When you own a second property that you plan on renting out, it can be disappointing to find out you are not going to get as much monthly income as you hoped. There are many things that can affect the income that your rental property generates including the location and the size of the property. Some people invest in a second property not because they have a lot of spare cash but because they need a passive income to keep their family in a good financial place.

The good news is that there are many things that you can do to get some more money on your rental investment. This can include everything from making it look more appealing to anyone who comes to view it to making it more energy efficient for the future.

In this article, we are going to help you out with this by giving you some of our great suggestions to help you get more money on your rental investment. Make sure to keep reading to find out more about what you can do.

Update The Décor

One of the easiest ways to get more money on your rental investment is to update the décor. Usually, rental properties don’t allow for tenants to decorate themselves and so tenants will have to live in the current décor and might not like what you have done with the place.

If you want to be able to appeal to more people who might be willing to spend a little more then you should make sure to find out about the latest interior design trends and put these to use. If monochrome colours are in or pastel colours, then why not transform your rental property using these colours?

The more aesthetically pleasing the property looks, the more likely you will be able to get a better monthly income from it. Try to please as many people as you can and consider allowing tenants to decorate themselves to save yourself more money. This might actually work in your favour as they could pay more for a property that gives them more freedom.

Add Solar Panels

Energy efficiency is something which we should all be concerned about and if your property is not energy efficient then you could be missing out. While you might not realise it, more people are looking for properties that can help them reduce their carbon footprint and you could attract more tenants if you make some small changes.

In California, many people desire homes that have solar panels. For those living in the cities, there are many solar companies in Burbank and across the state. Solar installation in Burbank is easier to come by than you might think but it will cost you a reasonable amount of money to install. Semper Solaris offer the best solar panel installation in Burbank so make sure to check this out. If you are worried about the price, then take a look at solar tax credit Burbank based and across the state as this can make it easier to afford.

While the main reason for adding solar panels to your rental property might be to target the tenants that are concerned with the environment, you can also find that solar panels can attract tenants who are concerned about energy bills. If they don’t need to pay higher energy bills on top of their monthly rent, then they might be willing to pay more of this rent. This is something to consider if your rental property is in California.

Small Fixes

Another great way to get more money on your rental investment is to make some small fixes around the property. While you might not realise it at first, small fixes can go a long way in presenting the property as somewhere that is desirable to live.

A good place to start is by walking around the property and checking for things that might need to be fixed. Are there any old looking doorknobs on the doors? What about any holes in the walls or wallpaper that has been chipped off? If you can focus on things like this then you might find that people, see your property as one that is of a higher value.

Try to focus on the most important things first and you will get through everything eventually. This is something which you should continue to do throughout the years to maintain the property even when a tenant is living there.

Go Open Plan

If you are thinking about making some big changes to your rental property, then you should consider rearranging the layout and going for an open plan décor. This can be especially beneficial if you have a small kitchen and a small lounge as turning it into one large room can make it look bigger.

Open plan homes have been in demand for many years now and they will continue to be, especially in small homes. If you do decide to make the area open plan, then you should ensure that you contact a professional to do the job for you. Some walls cannot be knocked down as they need to support the structure of the home. It can be incredibly risky to do this yourself and you might end up costing yourself more money than it was worth.

Take a look at open plan properties online and you should be able to find some designs that can work well for your CA rental property. Try to keep it modern and this will help you out a lot.

Replace The Appliances

Over time, our appliances can get old and this is not just obvious when we are using them but also when we are looking at them. Potential tenants might be put off by your old looking appliances and might not trust that they will be able to rely on them in the future.

Appliances can be expensive, and you might not be able to replace all of them or this might cost you more than you would make back on the rent. Make a priority list of all of the appliances that might need replaced first and work from here. Some of the best appliances to replace include the washing machine and the cooker as these are used very often. If you can state that an appliance is brand new when a tenant comes to view the property, you might just be able to get away with charging them a higher price than you originally were planning.

You can find plenty of new appliances online that are on sale. We do advise that you invest in some appliance insurance or choose a company that offers a warranty to protect these appliances and save yourself some cash in the future if anything goes wrong.

Add A Garage

Next on our list of tips for getting more money out of your rental property is to add a garage or a driveway. If your property is in the city then you might find that tenants find it hard to get their vehicles parked on the streets. This can be expensive and time-consuming if they have to park far away just to simply go to their own rental property.

This is why you should try to add a garage or a driveway on the property that you currently have. This will depend on the size of the land around the property and any permissions that you might need to put this in place. We always suggest that you check with your local authorities in order to figure out if this is allowed before spending any more.

Once you have the driveway or the garage in place, you can advertise this as a property with off-road parking. This can be a big benefit that people would be willing to pay more money each month for. On top of this, they can use the garage as extra storage space if they don’t have a car which we are going to tell you a little more about next.

More Storage

Storage space has always been important but more recently there is more of a focus on properties that offer lots of storage space. Homeowners across the country are making changes to their home to introduce more storage space in order to keep things tidy and save some space.

For this reason, we think that by adding more storage space to your rental investment, you can actually charge more. Of course, this can be more tricky than it sounds as you need to find the space and the property might not be big enough to achieve this.

Try to get creative with your storage, go under the home, add a garage and try the loft. Find the storage space wherever you can and make sure to mention this when anyone comes to view your property. Many people in CA require a lot of storage space for the property and you might just be able to give this to them and make some more money at the same time.

Consider The Flooring

Our final tip for those who want to increase the value of their rental property and get a larger monthly income is to consider the flooring. Many people look at the flooring when they are viewing a property and have preferences of what kind of flooring should be in a certain room. Some flooring types are typically seen to have a higher value, and this is something which people will be considering when choosing a rental property.

When looking at the flooring in your rental property, you should also be considering this from the point of view that you won’t be living there. This means that you won’t have any control of any spillages or damage done to the flooring, but you will likely be the one that needs to pay to get it replaced. This is why many landlords avoid having carpet in their rental properties as these can get dirty very easily.

If you are willing to spend a little more then you might want to think about adding some hardwood flooring to your rental property. Otherwise, laminate flooring can look great but come at a cheaper price and it can work really well. Tenants will love the fact that the flooring is easy to clean and that it still looks great in the home.

Make sure to consider the flooring carefully and look at it from both a practical and an aesthetic view.

Try It Today

When you buy a property to rent out and gain a second income, you need to be willing to do what you can to get a good price for it. Rent in California can differ from location to location as some properties will be in the city and others will be on the beach. When choosing the price of your rent, you need to evaluate carefully what you think people might be willing to pay, if the offers aren’t high enough for you then you need to make some changes to the current property.

If you are thinking about increasing the value of the property, then you should try to start bymaking it more energy efficient. By adding solar panels, tenants will love the fact that they don’t need to spend as much on their monthly bills and will be more willing to spend a little more on their rent.

You should also try to change the décor from time to time keeping it in line with the current interior design trends. This way, tenants will be impressed as soon as they walk into your property.

Try out some of the ideas that we have given you here in this article and you should be able to increase the rent of your property before you agree to a new tenant. This is your second income so make it a good one in order to support your family.