cosmetic improvements to get more rent

Hi all,
We have an investment property that is becoming vacant in a couple weeks and we would like to do a few cosmetic improvements. What are your thoughts on what colour to paint the house? Especially the disgusting lower portion (grey blue colour)? The whole house could do with a total repaint but with limited time and small budget I want to just spray the whole bottom section to tidy up. I dont want to change gutter and window colours.

 

Unless the paint is peeling, i'd leave it as is - not sure repainting will achieve that much more rent.

 

Repainting won't get more rent unless the paintwork is very shabby. From the picture it looks fine as it is. I quite like the grey!
Marg

 

The outside looks fine from what i can tell.

Got any inside photos? What is the inside paint, flooring, curtains, kitchen like?

Sometimes small improvements don't add a whole heap of rent, but can mean the difference between a potential tenant applying or not.

 

I also like the paintwork, looks okay to me unless peeling. Place looks quite neat. Ask real estate agent for advice, they will let you know if you could do improvements inside that could increase rent.

 

So the inside is tidy but ageing, could do with a spruce up. Main things i was thinking would be worthwhile is build ins, closing off front room to make a master bedroom (third bedroom but is larger then the other two). I have uploaded a rough floor plan, not to size, showing the front room which I want to close off. Walls are just panels and hardwood so is a simple close.

 

Yeah, i was going to write a large detailed post about the whole house but then just wrote a small burst asking about the colour, forgot to amend the title to suit. I totally understand paint colour out front will not add rent

 

Hi @Douglass406, place internally looks fine to me. Yes you can close the entry between the living and front bedroom, but then you'll have to paint the rooms so i'd just leave it.

Adding builtins is also a nice to have, imo this might add some rent and/or help it to rent faster.

But as it is, both these factors aren't showstoppers.

 

As everyone said - I wouldn't paint unless necessary. Looks neat and tidy as is.

The biggest mistake new investors make is that they want to make the rental into something "they" would live in (or buy their dream home to rent out) ... you have to remember that this house is not for you.

As long as a property is well located, neat and tidy and has all the facilities it needs, then it will rent and - unless the kitchen is pink and yellow - then cosmetic differences won't up the rent.

Things that will make a difference are - does it have an aircon? - I would make it three bedroom so renters have the option - if you want to throw some money at it, I'd put a decent sized split deck on the right hand side to give some outside living space, and negate the endless stairway

 

Adding a dishwasher to the kitchen would also be a quick and easy addition.

 

The outside looks fine to me as it is the "newish" colour, more modern compared to Mission Brown LOL.

As to improvement, if this is in a family-friendly area, how about a cubby house? We have one like that and it's a big wow factor, good selling point.

 

Yeah it has ducted air. I am going to change out the old timber venetian blinds for roller blinds throughout, put the wall up for third room in front room and paint both lounge and bedroom(new main bedroom due to size), build two built in wardrobes, install a dish washer and just general maintenance throughout. The deck I have already considered and I would love to incorporate a partially enclosed double carport beneath it, I will look at this in a few years, for now I just want to freshen it up and get a tenant in

 

yes good idea, this is on my list.

 

Go spend a couple hundred on a decent second hand stainless steel dishwasher. You already have the recess there so you're looking at a 30min DIY job to install one. Looks like a big block. Where is it?

 

Is a dishwasher a good idea? Personally I would never want to provide one because they seem like a constant maintenance issue to me.

 

It looks neat & tidy as is. Yes to the extra bedroom. The one thing that caught my eye is the distance of the toilet in relation to the bedrooms. Could you put another one in the bathroom, next to the vanity? It looks big enough, & being on piers the cost shouldn't be too exorbitant.

 

The catch with providing a Dishwasher (especially a second hand one) is that you are obliged to replace it when it breaks.

In my opinion the property is about perfect- there aren't any good value improvements that come to mind and it looks to be in good condition. Everything looks to have many years left before it needs to be looked at. I also really don't mind the paint, it's a nice and inoffensive colour scheme.

 

I bought a new dishlex dishwasher last weekend for just over $400 from the place that sells "seconds". No more expensive plus much faster than getting a repairer, and much less hassle - very happy tenant and an easy DIY installation.

 

I can't understand why you'd want to do anything to the place when you've got so many people on here, including experts, suggesting the place is pretty perfect as it is. It seems like you want to spend money just for the sake of it!

 

We don't know where the house is and what it is like up close. If it is in a suburb that rents for $275 a week then the dishwasher wont be as important as if it is in a suburb at $475 a week.