What do Tenants Expect from a Home?

Shortly after purchasing the three-family, I started to have an internal crisis with my management style. I sat down with my tenants to introduce myself and address any issues that weren’t caught during closing. I knew when making the final purchase that I would have to invest some capital to renovate the units. I had a budget of $20,000 to use over the next six months and a small list of improvements.

My tenants did not add anything to this list. Everyone seemed content with their living situation, which in my mind seemed below average. Herein was my problem. I had a different expectation of how tenants should live compared to the tenants themselves. I started to see a similar trend throughout the neighborhoods as I looked for my next deal. When it came to multi-family homes, tenants did not expect much and wanted to pay the lowest amount possible for rent.

My philosophy is to build a home that tenants are proud to live in. This attracts better tenants and these families take better care of what’s in place. So far, that has worked out well for me. The minor improvements (I will address in another post) have been well received and my tenants are doing more to keep the property safe and clean. No more shady vehicles in the parking lot.

However, I am still trying to reconcile how much improvement is enough for renters. If it seems like tenants won’t appreciate or take care of the improvements, then why bother. I don’t want to become like other landlords I’ve seen but I am starting to see how it’s possible. 

I will continue to stick to my improvement strategy to increase property value, but maybe it's worth slowing my roll somewhat and making more modest improvements.