quickly, then it could be worthwhile to install a dishwasher. But of course things like this are impossible to measure and/or predict. Perhaps if the area has a high vacancy rate then a dishwasher might help.

On the topic of quick reno's, yes we also did the new curtain thing. The mother in law is very handy with a sewing machine and spotlight had some great fabric on sale. Really brightened up the place.

We also
- painted the front door a fresh new colour (front door = first impression)
- replaced the old single power points with new modern double power points.
- put door stoppers in the bedrooms (stop the wall getting damaged, but they are also the kind that the door can lock into, keeping it open)
- added hot lights to the bathroom
- in the kitchen, put new handles on the cupboards and drawers

 

[Kristine..]

Regarding dishwashers

An exec house I built to rent about seven years ago has a dishwasher - for a four bedroom + study + rumpus house, it would have been incongruous not to have one.

A 1974 ex-mission brown house a few street away still has the original kitchen, single bowl sink, house is never empty but the rent is modest.

Myrtle Cottage new tenants think they've died and gone to Heaven! And yes, it has a dishwasher (plus everything else is new, including the gas range top with wok burner and BBQ central burner with griddle plate), gas ducted heating, ducted evap cooling, all the bells and whistles.

It's horses for courses. For my daughter's townhouse, the agent advised against a dishwasher in the new kitchen because of minimal kitchen space and also possible maintenance costs for her. However, we had a removeable cupboard fitted into the dishwasher space. Perhaps later we will have one installed, as the plumbing and wiring is already there.

Electrical cover plates, cupboard knobs etc give an immediate lift but don't forget to have a qualified electrician do any electrical work. The responsibility is on the landlord to ensure the safety of the tenant. Do not try and save a dollar with electrical or plumbing work - that dollar could cost you many thousands later if someone was hurt because of handypersons work!

Cheers

kristine

 

[Carolyn]

SuzieQ

I agree with the comments made earlier - first impressions from the street and cleanliness are a definite. Most important is to know what your market demands, every area and price category is different. Ring around a few agents with properties advertised like yours, ask them what is being offered see if you can drive by them (or look inside of they do "open houses" for rentals.)

Since you have a fixed budget really research what will make the biggest difference to the people that will be looking to rent your place - think about who you want as an ideal tenant and then reno your place for them.

Carolyn

 

[asy]

What about a Pergola...

I am finding tenants asking more and more for an outdoor living area if it's possible. Being in WA, I would expect your tenants would get some use out of one.

This can also augment a small internal living area, and they aren't overly expensive.

See what your budget allows after you do the mandatory stuff (making sure everything is clean and works)...

asy

 

[Michael Yardney]

Originally posted by Jean
Hi Mmerlin

They are prone to failure. The electronic ones are the worst.

Failure usually occurs Fri or Sat evening and tenants rank it as an emergency repair. However repair can take a week or more if parts are needed.

I don't know if there is a better solution but we have a spare on hand. Slip one out and the other in. U/S one goes to repair.

Like washing machines, you would expect that such simple appliances would be reasonably bullet proof by now. Not so though.

I've been putting dishwashers in all my investment properties for the last 11 years and have neve had a failure.

We tend to use the cheap Simpson ones - not electronic but stainless steel and they cist us about $750.

As for other renovations, I discuss this, with financial examples in this months newsletter
http://www.metropole.com.au/newsletter/october/october_newsletter_online.htm