Have you made capital improvements to your rental property yet? If not, like most owners you may be debating when you should make those improvements.
In this article, we will provide you with some tips on when to make capital improvements to your rental property and which improvements you should consider making first.
Step 1 – Evaluate Your Rental Property to Determine Which Improvements Are Needed
Before making the decision to invest money in Capital Improvements you should first determine which improvements you should make to your rental property by evaluating your rental property yourself or hiring an inspector to inspect the rental property for you.
If you plan on evaluating your rental property yourself you should review the exterior of your rental including the roof, paint, gutters, siding, air conditioning, fences, and landscaping.
You must ask yourself if the condition of each of these parts of your rental property is in good shape or if you should spend the money on improving them.
Step 2 – Review the Interior of Your Rental Property
After reviewing the exterior of your rental property, you should next review the Interior of your property including the carpeting, hardwood floors, appliances, paint and window coverings.
For mechanicals like water heaters, it’s important for you to know that the average water heater depending on if it’s gas or electric can last between 12-15 years so you should check the age of each of your mechanicals to determine if they are at the end of their life cycles.
Step 3 – Determine What Needs to Be Modernized in The Rental Property
Besides reviewing the interior and exterior of your rental property, you should also determine which areas of your rental property need to be modernized. This step is important because if a rental property looks modern it will be more appealing to potential tenants who would be interested in living there.
Some areas of your rental property that you should consider modernizing include carpeting, light fixtures, appliances, doors, and windows.
Step 4 – Create A Timeline for Capital Improvements
Once you know the state of your rental property you should next create a timeline for capital improvements with the most important improvements like replacing appliances that are at the end of their life cycles to larger improvements like replacing the roof.
For best results with capital improvements it’s best to create a total budget for the improvements then set that money aside each month so you can accomplish your goal of keeping your rental property updated and in great shape.
If your property is currently rented it’s important to remember that you must provide your tenant’s with a 24-hour notice to enter just so they can be prepared for you to enter the rental property.
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