How to prepare an apartment for rent
Preparing your apartment for a long-term lease is important if you want to rent it out quickly and at a good price. It is not necessary to make a major renovation to find many willing tenants. Sometimes a good cleaning and a few tricks are enough. We tell you more about how to prepare your apartment for rent and what should be in it.
What a rental apartment should look like
In order to make a good rental profit, the apartment must be in good condition. The apartment should have new plumbing, if the previous one is out of order, comfortable and beautiful furniture, including a kitchen set, metal-plastic windows, a reliable entrance door, and good flooring.
If the owner does not have the opportunity to buy new furniture for the apartment, it is not worth leaving an old sofa and a Soviet closet in it. It is better to remove the old furniture altogether and rent the apartment without it. There will also be plenty of people willing to move into an empty apartment on a long-term basis.
The apartment for rent should be neat and clean. When viewing the apartment, it should evoke positive emotions in potential tenants. If you do a general cleaning, invest in new furniture, make the apartment cozy, you can increase the rental value by 10-20%.
What to do before renting an apartment
There are a number of mandatory steps that every owner of a residential property must go through if they want to rent it out profitably on a long-term basis. Some steps can be skipped depending on the condition of the apartment. So, what should be done?
1. Put away personal belongings and junk
The more the apartment is cluttered with personal belongings and various junk of the owners, the less there will be people willing to live in it. Before renting out your apartment, you should remove all the unnecessary things: throw something away, sell something, take something back to your home. The presence of junk spoils the appearance of the living space - it is important to remember this if you want to rent an apartment profitably.
What things don't belong in an apartment:
faulty furniture and appliances that can no longer be repaired;
of bulky Soviet-era cabinets and sideboards;
old curtains, rugs, bedspreads;
dozens of books that have just been collecting dust for years;
personal belongings of the apartment owner (photo albums, clothes, documents, dishes, etc.).
After that, it is important to take a critical look around the apartment and remove all unnecessary details from it. This can be posters and cheap pictures on the walls, a cracked salt shaker on the kitchen table, magnets on the fridge, empty jars on the balcony, flowerpots, an old shower curtain, etc. Without these "useful" things in the apartment will be cleaner and more spacious. Remove all visual noise. When the apartment will be clean, then you can already choose a new laconic decor.
2. Do some cosmetic repairs
Assess the apartment and plan where you want to renovate. It is better not to make major changes to the apartment, as it is too costly. Use the rule - the money invested in repairs should be returned after 2-3 months of renting the apartment. This amount will be enough for a good quality cosmetic repair.
When making repairs, you can also take into account the class of housing:
If it is an expensive business or elite-class apartment, you can make a new renovation and refresh the interior under the guidance of a designer. To attract more potential clients, you can add uniqueness to the interior, for example, make a redesign or unusual lighting, buy high-quality expensive furniture;
If it is an economy or comfort-class apartment, you can limit yourself to inexpensive cosmetic repairs. In the rooms, you can change the wallpaper, choose linoleum for the floor, install new plumbing fixtures, update the kitchen set, and remove everything unnecessary.
In any apartment, it is important to pay attention to the little things: whether the faucets are leaking, whether the switches are working, whether the light bulbs have burned out, etc. Attention to detail will help you create a positive first impression of your home.
3. Renovate the infill of the apartment
Before renting out a property, you should assess whether it is equipped with everything you need for tenants. Of course, it is possible to rent out a completely empty apartment, but the rental price will be lower in this case.
What tenants most often expect to see in an apartment:
A roomy closet with shelves, drawers and a storage rod on tremlines;
kitchen set - sink, nightstands and wall cabinets;
a dining area - a table and some chairs;
a sofa or a bed with a good mattress;
a shoe shelf or a full wall for the hallway;
household appliances - refrigerator, washing machine, stove, TV.
If something is missing, you don't have to buy expensive new furniture or appliances. You can choose a budget option or offer the tenants to buy the missing items against the rent.
4. Do a general cleanup
Before renting out an apartment, it is essential to clean it thoroughly. You can do this either by yourself or by a cleaning company. The apartment should have its windows washed, curtains and tulle washed, floors wet cleaned, upholstered furniture cleaned, the kitchen and bathroom completely cleaned, and the bathtub and toilet disinfected.
5. Add coziness
In order to make the apartment a pleasant impression and want to live in it, it is important to make it cozy. It is not necessary to decorate everything with carpets, knitted napkins and flowers. Everyone has their own idea of coziness. To meet the tastes of the majority of tenants, you need to make everything modern and laconic.
Inexpensive monochrome curtains and white tulle, a few sofa cushions to match the curtains, and a modern-style poster will add to the coziness of the apartment. Before the arrival of potential tenants, you can put a vase of fresh flowers on the table. It is also important to air the apartment. You can make coffee for prospective tenants to give them the impression that they already live here.
What should be in an apartment for rent
Many tenants are looking for empty apartments to rent, as they already have their own furniture, appliances and other things. However, there are still many tenants who want to move into a fully furnished apartment. Such clients need a fully furnished apartment. What should the apartment have in order for tenants to sign a long-term lease?
A complete list of what to buy for a rental apartment:
furniture - sofa, armchairs and closets should be of neutral design, as it is impossible to please every tenant with style. The optimal furnishing of an apartment includes a closet, a bed with a mattress or a folding sofa, a couple of armchairs, and a desk. Depending on the roominess and area of the apartment, there may also be a dresser, coffee table, bookshelves. The kitchen should have a side table, a dining table and at least a couple of chairs.
household appliances - in the case of an inexpensive apartment, the minimum equipment includes a stove, refrigerator and washing machine. In more expensive housing options there should also be a TV, microwave, electric kettle, extractor fan. Also an additional bonus will be a coffee machine, dishwasher, dryer.
lighting - the right lights make the apartment more cozy, so, in addition to the main chandelier, it is worth supplementing it with several sconces and floor lamps. It also does not hurt to buy energy-saving bulbs to reduce the amount of payment for utilities. This also attracts tenants.
decor - future tenants will appreciate useful and pleasant little things in the apartment. It can be a few modern paintings, a full-length mirror, bathroom accessories, new cutting boards for the kitchen. The decor should be neutral and in limited quantities so as not to create visual noise.
Something from this list may already be in the apartment, something will have to be purchased. Remember that this is not a waste of money, but an investment for profit. Properly furnishing the apartment increases its rental value.
If you are planning to rent out your apartment for a long term and want to find tenants quickly, contact a realtor of the real estate agency "Mayak" for help. An experienced employee will tell you what you should improve in the living space in order to rent it at a favorable price. The lawyers of the real estate agency "Mayak" will help to draw up the right lease agreement, which will take into account the interests of both parties.
