3-5 Features, which set Urban Rental Apart. Thoughts please?

Question

Hi Team,

I'm curious what your thoughts are on 3-5 features that set your property apart-- keeping vacancies low, and rents on the high side?

I own 2 Duplexes, and a Quad in Minneapolis. With only so much $ to go around, I'm curious where you spend your dollar, to get the highest return upon closing? Here's what worked for me-- Let me know your thoughts. Thank you!

1. Off-street Parking-- in Minnesota the streets and parking get pretty brutal once the snow piles up. I only look @ properties that include off-street parking. I'm sure this is a good bet for others in Northern Cities-- what say you Chicago, Detroit, Boston, or Syracuse residents?

2. Onsite Laundry

3. Modern Appliances-- Including Dishwasher

3. Tiled Bath & New Vanity-- Subway tile (for the shower) is relatively cheap, and has an ah-ha factor (I think) when showing the unit.

4. In old houses, refinished original wood floors-- My RE is all over 100+ years old. Lots of negatives, but upside too. Especially the wood floors I've been finding under layers of linoleum.

Honorable Mention-

1. Quarterly visits from Pest Control (Mice, roaches, spiders, Centipedes)

2.  Neutral, fresh paint

3. Garden for growing vegetables (even hops for one tennant..)

Tom Henderson · Answer

Appreciate everyone's thoughts here. Between this post, and in talking with folks in my community, here are the top 4 (in order) updates I will make to my units upon purchase:

1. Off-street Parking (if in City-- especially with Snow)

2. Clean bathroom

3. Updated Kitchen with stainless steel or black appliances (dish is huge)

4. Onsite laundry. In-unit laundry most preffered.

Mike Hurney · Answer

@Tom Henderson 1. Yes offstreet parking is important in Boston for me unless I'm near a T-stop!

2. On site Laundry (coin ops) also!

3. Any hardwood floors I have are refinished between Tenants. I can't stand those friggin' Laminate wood floors:-(

4. I've got some units with D/W but I don't go crazy to put new ones in.

How about garbage grinders?

Rental Demand is up and corresponding Increases are now common in Boston and most of Massachusetts now so I'm upgrading most of my apartments.

William H. · Answer

I made the discovery about a dishwasher sized cabinet not too many units ago. (What @Scott K. mentioned.) Honestly we were unsure about putting one in even in a gutted kitchen reno, so were going to put a placeholder in until we felt it was a good financial call. The tenant who got it afterward loves it and it's a smaller space (smaller unit). Very glad we did it.

Some people expect that stuff because they're in people's houses that have all the normal things suburban houses have. Others hope for it because it's a cool convenience that helps them see the property as maybe a bit nicer than they were expecting-of course everything else has to be buttoned down too.

So @Garrison Householder Yes I think ppl will choose a dishwasher equipped unit - but not always for the dishwasher. I will put them in wherever I can.

Scott K. · Answer

well if its  gut for the kitchen and you are starting over.  I will add a dishwasher if its 2 or more bedrooms.  A dishwasher will cost about the same as a cabinet that would be in its place.  If you want to rent to families a dishwasher would be a huge selling point.  Just like with washer/dryer hookups

John Hauser · Answer

We have off-street parking, which is a big benefit for our tenants.  The biggest downside is that the driveway goes behind the house, which means it's a pain to keep plowed in the winter (Chicago).  Ours is a neighborhood that's transitional, so having a place to keep a car for our tenants is a big deal.  @Tom Henderson I agree with the refinished hardwood floors.  Makes a place show great, is easier to keep clean than carpet, and sets a place apart.  One extra honorable mention that I would add is a motion-activated light by the front step.  Makes tenants feel safer.

John

Max Householder · Answer

Also, I'm interested in the landlord's perspective on dishwashers. As a tenant, I had a dishwasher in every apartment I ever lived in. I only actually used the dishwasher in half those apartments though because the other ones were either so old or lacked service/maintenance that they weren't even worth using. Nothing would get clean by running it. That said, I never really considered it a huge downside since doing dishes for one person doesn't take that much effort.

If you were starting from scratch would you add a dishwasher to a rental unit or just skip it? Do you find that people will choose a unit with a dishwasher over one with similar amenities, location, and price that doesn't?

Max Householder · Answer

I lived in a urban duplex with on-street parking for a year. 95% of the time it was no big deal, but if I had to work late and got home after everyone else was already home & parked or it had snowed or there was a weekend parade or festival in the area, it was a HUGE P-I-T-A. Had I not moved to a house the following year, I would have paid a little more each month for a place with off-street parking, especially now that I've gotten a new vehicle.

Tim Davids · Answer

in downtown areas parking is huge. I'm near Chicago. I don't own any property there, yet, but off street parking would be huge.

Greg Potter · Answer

I own a duplex in Syracuse with plenty of off street parking. When I advertise I play it up like a big benefit, but for the most part I find that the properties on the other side of my street that only have street parking do just fine. My current tenant, as their apartment is on the front side of the property and parking is in the rear, actually parks on the street more often than off. I tend to believe that off-street parking appeals to tenants slightly higher up the economic ladder, but for many I don't think it is a big item on their priority lists.

I personally would only do off-street parking.