Owning a rental property and managing the property, tenants, and handling any repairs that come up can be overwhelming and one of the biggest challenges as a landlord is ensuring the property stays in tip-top shape between tenants. From normal wear and tear to intentional damage, landlords spend a lot of time and energy repairing, upgrading, and maintaining their rental properties. Typically easier said than done, maintaining a rental property can be time-consuming and expensive, but thanks to a few shortcuts, the maintenance process is easier and cost-effective.
1. Keep your rental units similar
Let’s face it: repairs to a property can add up to be extremely expensive. By keeping the features in each unit of your rental properties similar, you’re able to purchase materials in bulk, which saves you a lot of time, money, and headaches. When trying to figure out which features to keep the same, consider the flooring, paint, kitchen backsplashes, and lighting fixtures. This way, when they need to be repaired and replaced, you have extra stock to pull from!
2. Refinish old cabinets
Bathroom and kitchen renovations can be costly, especially when cabinets are being replaced. To help reduce costs, refinish the cabinets in the rental property instead of replacing them completely. At a lower cost, you’re not only helping the environment by recycling what you already have but they will look brand new to your tenants. You can even choose different finishes and colors!
3. Refresh walls with temporary wallpaper
Like a giant sticker, temporary wallpaper is a great way to refresh a space with current trends. With neutral options, your tenants won’t be able to tell whether it is temporary or permanent wallpaper and if it gets damaged during their lease, it’s easy to remove!
4. Commit to preventative maintenance
Think of your rental property like you would a car. The more often you conduct small maintenance tasks, the less likely it is that a large repair will come up. Conduct property inspections 2-3 times per year to stay on top of small maintenance tasks and over time, you’ll be saving a lot of time and money!