Arranging for regular upgrades to your single-family rental home each year is a smart strategy to optimize your investment. Just as rental homes need regular maintenance, they should also be updated to keep them current and competitive in the market. Property values throughout Texas City are dictated by the condition of the home both inside and out. If the condition is good, then the values are good. If the condition is bad, then the values are likewise pulled down. Consequently, investing a little to upgrade things from time to time is worth the increase of property value that it brings.
However, not all upgrades are the same. Some upgrades do not offer direct benefits for property owners. Really, there are some upgrades that fail to protect your investment or fail to increase the property value. These upgrades bring a lot of advantages for the resident but virtually nothing for the property owner. It’s important for you to study the options you have before making any large updates to your rental property in Texas City.
For instance, as you upgrade your rental properties, you might go for installing new kitchen cabinets because it seems like it would benefit both you and your residents. Your residents will be glad to have quality cabinets in their kitchen, and you may think that these new cabinets would pull up your property values. However, the amount you spend on kitchen cabinets typically outweighs the benefits it has on property values. In this case, this upgrade isn’t worth the cost. If the kitchen cabinets in your property are in truly bad shape, you should absolutely replace them with something better. Otherwise, a full cleaning or perhaps a coat of paint or stain is all that your cabinets need to keep them nice.
Another upgrade that has far better advantages for the residents than for the owner of the rental home is high-end window treatments. You may find that your residents are asking for upgraded blinds, valences, or drapery systems to modify their space to match the look and feel they want. But while owners anticipate residents to make changes to a rental home so it would suit their wants, there is no real benefit to giving them any window treatments beyond standard blinds or shutters. Fancy window treatments rarely have broad appeal because they are closely linked to an individual style and they don’t really add much to a property’s value.
Speaking of particular style, distinct decorative features like custom garage doors, trendy paint colors, and so on might look like a good plan to attract quality residents. But as with window treatments, the charm of decorative features can differ wildly from person to person. For this reason, upgrading beyond high quality, basic doors, windows, and interiors holds little to no benefit for owners of rental homes. To create a quality rental home with a permanent appeal, avoid the latest trends and cling to the less exciting but unmistakably more tried-and-true décor themes that are commonly seen in other rental homes.
Regardless of having made upgrades or not, to maintain the value of your rental property, your priority should always be its maintenance. At Real Property Management Prestige, we are devoted to protecting your investment while developing great relationships with your residents. For more information about our property management services, please contact us online or call us directly at 281-532-5455.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
