Preparing for a Successful Home Rental Experience
As experienced professionals who live, work, and invest in the Portland area, our team has an in-depth understanding of the state and local laws, along with daily experience actively tracking the rental market. This allows us to rent and manage properties more effectively and share unique knowledge and support to our clients. As the property owner, you play a significant role in your success. The following pages will walk you through important steps and need-to-knows for properly preparing, renting, and managing your investment – whether you choose to hire a professional or go it alone.
“SO, WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW?”
That’s the question we’re here to help you answer.
PREPARING YOUR RENTAL INVESTMENT
It’s our goal to help you attract the largest rental audience possible. As you prepare your property for marketing, it’s important to stop thinking like a homeowner and start thinking like a resident. There are five main factors to consider when preparing your rental investment:
Set a neutral tone for potential residents. This helps them visualize their own belongings in the home. Replace bright, bold colors with soft variations such as taupe or pale gray. These warm and cool shades provide color without overshadowing a resident’s personal color preference. Accent colors can provide a “wow factor” or can be a detriment. If you choose to do an accent color, choose a smaller wall and keep to neutral or earthy tones.
Be objective about the property – remember, this is your business. Does it have an inviting smell or is there room for improvement? Pet odor, strong food smells, and musty, older homes and basements can be a huge deterrent for potential residents. Rather than trying to cover up odors, work to eliminate them by ventilating the property, using a professional cleaning and carpet service, replacing pet stained carpets and padding, and putting up a fresh coat of paint.
A professional cleaning service will catch areas that you may have missed, forgot, or didn’t realize needed attention, such as window tracks, panels on doors, and interiors of range hoods, dishwashers, and other built-in appliances. These things can easily go unnoticed when a professional cleaning service is not used, but are immediately noticeable to a potential resident closely inspecting the property’s condition.
If you take a mental screenshot of the property from across the street, do you notice landscaping that needs work? Does the bark dust need refreshing? Do the roof, chimney, siding, gutters, entryway, driveway, or walkways need to be cleaned or power-washed? Does the fencing need repairs? Are garbage cans stored neatly against the house? This is your chance to make a great first impression and get renters excited about the home.
QUESTIONS ABOUT OTHER HOME PREP STEPS? LET’S TALK THROUGH THEM TODAY.
SETTING THE
STANDARD FOR
HOME CARE
An important part of the home prep and tenant on-boarding process is making sure your setting a home care standard from the start. This means preparing the home to the standard you want it left in upon move-out, as well as explicitly discussing how you’d like the home to be treated during their tenancy.
This means the home is professionally cleaned and a rent-ready assessment is completed. By doing so, we prepare the resident to move and ensure the home is ready or our comprehensive move in checklist, that eventually becomes the foundation for the move out process. A rent-ready assessment includes many factors, including:
ENSURING DETECTORS AND EXTINGUISHERS ARE PROPERLY IN PLACE
CHANGING LIGHT BULBS AND FILTERS THROUGHOUT THE HOME
ADDRESSING REPAIR NEEDS AND CONDUCTING HOME SYSTEM CHECKS
Our experienced team of professionals can handle some or all of the rent ready process.
Let’s discuss your unique circumstances to formulate the best strategy for you.
