Making your rentals in Denville as low-maintenance as possible is one of the best strategies to maintain their profitability. By lowering your maintenance expenditures, you can improve your cash flow and save more savings for future investments. The good news is that creating a low-maintenance rental home may be done in a variety of inexpensive and efficient methods. These techniques could be useful if you are overspending on home upkeep in terms of both time and money.
Choose Quality
Choosing the appropriate materials for repairs and improvements is the first step in making your rental property more low-maintenance. Low maintenance is not the same as low quality. Many high-quality materials outlast cheaper, inferior ones and are simpler to maintain clean. Flooring is one area where this is especially true. Savvy property owners often choose tile or vinyl for low-maintenance floors that will keep their appeal for many years. Tile and vinyl work well in kitchens, bathrooms, hallways, and other high-traffic areas. And both are easy to keep clean.
Opt for Scrubbable Surfaces
Another simple but effective strategy to minimize maintenance in your rental’s interiors is to choose a paint finish, bathtub surround, or backsplash that is easy to clean. For example, consider painting your rental’s walls with a high-quality semi-gloss paint. Unlike flat paint, which can be hard to clean and may stain easily, semi-gloss or even gloss paint tends to hold up better to heavy wear. Consider using glossy paint in the kitchen to make those walls stain-resistant. If you’ve got tile in the bathrooms, consider installing a fiberglass surround right over the top. These products are relatively budget-friendly and stay looking nice longer than grout lines. You may even consider adding a backsplash in the kitchen behind appliances and counters. A backsplash is easier to clean than a painted wall and will reduce the amount of re-painting you’ll need to do between tenants.
No-Fuss Landscaping
Your rental property’s yard is just as important as the interior, so keeping your landscaping looking neat and appealing is essential. To ensure that the landscaping is also low-maintenance, choose a landscaping design that will require minimal trimming and mowing to stay nice. For instance, consider adding some raised flower beds around the edges instead of covering the entire yard in grass. When filled with a rich wood mulch, this can instantly upgrade the look of any yard while keeping it easy to maintain. Also, choose plants native to your climate and easy to care for. This can help keep your trees, shrubs, and flowers healthy and reduce the burden of landscaping care for your Denville property manager and tenants.
Low-Maintenance Lighting
As you plan your renovations, don’t forget to include some low-maintenance lighting and charging options. Pendant lights and chandeliers may look pretty, but they collect dust and bugs over time and are easily damaged. To reduce maintenance, choose good quality, functional lighting mounted securely against the ceiling. It’s also a good idea to choose light fixtures that make it easy for tenants to change light bulbs when needed. Additionally, consider upgrading your electrical outlets to include plug-ins for cell phones and other electronic devices for an added selling point. This will not only attract more tenants but can help prevent problems like blown fuses.
Perform Comprehensive Maintenance
Finally, having a thorough maintenance plan is one of the greatest ways to design and own a low-maintenance rental. Your maintenance schedule should outline the interior and exterior maintenance duties that need to be performed. Regular maintenance must be done each month to maintain your rental as low-maintenance as possible and avoid costly emergency repairs.
Want help making your rental property less work-intensive and more profitable? To talk to a Denville property manager right away, call Real Property Management NJ Elite at 908-955-7487.
Originally Published on December 18, 2020
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