Kitchen Details That Chase Away Renters (& How to Fix Them)
5 Kitchen Details That Chase Away Renters
Renting out an investment home, you want the house to look its best. Renters are often swayed by first impressions. They are following their hearts to their vision of a good home while checking for practical details in every home they tour. The kitchen is especially important when preparing your home for presentation on the rental housing market. If you hope to inspire future tenants and get the best price for your house, it's important to understand both what renters want to see and what they consider to be a red-flag to avoid.
The last thing you want is for the natural charm of your kitchen to be overlooked due to a few off-putting details. When preparing your home to rent, be sure to avoid these seven things that cause concern for potential tenants.
Stains, Scuffs, and Scratches
The kitchen is one of the busiest rooms in the house. Every day, meals are cooked and family activity flows through. Scuffs and even the occasional baked-on food stain are par for the course. But all that needs to disappear when it comes time to sell the house. After all, each renter wants to start fresh.
If your kitchen shows a few signs of wear, don't worry. You can always scour, refinish, and repaint every surface in the kitchen. Your countertop can be stripped and resealed to remove discoloration. Walls and cabinets can be repainted, and appliances or stove hoods can be given a fresh coat of epoxy to remove any previous light damage in the kitchen.
Dark and Gloomy Spaces
Lights that cast shadows are a no-go in modern home design. Of course, many older kitchens rely on poorly placed or oddly shaded ceiling lights that create gloomy corners. This is why lighting upgrades are among the most popular for kitchen renovation choice. You can add ambient lights with better light distribution in combination with stylish pendant lights above the island and even countertop lighting mounted on the underside of your upper cabinets.
Chase away the shadows and show your future tenants the true cooking potential of your pristine kitchen and layout.
Poor Quality Remodeling
Watch out for signs of low-quality remodeling. Issues like DIY tile or poorly fitted shelves may be something you can be proud of as the creator, but renters won't appreciate DIY work as much. The same goes for remodeling features that came with the house when you bought it. You can boost the value of your rental home by having skilled contractors repair or replace poor-quality work before listing your house on the rental market.
Lingering Unpleasant Smells
If there's one thing that tenants trust, it's their noses. If a house smells "off" they are likely to get a bad impression, no matter what the reason. Old food in the garbage disposal, lingering pet smells, or rising damp from water-damage cabinets; it doesn't matter. Bad smells are bad news when trying to sell your home, and air freshener often isn't enough.
After a day outside the house, come back with your senses "reset" and sniff around. If you detect an odd odor anywhere in the house - especially in the kitchen - locate the cause and make plans for repairs. You might need to get your kitchen drains cleaned, replace some old particle board that's grown a little mold, or enzyme-clean spaces where pets have spent time.
Signs of Neglectful Maintenance
After years of hardy service, your home may need a little maintenance before it can be sold. No matter how simple the repair, renters will notice things like rattling door handles, loose drawer pulls, or baseboards separating from the walls. They will infer that this means the house is in poor repair overall, even if this is not the case.
It is worth your while to do a wave of small maintenance repairs to ensure your home appears fresh and new to the casual observer. Tighten screws, touch up paint, reattach molding, and polish the tarnish off plumbing fixtures. You can also replace a few essential yet small pieces of hardware to make a positive first impression and subtly update the decorative style of your kitchen and home.
Keep Your Rental Homes Appealing with Property Management
Many of the features that chase away good tenants can be prevented with good property management. Your property managers will know when a fresh coat of paint and a little maintenance can work wonders on preserving the natural charm of each rental home. Contact Leaf Management today to learn more about how to keep attracting great tenants and keep your properties in top condition at the same time.
