When managing an Allentown rental property, it’s crucial not to underrate its exterior look. How a rental home appears on the exterior can affect its property values, aside from the household’s curb appeal. It is a good idea to thoroughly handle the exterior elements of your rental home and to anticipate that your tenants will help keep it looking nice.
When your conceptualization of a “nice” exterior contradicts from what your tenant desires, issues can appear. Several renters aren’t pleased with just making their courtyard sustained – they want to alter or add to the rental home’s exterior features also. With do-it-yourself home improvements a common thing nowadays, there will be an increasing number of tenants who will most likely try to create some “improvements” with or without your authorization.
For instance, your tenant may determine that a patio umbrella is not enough – they want a pergola as an alternative. Although it may appear harmless enough to let them construct one in the courtyard, this is a hotbed for permit violations, damage to the property, and even personal injuries. (If someone was hurt you may have a huge lawsuit on your hands, on top of everything else.) Broken sprinklers or gas lines, damaged siding, and poor workmanship can result in costly fixes and dangerous conditions in the courtyard.
The same goes for other common home improvements, such as painting, replacing the garage door or adding a deck or porch. Unique personal preferences and/or low-quality remodeling may lower property values which will make it harder to rent it out. In a nutshell, it just isn’t a great idea to have tenants creating modifications by themselves.
The best strategy is to stop home “improvement” projects before they start. Build clear language within the lease to communicate that tenants are not permitted to create permanent changes to your Allentown rental property. It is also crucial to inspect your property frequently, ensuring that a sneaky tenant hasn’t taken matters into their own hands. Admittedly, this takes time away from accomplishing other things.
That’s when you should get the phone and give Real Property Management Lehigh Valley a call. We execute regular property evaluations formulated to end unauthorized tenant improvements in their tracks. If you are curious about knowing more, please contact us online or by phone at 484-544-3351.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
