what to add or subtract for renters

[darcy13]

Hi All

what would you think renters would pay more for against what has no impact on them ?

If you had an IP that you were going to reno, what would you add for a higher rental income
and how much do you think the items you pick will add to the rent against the house next door that doesn't have them ( exact same house and lets say that house rents for 300 as a round figure ) and what point do you think that no matter what you add it won't affect what you can receive from the property ?

built in wardrobes ?

A/C ( and would it just be an A/C for the R/E ad or would you get the correct size for the room it was in ,which could add 1 k to the price ) ?

carpet against polished floor boards ?

dishwasher ?

dryer ?

spa ( even ) ? ( that post made me think of this question thanks thierry)

shed ( incase they need more storage ) ?

ceiling fans ( in each room ??) .

Flyscreens for each window ?

I"m sure there are other things that I have missed out on .( happy for hints on this )

Maybe some of the renters on here might like to add as well ( remembering I"m also one of those !!! )

stuart

 

[wylie]

We find that tenants look for a deck (or other outdoor living area on the same level as the main living area/kitchen). I just took a call from an agent to say the house we have vacant is good but tenants will keep looking because they want a deck.

Dishwashers are important, especially when the rent is getting higher. Storage space is often a deciding factor.

Air-con is a big deciding factor with higher rents.

Allowing pets is a big plus.

 

[neK]

I went through a something similar about 2 months ago. My place needed renovating, but I didnt want to spend too big.

The lights were old (single lights with lamp shades hanging from the roof) so I changed these to downlights. This made the place feel more modern (it felt really old before).

The laundry had some really old looking cabinets. Timber was still good, but you wouldnt want to put anything in there because it didnt feel clean. I removed these and replaced them with some new bunnings ones. This made the room feel bigger and newer.

I polished my floors several years ago. My reason for going with polish floors was that it was cheaper than putting in new carpet and it would look better for longer (eg carpet stains).

I put an A/C in because the house was pretty hot and the last few tenants kept bugging me for one. I asked around to see what value an A/C would add, some people said they would pay an extra of $0, some said they would pay $20 more per week. Its was pretty much even. In the end i decided to put in an A/C as i felt it would attract better quality tenants. I opted to put in a Daiken as they gave me 5 year warranty on the unit. While it was more, my reason was that a tenant would abuse the crap out of the unit. Getting a cheap one would cost me more in the long term due to constant service calls/repairs. So getting a good one is almost a set and forget type of strategy.

The biggest thing that made a difference was PAINTING. The painter i got was fantastic, he patched ALL the ceilings and wall cracks. Its almost like I got new walls put in. This made the biggest difference for me.

Flyscreens are much of a muchness in my opinion, some of my windows have them, some dont. Doesnt seem to make much difference.

Ceiling fans arent that cheap and I dont think adds much value. A/C's are more appealing than fans.

Spa baths are a waste of money. Give them a tub instead.

Dryer, i dont think its necessary if they got a clothes line. More electrical items = more repair costs when it breaks.

Built-in's - i wanted to put this in, but it cost $800+ each and would make my rooms small. If i had bigger rooms then i would consider it.

Dishwasher - If i had the space then yes. Seems that people like dishwashers.

Shed - No. If they want one, they can do it themselves

 

[RumpledElf]

Depends entirely on the area. Where my old house is, nothing adds value. My house is recently updated and has all the usual mod cons (barring dishwasher and second bathroom) you'd expect, but would rent for much the same as a mouldy asbestos hovel with no aircon. There's simply a ceiling for rent - I'm charging the absolute maximum the market will bear.

Here the premium is just on the age of the house and number of bedrooms. Older 3 bedroom houses rent for much the same (ie, lots) and newer houses rent for more. I have a suspicion the rental market is so tight you can literally charge anything you want.

If there's plenty of rentals to choose from ... now you need to start nitpicking about what makes yours better than the others And I second the 'nice paint' thing and extend that to 'nice floors'. Who cares what they are as long as they are good and clean and there's no holes, stains, virulent colours etc. Just go with the lowest maintainence option. Airconditioners are so standard these days you'd be shooting yourself in the foot if you *don't* have one.

 

[skater]

Darcy, If you are the poster I think you are and have IP's where I think you do, then do not over capitalise. Dishwashers/dryers/spa's etc, might be nice, but will only cost you money.

Keep the homes, clean, neat and nicely painted and you will get a good rent for the area. Put in A/C if you want. Some of mine have it, some don't. Those that don't, I'm not adding it as with the market as it is, they are renting just fine without it.

A shed, I think, is necessary if you don't have a garage. A tenant needs somewhere secure to store their lawn mower. It does not need to be large.

 

[Lil Skater]

Hi All

what would you think renters would pay more for against what has no impact on them ?

built in wardrobes ? Perhaps

A/C ( and would it just be an A/C for the R/E ad or would you get the correct size for the room it was in ,which could add 1 k to the price ) ? Don't think it would add so much, but i'd pay more for somewhere with aircon in summer.

carpet against polished floor boards ? Much nicer, but it won't really make a difference to the return

dishwasher ? People are too lazy these days, we don't have a dishwasher, yes i'd like one. But it'll cost you more in repairs and it's not by any stretch something that is *needed* by a tenant.

dryer ? They can buy their own?! This makes absoluetly no sense what so ever, once again, repairs and chances tenants will take it with them. Won't increase rent.

spa ( even ) ? ( that post made me think of this question thanks thierry) HAHAHAHA! Yeah sure, go ahead. Another expense for what? No one really cares? And maintenance again.

shed ( incase they need more storage ) ? Small one yes, why not, storage is good. Won't add to the rental return IMHO.

ceiling fans ( in each room ??) . MAINTENANCE! Nothing wrong with them paying $15 for a fan at a cheap shop.

