The quality of your property and rental income go hand in hand. The same is true when it comes to the correlation between a property’s appearance and the quality of tenants it attracts. By making your vacation rental attractive, you may be able to attract the right tenant and maximize your income.
Of course, not all improvements are created equal. So, before making any improvements to your vacation rental, think carefully about the kind of renovations to do. You want to ensure that whatever changes you make will have a positive impact on your income.
As a smart property investor, your goal should be to maximize your rental income. Performing renovations and property updates is a great way to achieve this and it isn’t as expensive as you may think. This article will show you 5 improvements you can apply to your vacation rental in order to charge more rent.
1. Charge More for Rent
This is the most obvious way to maximize the return on your investment. But before doing this, carry out some market research. During the research, you may find that you’re undercharging your tenants relative to the market standard.
Of course, raising rent comes with its own fair share of risks like losing renters. You can only lose a renter if you end up overcharging them. You want to make sure that your prices are competitive with other vacation rentals in the area and that your accommodating the renters needs.
2. Boost Your Curb Appeal
When it comes to renting out your vacation property, first impressions can make all the difference. When the curb appeal is right, you increase the odds of maximizing your return on investment.
Now there are two ways to go about boosting your curb appeal. You can choose to go it alone, or you can choose to seek professional help. Either way, the first step should be to go around the home and assess what areas need to be updated.
If you see a lot of weeds, overgrown branches, dead grass potential tenants might feel like the property is neglected. The following are a couple of things you could do to revitalize it:
- Fertilize plants or grass
- Pull weeds by hand or use a weed-killer
- Trim tree branches, so they stay overhead and provide shade
- Keep the lawn mowed and the bushes trimmed
- Plant new flowers and add/replace mulch to make the beds appear neater
Besides the landscape, you may also want to do the following things to improve the curb appeal of your vacation rental:
- Add a new front door mat
- Give your home a fresh coat of paint
- Clean the front door
- Add window boxes
3. Refresh the Kitchen and Bathrooms
Ensuring both of these rooms look their best can help you charge more for your vacation rental.
Kitchen renovations don’t have to break the bank, despite common misconceptions. If you have tired-looking appliances, replace them with newer and more efficient ones. You may also want to swap out cabinet doors to give your kitchen a whole new look.
The same also applies to bathroom renovations. If your tiles are tired, stained, or outdated, simply paint over them rather than have your bathroom re-tiled. You may also want to do a deep cleaning, and replace old fixtures, showerheads, and shower curtains.
4. Make Your Property Pet-Friendly
Pet-friendly rentals are in high demand. After all, a large population of U.S. renters have pets. If you aren’t allowing pets, it means that you’ll effectively be turning away a significant population of renters from staying your vacation rental.
That being said, allowing pets into your vacation home can carry a number of risks, from pet damage to noise complaints from neighbors. Luckily, you may be able to safeguard yourself against any problems by having a pet policy in place.
5. Improve the Home’s Lighting
Utilizing natural light and colors can help not only to illuminate your vacation home but also lift its mood. The following are some of the things you can use to improve your home’s lighting:
- Choose the right light bulbs. Bulbs do affect a home’s color and brightness. For the sake of efficiency, you may want to go with LED lights. LED bulbs will emit the same amount of light as a standard one but use less energy. What’s more, they usually tend to outlive incandescent bulbs.
- Choose the right fixtures for lighting layers. General lighting may not be an effective solution in providing maximum lighting to a home. So, you may want to consider combining three layers of lighting – ambient, task, and accent.
Summary
There you have it. 5 easy ways to charge more for your vacation rental. Investing in the right improvements and researching the right prices to charge can significantly increase the income you generate from your vacation rental.
If you have more questions, please get in touch with Suncastle Property Management!