How to Prepare Your Rental for New Tenants

As a property owner, you've probably read a dozen articles about how to maintain your property or deal with tenants. But what these articles often fail to mention is how important it is to prepare your rental for new tenants. Well, in this article, we are going to take a more in-depth look at what rental preparations entail.

Prepare your rental for new tenants

A surprising number of landlords believe that once they get a tenant, their job is pretty much done. All that remains is to maintain the property and collect rent, right? Well, not quite. To have a decent relationship with your tenant, it is important that you start off on the right foot, even if they are renting short-term. And the only way to make that possible is to prepare your rental adequately for their arrival.

Declutter

Everyone knows that you should declutter your rental before the tenants arrive. But, what landlords often fail to recognize is what decluttering truly means for rentals. Mind you, there is a big difference between decluttering your home and decluttering your rental. When decluttering your home, you are only getting rid of items that you no longer need. But, when decluttering your rental, you are also making space for all the items that the tenants will bring.

So, apart from furniture and appliances, everything should go out. Do not try to use the rental as storage, no matter how non-intrusive you believe your items to be. You are not only putting trust in your tenants not to steal them, but you are also putting pressure on them not to damage them. Furthermore, no matter how large your rental is, your tenants will assume that all of it is free to use (unless otherwise specified). So, do everyone a favor and declutter properly.

Clean thoroughly

Once you are done decluttering your rental, we suggest that you clean it thoroughly. If you haven't dealt with a truly thorough clean so far, hire professional cleaners to tackle it for you. Your whole rental, from ground to ceiling, needs to be cleaned. There cannot be any trace of dust, dirt, moldiness, or grime. Your rental, ideally, should look as if no one has lived in it before.

Inspect your rental

Another step you mustn't miss is an overall inspection. Even if you didn't come by any issues, you should make sure that everything is in perfect order. A good approach here is to hire a professional inspector and have them inspect your rental for you. By doing so, you will either learn about any hidden issues, which can happen if you've bought a property with foundation issues, or you will have a paper that states that your rental is in perfect condition. Both are quite valuable, as they will prevent you from dealing with issues in the future.

Optimize your rental for future tenants

When your rental is clean and decluttered, the time has come for you to arrange it properly. Most landlords don't bother much with arranging the furniture as they simply think that the tenants will rearrange it as they see fit. And, while this is true, you should nonetheless arrange the furniture with future tenants in mind. Remember, you are building a relationship, and going the extra mile to arrange furniture can easily pay off. The more you can give them the impression that you care about their well-being and them having a comfortable lifestyle, the more likely they are to stay with you.

Take photos

With everything arranged and set up, it is paramount that you take photos. These photos can help you showcase your rental for potential tenants, and your real estate agent will be more than happy that you took them. But, more importantly, you need to take them as insurance. If the tenant damages something within your apartment, it can often be challenging to make them pay.

Now, you might say that lease is enough insurance. After all, it outlines who is responsible for what within the apartment. But even with a good lease, it can be surprisingly difficult to prove who did what. And if your tenant forces you to go to court, this is precisely what you'll have to deal with.

Luckily, an easy solution is to take photos. Having photographic evidence that your apartment is in top condition will ensure that the court proceedings will go smoothly, if it comes to that.

On the other hand, your tenants might not be responsible for the damage themselves. They might have hired unprofessional movers who damaged your property during the process and failed to mention it to anyone. You can prevent this by giving your tenants some tips on how to spot fraudulent deals like a pro, but taking photos will be a good solution in this case as well.

A final piece of advice when looking for new tenants

While you can prepare your rental for new tenants, it is by no means a guarantee that you will have a good relationship with them. Instead, you need to do your part in vetting the potential tenants and helping those that you've chosen. Any experienced landlord will tell you how valuable it is to have trustworthy tenants. So much so that most landlords would gladly lower rent if it would ensure the reliability of future tenants.

Therefore, don't shy away from interviewing your tenants thoroughly. If you are an Airbnb host, you may not have much time to do so. But, with experience, you will learn how to filter out bad tenants. Once you do find good tenants, try to build a relationship with them. Assure them that you are a landlord who cares about their property and that the people renting them are enjoying it. Who knows, maybe you'll even make some long-term friends along the way.