How to Make Your Investment Property More Attractive to Quality Tenants

Tenant screening is the usual process landlords and property managers like the team at Hicks Real Estate, use to recruit the best tenants for their units, and through it, filter out candidates with a questionable rental history, bad credit scores, or other red flags that make them liable to cause issues. But tenant screening only works for taking your existing applicants and finding the best candidates among them.

So, what can you do to make your property more attractive to high-quality applicants in the first place?

Pick a Good Neighbourhood

This one may not be helpful if you already have a property, but if you’re just getting started or if you’re trying to add a new property to your holdings, it’s a good one to keep in mind. Invest in a property that’s in an area with low crime rates, good property values, good school systems, and access to amenities like restaurants and stores. If you can, get to know the neighbours and see if the average tenant would get along with them. These properties may cost you a bit more up front, but they’re likely to appreciate in value over time, and are far more likely to attract professional, reliable tenants.  The inner north west clearly ticks all these boxes.

Set the Right Rent 

Setting a rental price is rarely straightforward, but it’s an important variable to consider if you want to attract the right tenants for your property. One of the easiest ways to set rental prices is to see what other landlords in the area are charging and mimic them (adding or subtracting to compensate for the differences your property offers).

However, you can set your prices lower; this will increase the number of applications you get and could fill your property faster. The downside is that these tenants may have less income or less reliable income, and because you’ll be getting more applications, you may (not all low income tenants are bad)be dealing  with more low-quality tenants.

Instead, it may be wise to increase your rent prices, even slightly—it may take you longer to fill your vacancy, but you’ll attract better candidates. Psychologically, people place more value on more expensive things, so you might even end up with more satisfied tenants.

The experienced Property Managers at Hicks Real Estate can help you setting the right price.  We can do this via thorough research and provision of a detailed report of the current market.

Offer Extra Perks

You may not be able to completely remodel, but you can offer some extra perks for your tenants that “sweeten the pot.” For example, you could install air conditioners and dishwashers to make it more convenient for your tenants to live here, or you could offer free internet to the property as an added luxury. Perks serve as good tiebreakers between competing properties, so they could make the difference in the types of tenants you receive applications from.  Other options could be included garden maintenance or water charges. If they have solar, pass the rebates onto the tenants etc.

Be Nice

This is a simple and obvious step, but an important one. As a landlord, you’ll be communicating with your new applicants, and their impressions of you could affect whether or not they want to move forward with the rental. If you seem brash or difficult to work with, tenants with an intention of a long-term stay may prefer to find someone friendlier or more communicative. You don’t need to be your tenants’ best friend, but you should be able to offer easy communication, flexible understanding, and a smile when meeting in person.  Or just use the professional team at Hicks Real State Property Management.

Work on the Kitchen and Bathroom

The kitchen and the bathroom are two of the most important rooms for your property, so if you can afford to make upgrades, make them here. The difference between an old and new bathtub, or between old and new countertops, can make a significant difference in the eyes of a stable, choosy tenant. Plus, you’ll be able to charge more for rent, and you’ll increase the value of your property at the same time. Kitchen and bathroom remodels can get expensive, but they’ll be able to provide you a positive ROI in the span of just a few years.  A great kitchen and bathroom will still not be enough if the rest of the house is poor quality, so ensure that the whole property and inclusions are in good, clean, safe working order.

Focus on the Curb Appeal

You’ll also want to improve the curb appeal as much as possible. “Curb appeal” updates don’t necessarily make the property more structurally sound or more comfortable, but will make a better first impression with your potential tenants, attracting a better crowd. You can improve the curb appeal of your property by investing in gardening and lawn care, fixing anything that appears to be broken or dirty on the outside, adding a fresh coat of paint, and making the inside of the house as tidy and presentable as possible.

Advertise Thoughtfully

If you know you want to appeal to a certain audience, target your marketing and advertising toward them. For example, if you’re seeking young families, you can emphasise the proximity of schools, or if you’re trying to attract professionals, you can mention how easy it is to get into the city on weekdays from your property. You’ll also want to take lots of images and videos of your property to include in your advertising—and get them professionally done, if you can. Attractive, accurate imagery will entice better and more interested tenants.

These strategies should cumulatively allow you to attract better tenant applications, giving you more high-quality tenants to choose from and easing the stress on your tenant screening process. However, it’s still important that you screen your tenants regularly if you want to ensure the profitability and consistency of your property.

If you need help finding and keeping the best tenants for your property, consider using property management services. Contact Madeleine Hick Property Management for more information on how we can help your property become more profitable.