Investment property landscaping

[Akshay Kumar]

Hello everyone, I am a new investor and looking for advice on my first investment property. My previous tenant left the yard in a poor condition before moving out. We were not able to recover any yard damages due to other damages they had left that needed repair, which empted out their security deposit. Now the property has been sitting on the market for months. What would you guys recommend for the yard? Is spending thousands on a sprinkler system worth it or do I have other options?

[Marcus Auerbach]

You are renting a home and not just a house. If it looks like s*** you will get tenants who also don't give a f***, excuse my plain words. Fix it.

We eliminate as much landscaping as possible: we take out flower beds and most decorative features, ideally, lawn mowing is the only job tenants have to do, because we know that's all we can expect from most. We don't need sprinklers here, but if we would, I'd either do that or replace the lawn with gravel or something else maintenance free.