Whether it’s the beginning of a new calendar year or a lease renewal within the year, it’s always a good idea to refresh yourself on preparing to flip your rental. You may be preparing your rental for your first tenant or your 101st, the strategy is all the same. Make choices that are financially sound and will bring the greatest return on your investment. It is not always in the budget to do a complete remodel when you first purchase your investment property, so whatever you were able to do, you want to last. But, even with the cleanest, most diligent of tenants there will be some wear and tear that you will need to quickly and thoroughly address to get the home back on the market.
Here are a few tips that you should give your attention, each time you prepare for a new tenant:
- Refresh your grout! Nothing says "lived in" more than dingy grout. While it’s not realistic for a potential tenant to think no one lived there before them, they still don’t want the remnants of someone else scattered about in every nook and cranny! There is actually cost effective products designed to “refresh” grout to avoid scraping it out and starting all over.
- Touch up nail holes with a cotton swab. If you have some small nail holes that need to be filled and painted, try dabbing on the paint with a cotton swab so you don't have to paint the whole wall! (In case it does not go without saying, save paint from when initially painting just for this purpose.)
- Flip the shelves in the kitchen cupboards. If you flip the shelves, not only will the new surface be untouched and perfectly clean, but any bowing that occurred from all my heavy cans and jars will now be flattened out in the other direction!
- Seal that stone! If you have granite, marble or another natural stone surface or backsplash, make sure to seal it. If you are renting out an investment property, you will want to make sure your more expensive fixed fixtures are protected, so this is a must.
- Magic eraser. It helps get the scuff marks off the walls and baseboards and saved us so much time repainting. Just make sure to test the wall in an inconspicuous area to make sure your paint finish is hardy.
- Wash the walls. A solution of warm water and Pine Sol with a clean rag is an easy way to get those walls nice and clean and bring out the natural shine of the home.
- Color match the wall, not the paint code. If you painted your walls five years ago, and want to touch up some spots with that same paint, be warned. After five years on your walls, the paint has surely cured and changed to a slightly different hue than what's in the paint can via the paint code. Chip off a fleck of paint on the wall about the size of a quarter and take it to the paint store to match.
- Re-caulk. If it doesn't look perfect anymore, peel off your old caulking in the kitchen and bath with a utility knife and re-caulk. It makes everything look new!
Flips in between tenants don’t have to be painful or costly. If the home has been well-maintained (routine inspections, written into your lease, will help in this regard), then you will be able to give minimal effort and gain maximum reward…quick rental. Add these eight easy tips to your arsenal of tricks as a landlord and when it’s time to place your rental back on the market, it will be fresh and clean and ready to make you money!
