There are multiple approaches to increase the curb appeal of a rental property. However, maintaining curb appeal is quite another matter, certainly if your property is home to a long-term tenant. To help nurture and keep the curb appeal of your Lynchburg rental property in very good condition, one efficient way you can do this is to enlist the help of your tenant. Keeping your property in good condition depends largely on finding conscientious tenants who will be just as open-minded and interested in keeping the property in sound shape as you are. With some open communication and a few easy strategies, you can increase and maintain your Lynchburg property’s curb appeal – one tenant at a time.
Start with Your Lease
Clear and open communication of your expectations with property maintenance naturally begins with your lease documents. All rental property owners aspire to a tenant who will take good care of the property, but even if you feel yours will, it’s relevant to fully explain those expectations in writing. Plenty of landlords will say they hope for any messes the tenant makes to be cleaned up right away. But, on the other hand, what if you could prevent those messes before they start? For example, you have a tenant who likes to do their vehicle maintenance in the driveway. If they change the oil there, the odds are great that they will leave unsightly oil stains behind. But as a matter of fact, if you can discourage them from doing messy jobs like oil changes on the driveway, those oil stains will never take place at all, thereby keeping the front exterior of your property clean and beautiful. By giving a quick rundown of which tenant activities are permissible and which are not, you can help form your tenant-landlord relationship for collective success.
Encourage Cooperation
You can foster your tenant’s cooperation in keeping up the property in many other different ways, equally. Try to become more familiar with your tenant, and employ their skill set to assist you to maintain or increase your property’s landscaping. If your tenant has a good eye for landscape maintenance or a green thumb, enlist them to help you spruce up the front yard or other sections of the property a bit. They may like the opportunity to have a say in the appearance of the rental house, and with more investment in it, be more cooperative to set apart some extra effort to keep it looking tidy.
Offer Incentives
Another way to strongly encourage your tenant to support you to increase your property’s appeal is to offer different sorts of incentives. If your tenant is talented, consider extending a slightly discounted rental rate in exchange for basic maintenance performed on the property. Or, consider the alternative: for a little higher rent, offer to hire a professional to do the work for you. Depending greatly on who your tenant is, they may be willing to pay more to avoid weeding flower beds and mowing the lawn each week.
Regardless of what you do, the important thing is to watch things closely and offer encouragement and help if you notice exterior maintenance issues starting to occur. Communicate frequently and positively with your tenant, which can help immediately alert you if maintenance tasks are left undone.
One last thing, bear in mind that the most efficient way to encourage your tenant to take a really good charge of the property is to show them that you care about the property as well. Scheduling regular maintenance and updates and responding to repair requests fast make a major contribution toward motivating your tenant to help you keep your property’s appeal strong.
Would you like more information on increasing your property’s curb appeal? Give Real Property Management Cairn a call at 434-215-3028! Our Lynchburg property management professionals can offer suggestions and assistance with everything from property maintenance to tenant relations. Contact us today!
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