If you’ve invested in a rental property or are at least considering it, bravo, you can give yourself a clap. Rental investment property is one of the best ways to invest in the real estate industry.
It’s a great way to ensure you generate regular passive income, whether you’re still working or you’re about to retire. It’s also a great way to build equity. However, not all investment properties fetch the same amount of income.
More often than not, property owners with rental properties of the same standards and in the same local area may have different revenues at the end of the month. This is often due to factors such as maintenance, the condition of the property, rules, and so forth.
Nonetheless, there are a few tricks you can use to ensure your property fetches the maximum amount of revenue.
If this sounds anything like something you’d want, here are a few clever ways to maximize your investment property profits.
Buy the right property
Well, this is surely a no-brainer for the experienced real estate investors out there. However, it’s something newbies in the rental property industry may take lightly. Before purchasing property, it’s important to do extensive research about the property, similar properties nearby, and the location, including the demographics as well as your market.
If you’re looking to invest in turnkey property for the first time, you can use this resource to help you ensure that you’re indeed making the right decision. The last thing you want is to invest in a property you will have problems getting tenants for, or one which tenants will be vacating as soon as they rent.
Purchasing your first turnkey rental property can be an overwhelming task so if you can find a real estate agent to assist you, you increase your chances of earning the maximum amount of profits from your investment.
Maintenance
A property that is well maintained and in tip-top shape is more attractive to renters and tenants alike. Such property can fetch more in the rental housing market. For investors in rental property, regular maintenance is one of the areas you should put the utmost emphasis on, especially if you’re managing the property on your own as a landlord.
As the landlord, the lease should clearly outline the maintenance roles of both the landlord and the tenant, along with any fines or penalties that poor maintenance may attract. This ensures that your property stays in good condition at all times and, needless to mention, it extends the lifetime of your investment.
Among others, some common maintenance tasks investors should be keen on include:
- Day-to-day cleaning of the outdoors
- Garbage collection and disposal
- Weatherproofing for plumbing before winter
- HVAC system servicing
Stay abreast with rent price
With time, rent price changes. This is especially seen with growth and population increase, which leads to an increased demand for housing in the area. To maximize your investment property’s profits, it’s clever to research what similar units in the neighborhood are charging their tenants for rent from time to time.
Provide additional amenities
Offering additional features and amenities is a great way to ensure your property fetches more. Apart from costly additions such as swimming pools, simply offering things like Wi-Fi (if you haven’t already) or satellite TV could improve your property’s demand and allow you to increase rent.
Leverage on “Partial Month Rents”
In some cases, renters leave their property earlier before the month ends. Now, if another tenant wants to move in, should they have to wait until the end of the month to do so? Better yet, should your property stay vacant until the end of the month to rent it? To avoid losing money from such situations, you can allow tenants to move in mid-month and charge rent prorated for the remaining days of the month.
It’s a win-win situation for both you and your new tenants as they can even get cheaper moving trucks in the middle of the month. It also gives your old tenant enough time to vacate and leave the property clean.
Leverage on pet fees
In most places, pet-friendly houses are scarce. If you’re an investor in rental property, this is something you can take advantage of to increase rent for pet owners. However, you will also want to establish clear rules for pet owners and include this in the lease agreement.
This can be a source of additional income from your property without having to incur much expenditure.
As you can see, there are various ways to ensure your investment property generates more income. In addition to the above, you can also include late rent penalties, lease termination fees, and avoid including utilities in the rent. Maximizing your rental property’s revenue doesn’t have to be an uphill task if you read through this article.
