As a property manager, it’s important that your property looks appealing to prospective renters because you only get one chance at a first impression. Renters often look at a lot of properties in one area, so you need to create a space that stands out. However, that doesn’t mean you can only use the top-of-the-line or most expensive materials.
It’s easy to go overboard with property updates in the hope that you’ll be able to attract good renters and charge higher rent. While this can sometimes be the case, there are some updates that I’ve found don’t always deliver a return.
Before making a plan for any renovations, familiarize yourself with other rental properties in your area. Pay attention to the floors, appliances and updates they have made, and update your property to fall in line with those.
It’s also important to know how much rent your market will allow. Regardless of the amount you spend on improving your property, there will be a limit to how much rent people in your area are willing to pay for a space. This number should drive all of the decisions on your renovation plan.
Below are five areas of a rental property that can become expensive during the renovation process, along with my tips on how to save on costs.
Kitchen
As we all know, it’s easy to get out of control with kitchen renovations. If your property is in a high-demand area, spending a lot of money upgrading to the fanciest cabinets and countertops might not be the best use of your money. There are a number of lower-cost upgrades that can make your kitchen look new and modern without breaking the bank.
In my experience, the average tenant isn’t usually expecting high-end countertops in a rental property, so you can consider choosing a nice laminate material instead of stone countertops, for example. A good rule of thumb is that if your prospective renter won’t pay more for it, don’t make the upgrade.
The same goes for high-end appliances. While you don’t want to buy appliances that will need a lot of ongoing maintenance, your renters likely aren’t expecting the best appliances on the market either. Ensure the appliances you choose look new and are reliable; in doing so, you can save money by buying a more affordable model or buying them lightly used.
Since the kitchen is usually the center of the home, there’s no doubt that having an updated, modern and clean kitchen will help attract renters. Use some of the money you save on stone counters and top-of-the-line appliances to paint and put new handles on your cabinets. Small, less expensive fixes such as these can go a long way toward making a positive first impression.
Bathroom
In the bathroom, good-quality pipes, fixtures and toilets are where I recommend focusing your investments. This can help avoid maintenance issues down the road. Repeatedly fixing your bathroom appliances can get extremely costly because when they break, they typically need to be fixed immediately.
If you can find them, there are some nice-looking commercial fixtures and toilets that are made to withstand high-use wear and tear. Although they might cost more upfront, I believe these can be worth it when it comes to having to pay for the maintenance to fix or replace them. Renters are looking for clean, updated bathrooms. Nobody wants to get ready in a dingy, moldy bathroom, so you might need to spend some time and money here.
However, from my perspective, this doesn’t mean you need to make a lot of fancy upgrades in the bathroom. Dual shower heads, glass shower doors and floating vanities might make your rental look fancy and expensive, but keep in mind that they won’t necessarily guarantee that you can charge higher rent if the potential renters in your area simply aren’t willing to pay more for them.
Flooring
Many apartments have carpeting because it can be relatively cheap and easy to replace. Plus, it’s what people used to expect in apartments. But I’ve found the problem with carpeting is that it usually needs to be replaced often enough that the money savings aren’t always worth it.
If you are planning to keep your rental property for a while, you can consider installing vinyl flooring instead and using a mid-grade carpet in the bedrooms. In my experience, unless you have a very upscale rental, prospective renters are often just as happy (and pay just as much in rent) with a vinyl floor in a woodgrain pattern.
Landscaping
Curb appeal is extremely important in securing good-quality renters. That doesn’t mean you need to spend a fortune on landscaping. The front and back yards should look neat so that renters can picture friends and family pulling up to visit their new home.
You can also run into a problem if you install complex landscaping that your renters can’t or don’t want to care for. For this reason, I believe neat, simple front and back yards are the best way to go. They can be maintained easily or for a reasonable price, and they are a blank canvas for renters trying to picture themselves living in your rental property.
Windows And Doors
Since windows and doors can both have such high price tags, make sure you really need them before making the investment. Is there any way a broken window or door can be repaired? Do they just need painting? If there is a way to use the doors and windows that you have, you could save money and keep your renters happy.
The bottom line is that you don’t want to invest money into your rental that you won’t get back by charging rent. If you evaluate all updates and renovations through this lens, you could save money, have a great rental and attract high-quality renters.
Rhino Realty Property Management 
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