Being a landlord these days is highly profitable. Many of them have built a nice property portfolio that is bringing in loads of profits every month. If you are a new landlord then you might be wondering what you need to do to get started. There are a lot of things that you have to take care of but one thing is to get a property ready for rent.
There are a number of steps that need to be taken so that your property is ready to go for your new tenants. If you neglect to get the apartment or other property ready then you are not likely to rent it out right away or you will have bad tenants that cost you money. In this article, we will go over what it takes to get an apartment ready to rent out.
1 – Make It Compliant
You may not have tenants that are elderly or disabled right now, but one day you might. Or, they may still need to get access to the property. There are a lot of laws that require certain features that your property has to have to be compliant with agencies such as the ADA, or the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This usually requires you to make sure that you are able to provide access to people with mobility issues such as a wheelchair ramp or guardrails on the stairs. You should even have some handrails so look for the best apartment handrails to make sure that everybody is able to access and use the property.
There are also other features such as a smoke detector and a fire exit that have to be present when renting out an apartment. Without these things, you are not likely to pass an inspection when you register the property.
If you don’t pass that inspection then you cannot rent out the property until it does. This can mean an empty apartment that is not bringing in any revenue for a period. Make sure to take care of these things when you are getting the property ready instead of later when you are forced to by the local authorities.
2 – Do a Deep Clean
Unfortunately, there are going to be some tenants that don’t take care of their living space. They may have some bad habits that end up leaving the property a mess. Make sure that you give the place a deep clean so there are no pests there for the next tenants.
Cockroaches love dirty kitchens so make sure to move the stove and fridge to clean up any grease or food that has fallen there. This may require some serious degreaser products and possibly even a professional cleaner to take care of it.
The carpets should be cleaned to remove any odors or allergens that are trapped deep in the fibers.
The first thing that people notice when they come to check out the property is the smell and if there are worn-out carpets. The thinking is that if they can see and smell these obvious problems then what could be hidden that they aren’t seeing?
3 – Update the Appliances
Old appliances will give you a headache since they will frequently break down and need fixing and maintenance. This costs you money over the long term. If you buy new appliances then they are likely to last a long time.
If they do break down then your warranty will cover the cost to repair or replace them so you are not paying out of pocket. New appliances also use less energy and save money and resources.
It is also easier to rent out a property that has new appliances since it is appreciated by an incoming tenant. They like to be sure that things will work properly. If they see old and outdated appliances then they will assume that they will break down frequently and not be useful.
4 – Get a Property Manager
When you are a landlord it is really important to do things like conduct a thorough background check on a rental applicant. This is going to save you a lot of money and stress in the long run. You should leave this up to a property manager to do since they have the resources and understand what to look for when running a check.
Conclusion
They can also handle a lot of the work that is required such as processing payments and sending out technicians to fix things. It comes at a cost but it allows you to grow your rental business.
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