Flyscreens for each window ? No difference.

I think you're going way OTT. These things you have mentioned IMHO make no difference to the return you will receive, also you're giving yourself mountains of costs for nothing.

Unless you *need* something for a property don't spend the extra cash.

 

[fokas]

As a general side note, I have found tenants love flyscreens after they've lived in a house without them.
Not sure if it specifically adds a dollar value in rent to the property but it is more desirable.

 

[darcy13]

Hi All
just to clarify , I haven't added any of the above except A/C and that is for one of them only, it was a more general question as to what ppl would add to increase there rental

what is it that you think makes a difference

stuart

 

[RumpledElf]

I have an extensive government issued list here that capped my rent to $65pw.

I've got everything on it except the salt damp, cracked concrete and lock on the bathroom door. Some really quite odd things on that list that you wouldn't think reduces rent, but the government said so so there you go. Flywire was on it, as was the hot and cold taps being the wrong way. Airconditioning wasn't, but inoperable windows was (broken sash cords).

What we essentially did to make the house more rentable (liveable) was add floors, new floor coverings, curtains, a nice new kitchen, reverse cycle airconditioning, a water connection, lights and powerpoints in the rooms that didn't have them and extra powerpoints in rooms that only had one (ie, kitchen), shade on the western windows, and insulated the unbearable hotbox that was the kitchen. Basically turned it into a very nice house you'd actually want to live in, with nothing "annoying" remaining other than no privacy in the loo because of no door lock and a curious toddler.

Never underestimate the comfort factor of shade on west windows, btw. A friend of ours rents and CONSTANTLY complains about how hot their west facing rooms are and how their landlord won't let them put up a pergola with shadecloth. Its the annoyances that will come back to bite you.

 

[bradje]

What we essentially did to make the house more rentable (liveable) was add......a water connection.

What? u actually allowed your tenants to have water! U must be getting soft in your old landlord days RumpledElf.
JB

 

[RumpledElf]

Before we got it there was actually someone living there and paying $300 for a week for a house where the cold water connection involved a garden hose poked into a badly leaking header tank. Seriously.

These same people filled the house with 12 truckloads of rubbish and broke a few windows to let their dogs come and go at will, so I guess quality living standards weren't high on their list of priorities. These are the people who got the HIA order that reduced the rent to $65pw. Market rent on the house at the time (if it was less crap) would have been $150pw so they were being gouged badly. Spoke to someone the other day who knew them - they've moved several times since our house - and it turns out they do the same to every house they live in and always seem to "choose" houses full of rats

But speaking of water, tenants at my other house had never lived in a house without mains water before and didn't know you need to turn the pump on, so they were using the water at gravity pressure - no header tank either, the place is set up to use a pump at ground level. They seemed pleasantly surprised at the increase in water pressure from trickle to mains pressure when I turned the switch on

 

[twobobsworth]

If you had an IP that you were going to reno, what would you add for a higher rental income

A granny flat.

 

[Mooze]

From a renters perspective last time we looked at rentals top of our list were:
* storage (we had two double kayaks so needed extra long garage or shed)
* dishwasher (hubby's number 1)
* heating (my number 1 - we were in Canberra at the time)

over time (as landlords) with tenants we've found if the lease is up in Summer (ie changing over tenants) or just after A/C is a big thing (not so top of list in winter or early spring).

 

[wobbycarly]

built in wardrobes ?
highly recommended - saves tenants having to buy robes - how many people would have wardrobes they cart from place to place?

A/C ( and would it just be an A/C for the R/E ad or would you get the correct size for the room it was in ,which could add 1 k to the price ) ?
Depends on area. Down here, if the house has shade, probably not. Heating, yes!

carpet against polished floor boards ?
PM recommended boards as "damage" to carpet is usually considered "wear and tear" and boards can be more hardwearing. But we still put carpet in the bedrooms.

dishwasher ?
Nice to have, but I'd include it if there's ready space. It should pay for itself in a year (eg $10/wk) and adds instant appeal. Bathroom and kitchen are the 2 rooms IMO that most strongly influence tenants/purchasers

dryer ? Nope

spa ( even ) ? ( that post made me think of this question thanks thierry) Nope

shed ( incase they need more storage ) ? If no garage

ceiling fans ( in each room ??) . Nope

Flyscreens for each window ? Don't think they'd add value, but I'd replace damaged ones, but not add new ones.

Strongly depends on quality of property and area, eg, climate, city/country, socio-economic, etc...

 

[bradje]

Before we got it there was actually someone living there and paying $300 for a week for a house where the cold water connection involved a garden hose poked into a badly leaking header tank. Seriously.

These same people filled the house with 12 truckloads of rubbish and broke a few windows to let their dogs come and go at will, so I guess quality living standards weren't high on their list of priorities. These are the people who got the HIA order that reduced the rent to $65pw. Market rent on the house at the time (if it was less crap) would have been $150pw so they were being gouged badly. Spoke to someone the other day who knew them - they've moved several times since our house - and it turns out they do the same to every house they live in and always seem to "choose" houses full of rats

But speaking of water, tenants at my other house had never lived in a house without mains water before and didn't know you need to turn the pump on, so they were using the water at gravity pressure - no header tank either, the place is set up to use a pump at ground level. They seemed pleasantly surprised at the increase in water pressure from trickle to mains pressure when I turned the switch on

I know SA is dry...We were down at Port Pirie for a week last year, and experienced our first full on dust storm. Couldn't see the bonnet of the car at 3pm in the afternoon on the road just out of Pirie to Port Augusta.....But even that sounds like heaven compared to actually having to pay for a place without normal plumbing. Wow! What a story...
JB