If you have decided to go down the path of buying, rehabbing and renting, we will tell you how to increase the return from your rental. You will need to take into account all factors of property management. To boost your apartment rental value, rent for a higher price and increase the rent upon renewal. Be attentive, meaning, prevent maintenance problems before they come up. But how can you achieve all of these objectives?
The appearance of the entrance is known to boost your apartment rental value
It’s common knowledge that people create an opinion about you in three seconds. If you don’t have long to make a first impression, how long do you think your apartment has? Simple aesthetic improvements such as painting the front door, replacing the mailbox or address numbers can be very significant. You can even make a lot of DIY projects and repairs! People get the sense of your condo already by approaching the front door, so try to think of everything.
Advertising is 80% of the job done
Fewer prospects mean less demand, and when the supply stays the same, the only consequence is a lower price. In other words, renting a property with only a sign in front of it usually means you are under-renting it. More importantly, take high-quality pictures and make sure to take pictures at about a 30-degree angle. En face pictures make rooms look very small.
Staging can seriously boost your apartment rental value
The first step of preparing your place for showing is, of course, cleaning. Then, turn on the lights are on and open the blinds so the unit is well-lit and has good, open energy. Make sure to do everything you can to make your apartment appear bigger. Dark rooms tend to look smaller and less welcoming. Also, put a pie in the oven to make it smell pleasant. The prospects won’t resist your property if it smells like homemade food. To really boost your apartment rental value, think cherry pies. When the prospects go home to deliberate on the properties they’ve seen, they’ll certainly remember yours.
Instead of just showing – sell it
- To boost your apartment rental value when doing the showings, build rapport with prospects. Be open and friendly, show genuine interest in them. Offer them your best advice in regards to moving and settling in a new home. Tell them why professional long distance movers NYC are the best. Never oversell or be pushy. People want to rent from people they like.
- Sometimes, especially in hot markets, it is useful to use the Rule of Reciprocation. This works by people wanting to return a kindness (say renting from you) if you do something nice for them.
- The rule of reciprocation will set you apart from the market’s equally good property. Listing these in your advertising will also help elicit traffic.
Don’t bid too low – otherwise, how will you boost your apartment rental value?
Of course, you don’t want to go overboard. You are still losing money every day a unit sits on the market. Or if it’s the middle of the winter and few people are searching for new places, you should certainly consider changing the offer. But usually, it’s better to start at a high range than the low.
Screening cannot be overlooked or done superficially
High rent is useless if you’re getting bad tenants. It’s better to have a property vacant for awhile than to rent to a bad tenant. If you are wondering how to find a perfect tenant, especially in NYC, we have some tips on that too. Imagine if a tenant made over $10,000 in damage to the apartment. Screening means you’ll want to check for previous evictions, criminal records, and credit. Ask for landlord and employment references.
Always increase rent after lease renewal
These increases should at least keep your rent the same in inflation-adjusted terms and should improve your bottom line.
Let tenants know it’s coming. Inform them a rent increase will happen each year upon signing the original lease. This way you boost your apartment rental value by training your tenants to expect some annual rent increase. Perhaps it’s only $15 to $20. This is called a nuisance increase. It’s certainly not enough for a tenant to move out, but it sure does help your numbers.
Another way to boost your apartment rental value is to charge more for month-to-month rentals
- Don’t worry, we’re not here to state the obvious. We have for you a trick to try, often used in marketing: Don’t tell prospects what the rental is going to be but give them three price options to choose from.
- By offering three choices, buyers tend to compare those, rather than comparing the price to other businesses.
- Offer your tenants an option of month-to-month, a six-month lease, and a year lease. The shorter the lease, the higher the price.
Charge pet rent
Opening up your unit to people with pets increases the number of prospects. Pets can do damage, but you can cover it with a non-refundable pet deposit or pet rent. People usually set a limit of three pets and have some limitations for some breeds of dogs. You can often make more from pet rent than lose in damages.
Preventative maintenance
To boost your apartment rental value, lower expenses with preventative maintenance. Small repairs can save you thousands of dollars in HVAC and foundation repairs. So change the filters in the AC and clean those gutters. Prevention means regular inspections once every six months. When you provide good maintenance, you’ll stay in good favor with your tenants, which increases the odds of renewal.
Stay in contact with tenants
If you find a way to positively maintain contact with your tenants, this will also help with renewals. Renewals are the most important booster since turnover is what can hurt your pocket the most. Recommend unpacking services when they are moving in, this can be a lovely way to connect with them. They will remember your help and kindness, then you can use that as a base to follow up with your tenants with a monthly newsletter and even a social media presence.
Try asking for prospects’ favorite restaurant on the rental applications. Then, if a bad maintenance issue emerged, send them a gift card to that restaurant. It’s more personal (and thus more effective) than a rent discount.
The more you can raise rents, lower costs, and increase retention, the better your income will be. We hope we helped you boost your apartment rental value and gave you useful ideas on how to stay proactive in increasing your rental returns.