Are you thinking about renting your property for the first time and don’t know where to start?
Today’s tip we will discuss checking to make sure that the property is completely ready for the rental.
Tip #7
So you have decided what type of rental you want to do; you’ve done what ever maintenance, repairs and renovations the property needed; you’ve decided whether you are going to offer it furnished or unfurnished and you’ve secured an insurance policy that suits your needs. Now it’s down to the nitty gritty.
Let me explain!
For unfurnished properties usually long term it’s straight forward. Once you have done all of the above you are pretty much ready to go. All you need to decide now is whether you will pay some, all or none of the utilities.
For furnished properties you have just a bit further to go. It’s time to check and make sure the property has everything it needs for someone to live comfortably. Firstly the kitchen should be fully equipped with all the basic appliances e.g toaster, microwave, kettle, coffee maker, fridge and stove. And if your budget permits and especially if you have what may be termed a luxury property by all means get the extras i.e Nespresso machine, blender, mixer, the works..you get the drift just make sure it has what it needs.
Secondly make sure it has all the necessary crockery, cutlery, glasses, pots, pans and utensils to at least serve the amount of people your property can accommodate. E.g if you have a 2 bed property that sleeps 4 make sure you have at least 4 of each plates, cutlery, glasses etc.
Then other than the basic furniture for the bedroom, living and dining furniture make sure you have enough bed and bath linen to allow your tenant or guests to have enough if they require a linen change. The recommended amount is usually 3 par,. (1 on the bed, 1 in the wash and 1 clean extra) Even though this is recommended if you can afford to get more, get more cause too often I’ve seen cases where there are barely enough and the linens get worn quickly because they have to work so hard.
Thirdly do a full inventory of everything in your property. This is important for both long term and short term rentals.
Other than the above the short/ mid term rental owners also need to decide whether they are going to pay the full utility bills or put a cap on electricity or water. What that means is if the guests use over a certain amount of electricity they have to pay the overage. E.g cap is $300 bill comes in at $450 guests pay $150.