​Fast, Easy, and Inexpensive Ways to Add Value to Your Rental Property

One of the best things about investing in real estate is that YOU are in total control over your property. You decide what improvements to make and when to make them, who to rent to, and when to sell and for how much.

Having this level of control also means that you’re at the helm when it comes to your property’s value. While there’s nothing you can do to change the location (one of the biggest factors that determines a property’s value), there are plenty of things you can do to the unit itself to increase its worth.

Adding extra bedrooms or bathrooms or updating the kitchen are some of the big-ticket improvements you can make, and these are what usually come to mind when this topic comes up. However, they’re not the only value-adding actions you can take. There are lots of other smaller improvements you can make, and for budget-conscious investors who are looking for ways to increase value and thus justify a rent hike or a higher sale prices, this is the way to go.

Check out these fast, easy, and inexpensive ways to instantly make your place more attractive and boost its value.

Exterior

• Paint the front door
• Clean up the yard
• Trim and prune trees and shrubbery
• Add new low-maintenance plants if necessary
• Put some pretty annuals in a pot or a flowerbed
• Repair/replace wood rot on the house, porch, or deck
• Touch up paint where necessary
• Power wash the patio, siding, and driveway

Interior

• Paint the rooms that need it (don’t forget the ceilings!)
• Hire a cleaning company to give the place a deep clean, including the windows and baseboards
• Replace worn out countertops
• Buy area rugs to cover up bad flooring until you can replace or refinish it
• Install dimmer switches for the lights
• Replace dirty, old blinds with new ones
• Update kitchen/bathroom hardware and fixtures
• Update old appliances
• Install additional shelving to increase storage options
• Go green with programmable thermostats, energy-efficient lightbulbs and appliances, and water-saving faucets

Increasing your rental property’s value doesn’t have to be an expensive, lengthy endeavor. Each of the actions above can be done quickly and inexpensively, whether you tackle them yourself or hire them out. And the best thing about doing them? Instant value increase! So whether you’re looking to raise the rent, increase your equity, or even sell the place, you’ve turned a little bit of time and money into a big value-add for your property.