Have you ever driven by a house or other piece of property dozens of times on a daily or weekly commute to wherever, and found yourself consistently and constantly admiring that piece of property from afar? If the answer is yes, then this is exactly what you want YOUR rental property to be. You should aspire to make your property THAT property! Whether you have a rental home on a corner lot or a commercial property in a strip mall, the thought process is the same –
“CURB APPEAL ALWAYS MATTERS”
Not only does curb appeal matter when your property is empty, but it also matters when your property is fully rented. It is very important to remember that your property is always for sale for the right price, and your property is always being looked at by potential investors, buyers, and renters. Everyone that passes your property one time, or regularly, is a potential customer. Thinking about your propert this way, and keeping this in mind, your property should always be manicured, present a look of cleanliness that's free of debris and trash, and invite passerby’s to look, wonder, and inquire.
Here are 4 Reason why curb appeal always matters:
1. You have the power to either INCREASE the demand for your property,
simply by keeping the curb appeal attractive, and paying attention to the details. Your impact on the demand for your property can be significant, based on your property’s “presentation” to the public. Similar to how you stage the interior of a home for a sale, you should continually stage the exterior of the house for an ultimate or potential sale. This isn’t the most important factor that drives demand, but it can give your property an edge. You can never make up for “location”, but you can improve the neighborhood with a neat and clean property. The upkeep of your property can make a big difference! Regardless of the location of a property, a well-kept appearance either attracts or distracts. If no one else in the area cares, your attention to curb appeal says “you care”!
2. You increase your pool of possible tenants when you maintain the curb appeal.
You are able to reach those potential tenants that care deeply about neatness and the few potential tenants that don’t care. Consequently, when your property lacks curb appeal you can only reach those few potential tenants that don’t care about curb appeal, thus lowering, or decreasing your pool of possible tenants. So you are shrinking your pool of potential buyers or renters. Or, put another way, you are cutting off your options!
3. Curb appeal is the ultimate marketing tool.
You must understand that your property is an amazing advertising tool. It’s a billboard that tells the story of the property owner. If you have a tenant, demand that the tenant maintain the outside of the property so that your property markets itself. Even when your property is rented, you are still advertising to the next potential tenant or buyer. Most of us reading this blog post cannot afford to pay for the type of advertisement that keeping an attractive property can give you!
4. There is a price to be paid for not paying attention to curb appeal.
You lose good potential tenants, and buyers, when your propertys exterior is poorly maintained. In fact, you are losing the very types of tenants you really want to attract. You want tenants who are concerned with the exterior look of your property. When those types of tenants are turned off by the lack of curb appeal, you lose their business. If you don't concern yourself with curb appeal, as a landlord, then you will be attracting the types of tenants that also, don't care about how the property looks, which is really who you want to avoid!
How a property looks on the outside, is often times, an indication of how it looks on the inside. What are you communcating to people about you as a property owner, if you allow your properties exterior to look bad? You end up losing more money than it would have costs to simply properly maintain the exterior of the property!
Again, emphasize and demand that tenants maintain the exterior of the property to the same extent that you expect them to maintain the interior, always keep the property free of non-operating vehicles, trash, debris, weeds, and other unsightly items. Keep the lawn cut, bushes trimmed, and curbs and concrete properly maintained.
The next time you are driving by that property that you have long admired, be cognizant that there are people that regularly drive by your property. You want them talking highly about your property and saying the same things about your property that you say about the property you admire.
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