BULLET PROOFING YOUR RENTAL PROPERTY
When you rent your property to other people, it is important to have the right expectations and to understand that tenants will never look after the property exactly the way that you do; for better and sometimes, for worse. However there are things that can be done to ensure that your rental investment is ‘tailored’ for tenancy.
Here are some tips to consider:
Paintwork: ensure that the quality of the paint that you use is of a good standard, a trusted brand and is durable enough to take regular washing to remove marks and grime.
Blinds and Curtains: ensure that the blinds are curtains are easy to operate and easy to clean.
Carpet: choose low pile carpets that are made tough. Avoid light colours that show up marks and small stains. Speak with a carpet specialist to choose the best ‘tenant-proof’ carpet without going too cheap.
Flooring: easy care tiles that can be replaced (have some spares on hand) and also laminate ‘floating floorboards’ look great and wear well. Having soft wood floorboards might look great, but dent and scratch easily. Again, speak with your flooring specialist for the best wearing products to use.
Lawns and Gardens: fussy and extensive lawns and gardens can spell trouble. In general, tenants don’t like to look after anything more than low maintenance, so minimise areas by using bark chips, gravel, pavers and less lawn areas. Consider using good quality artificial lawn if the area is small enough. Whatever is growing should have irrigation/drippers installed so that hand watering is minimised or eliminated (unless water restrictions are in place).
After you have spent some money on your investment property, be sure to speak with your accountant regarding the tax depreciation benefits to ensure you minimise your tax obligations as best as possible.