When you’re renovating an investment property that you intend to hold long-term, you should focus less on structural changes and more on cosmetic work. It is important to ensure that what you’re looking at spending on the property will increase your rental returns, reduce vacancy rates and reduce the need of future maintenance calls.
- Keep things simple
Don’t reinvent the wheel. Use neutral colours to paint all the walls and even ceilings. It will not only save you money by buying paint in bulk but will make processes easier to manage now and in future (in case something needs to be touched up)
- Use durable materials
Make sure all the fixtures and improvements are durable. Always go for dark colour carpets as they are the first ones to normally suffer damage. Fix any broken or poor performing appliances as they can be a real issue for both landlords and tenants. Also, new appliances go a long way impressing prospective tenants but also reduces after-the-fact maintenance.
- Make your property warm and compliant
With 1 July 2019 fast approaching, you need to make sure your property has adequate insulation. Fines are going to be issued to non-compliant landlords. So, if you can only invest in one thing, make insulation it.
- Make It modern
The more modern and eustatically pleasing the property, the more tenants are likely to pay for it.
Renovated properties are likely to get a premium rent price and not going to have much trouble getting tenants. Though there’s no rule of thumb when it comes to how much to spend, but if you’re not sure that you’ll see a return on your investment, don’t do it.
Want to learn more? Check out our 10 Tips for renovating your property to maximise rental returns
