More often than not, tenants will move out of your rental relatively frequently, so getting the unit ready for a new tenant is a big part of the job. From marketing your unit and filling your vacancy quickly with another high-quality tenant to move-in inspections, being prepared will
Here are a few tips on how to get your property rent-ready after an old tenant moves out.
1. Market Your Property On Multiple Listing Sites
When trying to find new tenants, you’ll want to do so as quickly as possible without sacrificing a good tenant screening process. Filling your vacancy quickly will save you money on maintenance expenses when you’re receiving no income.
When renters come to you, your prospective pool becomes much bigger. The proper advertising and marketing strategies are the key to finding the best tenants for your rental.
You should place advertisements both online on multiple popular listing sites and offline in community spaces. Make sure to include all the necessary information on your advertisement like monthly rent, the unit’s size, neighborhood, and amenities.
Schedule property showings to make sure your prospective tenants can have a good look at the property. Another good idea is to place this same advertisement on social media sites to extend your circle of influence.
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When you make your advertisement, make sure to let your unit’s best features stand out. Aside from attractive pictures, a good listing will also include an intriguing but informative property description.
2. Repair or Replace What Doesn’t Work
When there’s a tenant occupying your unit, scheduling maintenance inspections can be a bit of a hassle. Needing to fit into both of your schedules can cause maintenance inspections to be less frequent than you’d like.
When your property is vacant, however, you can take as much time as you’d like to properly assess and inspect every part of the rental property. Oftentimes, this means you find issues you weren’t aware of.
New tenants will want to find everything in working order. If any aspect of your rental property needs to be repaired or replaced, it’s always best to do it before any property inspections, that way a prospective tenant will get to see the rental in its best shape.
3. Schedule a Walk-Through Inspection
Before a tenant officially moves out, it’s always essential to perform a walk-through inspection.
You should do a move-in inspection when the tenant first occupies the property in order to document the state of the property beforehand, and any damage can be found during the move-out inspection.
The checklist used during a move-in and move-out inspection can also be used when assessing for any major damage or areas that need extra attention on the property. This checklist will tell you the main areas of the property you need to check to make sure it’s rent-ready.
4. Hire Professional Cleaners
A high-quality tenant will have kept the rental property is reasonable good condition apart from normal wear-and-tear. If this is the case, a landlord can often clean the property themselves without missing anything major.
However, no matter the state of the rental, professional cleaners will always be more thorough and knowledgeable about the cleaning process than you are.
When a new tenant sees how well you take care of the property, they’ll want to stay long-term and will know the standards of cleanliness you expect them to maintain.
5. Install New Locks
As a part of your property’s security, you shouldn’t leave old locks on the doors after a tenant moves out. The old tenant could’ve made copies of the old keys, which could put your tenant’s privacy and overall safety in jeopardy.
Rekeying and changing the locks after every new tenant is a process that doesn’t just need to be done, but observed to make sure the vendor performs their duty.
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If you want a more convenient solution, changing a traditional lock for an electronic lock can be a money-saver. With an electronic lock, you’ll only need to change the password after every new tenant versus changing the entire lock.
6. Upgrade the Property
For any larger-scale renovations or remodeling in your rental property, the best time to perform them is when the unit is vacant. Not only is a big project uncomfortable and inconvenient for a tenant, but can cost more time and money as the vendors need to work around the tenant.
Some examples of renovations are:
- Repainting walls
- Adding storage areas
- Landscaping
- Expanding a room
- Transforming walls into soundproof ones
- Breaking down walls
- Fixing/ replacing the roof
7. Remove Mold
Just like mold is an unwelcome sight for any property owner, tenants don’t like to see it either. Even if you inspect the property thoroughly and spot no mold, it’s worth the time to take extra care of spots where mold is more likely to grow like moist areas.
8. Attend to Pest Infestations
Pest infestations is one of the number one reasons tenants will walk away from a rental property. If you notice any signs of pests, take care of them right away and consider hiring an extermination team to inspect the property routinely.
Bottom Line
The above tips are essential to getting your property rent-ready for your new tenant. However, if you don’t have the time to check everything properly, hiring experienced property managers such as Alliance Property Management in Ogden, Utah, and its surrounding areas may be a good decision.
As a leading property management company in the region and with over 20 years in the industry, our expertise will help you realize your rental property investment goals. Call us today for all your property management needs!
