Boost Rental Profits with Clever Upgrading

by Justin Locke
(London, UK)

Instead of watching your rental profits swing up and down with the property cycle, you can take a proactive approach to boost your rental income. Careful upgrading is one time-proven method to drive up the demand and asking rent of your rental property.

Being a landlord who invests mostly in fix-uppers, let me share some tips for maximizing your renovation returns.

If your rental property caters to the mid-high end tenant, then you should consider hardwood flooring. Hardwood flooring isn't cheap but it is highly durable and can give you sizable long term returns - On the average, I enjoy a 10 to 15% increase in rent just by upgrading to hardwood flooring.

Nothing mars the first impression of your rental property more than a dirty and unkempt house. Bathrooms, walls and carpets are hot spots for tenant inspection so pay extra attention to these areas.

If your rental property is yellowed with age and has stains that cannot be removed by ordinary cleaning, you should turn to a professional cleaning company to wipe them out for you.

Another tip: If your former tenant has left your property in a complete mess, you can deduct money from his security deposit to pay for the cleaning charges. Just remember to keep those cleaning receipts.