There are several ways to increase the curb appeal of a rental property. But maintaining it is a different story altogether, especially if your property is home to a long-term tenant. To be certain that the curb appeal of your Houston rental property is stable, one of the things you’re strongly advised to do is to get the help of your tenant. Keeping your property in good condition relies heavily on the tenants residing in the property. The best thing for you is to have tenants that want to live in a home that is in tip-top condition. This way, both of you are interested in maintaining the home’s condition. So, with the use of good communication and executing some simple strategies, you’ll be able to get and maintain better curb appeal for your Houston property– one tenant at a time.
Start with Your Lease
Clear communication of what you expect about property maintenance begins with the lease documents. This document, after all, should lay out everything you’ve agreed upon. This includes what to expect from each other. All rental property owners would be really glad to have a tenant who would take good care of their property. However, even though you think you have the best tenant, you must explain those expectations in writing. And make sure it’s easily understood. Many landlords will say that if the tenant makes any mess, then it should be cleaned up promptly. But what if you could prevent those messes from being made in the first place? Let’s say you have a tenant who puts their vehicle in the driveway for vehicle maintenance. If they change the oil there, it would most probably leave oil stains. That would be unsightly. But if you can discourage them from making oil changes on the driveway, or doing any other messy jobs for that matter, then you’d be preventing the problem from ever occurring. No oil stains on the driveway mean that the front exterior of your property continues to be clean and attractive. So, by making clear which tenant activities are okay and which are prohibited, you can start your tenant-landlord relationship on the right foot.
Encourage Cooperation
There are other ways to encourage your tenant to cooperate in taking care of the property. Know more about your tenant. You may learn that he has a skill set that could help you. For instance, they could be really helpful for your property’s landscaping. If your tenant has a green thumb, they would be really good for landscape maintenance. You can enlist them to help you make the front yard look good, or just tidy up other outdoor areas of the property a bit. They may like the fact that they have a say on what the rental house will look like. So, with this additional investment they put in, they may be more willing to put in extra effort to maintain or improve its look.
Offer Incentives
Another way to encourage your tenant to help you increase your property’s appeal is to propose different forms of incentives. If your tenant is handy, then you could give them an offer. They could do the basic maintenance for the property in exchange for a slightly lower rental rate. Or, perhaps you can consider the alternative: hire a professional to do the maintenance work but charge a slightly higher rent. Depending on who your tenant is, they may prefer to pay more to avoid the work. They may think that not having to do the tasks of weeding flower beds or mowing the lawn each week are worth the higher amount.
No matter what route you take, the best thing you can do is keep a close eye on things and offer encouragement and help if you notice any issues of exterior maintenance starting to develop. Communicate with your tenant frequently and positively. This can help alert you if there are any maintenance tasks left undone.
Finally, remember that the best way to encourage someone is to first model that behavior. Show your tenant that you care about the property and they will be encouraged to take care of it too. Scheduling regular maintenance and updates and answer repair requests right away does a lot to motivate your tenant to help keep your property’s appeal strong.
Would you like to know more about increasing your property’s curb appeal? Give Real Property Management West a call at 832-532-9800! Our Houston property management professionals can offer suggestions and assistance with everything from property maintenance to tenant relations. Contact us today!
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