Rent By The Room: Top 5 Tips on Renting Out For The First Time
The economic scenario post-COVID 19 is dismal, to say the least. In fact, it is the ideal time to increase your revenue streams and invest in multiple such streams to ensure maximum income. In this case, renting out your property on a room-to-room basis is an ideal thing to do. Here are a few tips on going about utilizing your spare property to increase your income:
1. Prepare your rooms for renters
In today’s perennially down market, it might not be easy to rent out the whole property on an ‘as-is’ basis. Your tenants are probably short on cash but would still like a great place that is both neat, clean, and spacious. They can afford to be choosy due to the high number of properties on the rental market. This is why you should thoroughly clean your rooms and also make sure that they are fitted with the very latest amenities to attract renters. You should prepare for the new prospective tenants by not only cleaning the whole place but by also making sure that all the appliances are working well and every room has been spruced up as much as possible.
2. Screen your prospective tenants very carefully
Once you start renting out your property on a room-to-room basis, you will have to screen the people living there, very carefully indeed. Always remember that your precious property is in their possession. Not only do you need people who pay their rent on time, every time, but also leave your home and appliances in excellent condition when they leave. Moreover, people with shady and/or police records will bring a heap of problems to your place and give it a bad reputation. Always do your due diligence before handing over the keys
3. Ask for references
You should consider gathering references when looking for potential tenants and checking their extended credit histories. If they try to hide their histories, it might be a red flag. You should also try to take as many safety precautions as you can when screening a room tenant. Here it is pertinent to note that the person is a complete stranger. This is why a security deposit is an absolute must. If you are trusting them with your property, they have to trust you with their deposit.
4. Market your rooms
Once you have your whole house properly straightened out, you should consider developing a list that will describe exactly what makes your rooms appealing. In marketing terminology, it is known as your USP (unique selling proposition). For example, the renters might have access to such desirable features as a washer and dryer combo, 24/7 air conditioning, unlimited Wi-Fi, and the like.
You can use marketing terms such as wall-to-wall wardrobes, state-of-the-art appliances, etc. You can also post your ads on leading real estate sites as well as the local newspapers. Serious individuals still peruse the yellow pages to this day. Apart from that, you may also distribute flyers on community bulletin boards and paste them on the walls of grocery stores and the like
You can also consider blogging on popular real-estate sites and various other popular sites where your target audience might be present. If your rooms are near a college or varsity, you will have to market your room to the young student crowd and might post ads on the Facebook pages of that varsity or college. You can include keywords that you know will attract your target market and bring them to your own website where they will be able to interact with you.
5. Work with the professionals
You might also consider working together with a top-notch property management company such as MDSquared Property Group. Doing so will mean that you will have considerably better results when it comes to maintaining your rental property and also updating it so that it is in sync with the newest trends.
Conclusion
If you want to rent your rooms to increase your income, you have to clean them first and market them to the relevant audience. It would also be a good idea to hire the services of a property management company to take care of your property,
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