Renovate, update or develop

There’s an old saying about buying the worst property in the best street, and that’s doubly true for property investors. Not because you want to rent out an old slum to tenants, but because with just a few low cost modifications, you can not only increase the rental you’ll get for it, but also improve your property’s value so you can start investing again.

Kitchens and bathrooms

These are the major selling points of rentals. Renters won’t be inclined to fix up a scraggy old bathroom or kitchen, because it’s not their property. So an old bathroom and kitchen will drastically reduce your rental income. But you can purchase a kitchen or bathroom from Bunnings or Ikea for a few thousand dollars, and greatly improve the property value and the rent it will command.

Landscaping

If you can find a way, through some light landscaping, to make an unruly garden a low maintenance one, you’ll greatly improve the rental income, and also reduce your own overheads.

BEWARE: You should also keep your tenant’s health and safety in mind, if your property contains lots of trees and shrubbery that require you to climb ladders to cut down. If your tenant falls, you could be liable.

Long-life floorings

Carpet has a short shelf life, so you might want to consider making the investment to remove carpeting, in favour of flooring with a longer life. Floorboards and slate tiles are good examples of flooring with a longer lifespan than carpet — they’re also easier for tenants to keep clean. Floorboards, in particular, are also cheaper and easier and cheaper to bring back to life after many years and wear and tear.

Buy Property Cheaply for Better Growth

One reason for using a Buyers Agent is their understanding of property values in the area and one of the best ways of improving the value of a property is by buying it cheaply. This is particularly important for first home owners because it could effect their potential to invest again in property.

You probably won’t buy a fully renovated property in a desirable area cheaply because that’s what everybody wants but if you can see the potential in a rougher property you may be able to increase the property value very quickly with some of the quick tips in this blog post.