“What do tenants look for in a rental property?” is a question that landlords & property managers alike should be constantly striving to answer. After all, landlords want tenants that will take care of their property, pay rent on time, and will be easy to work with throughout their tenancy. However, to entice those ideal tenants, a landlord needs to ensure that their property matches the wants and needs of renters.

So, whether you’re an investor looking for the perfect property to rent out or a current landlord trying to draw in more potential tenants, let’s take a look at a few factors to consider, and try to answer the question – What do tenants look for in a rental property?

Look at Location

Location is almost always going to be a sizeable factor when it comes to where a person decides to rent. Whilst each prospective tenant is going to have their own location-based needs, there are some broad features that property investors should look out for in the areas they are planning to buy in. These include:

– Proximity to schools
– Access to public transport
– Parks & other public spaces
– Cafes, restaurants & shopping areas

You should also spend some time researching the suburbs you’re looking at to see if any factors may cause issues for tenants, such as extensive construction on nearby infrastructure or high crime rates. You should also stay up-to-date with trends in the housing market, as the most desirable areas will change over time. An area you may not have considered viable in 2015 may be the hotspot for buyers and renters in 2020. Staying up-to-date with trends and developments is the best way to stay competitive in real estate, so find out as much as you can before making any big decisions.

Safety & Security

As we lightly touched on with our previous point, crime and a lacking sense of security can be enough to dissuade a person from applying to your property. This is especially true for families who want to ensure that their children are growing up in a safe, friendly place. So, it’s important to have good security in place for your property. This can be as simple as installing deadlocks on doors or as complex as a full home security system setup. This will ensure that both you and your tenants have some much-needed peace of mind.

Parking

With the rental market shifting more and more towards apartment living, adequate parking has become a major issue, especially for families and share houses that require space for more than one car. Although parking may not be the first thing you think of when asking the question “what do tenants look for in a rental property?”, it can be an enormous influencing factor, especially for properties that don’t have many available public transportation options.

Including Appliances

As a landlord, it’s easy to forget that renters aren’t just paying for a space to put their things, they’re looking for a place to live for an extended period. So, if you can provide your renters with things that will improve their lifestyle, they’ll be much more likely to stick around. Appliances are a fantastic way to increase the livability of a home without renovating or doing anything permanent to the space.

Inclusions such as washing machines, dishwashers, coffee machines & space heaters will not only make your property more desirable, they will also help prospective tenants to envision themselves living there comfortably. Just remember that quality counts, even when it comes to free inclusions, and low-quality appliances can cause major issues for both you & your tenants if something goes awry.

Renovations & Rooms

Let’s face it, home designs are rarely timeless. Trends change, and while a home may stay structurally sound throughout the decades, the same can’t often be said for their style. Because of this, renovations are the perfect way to give your property an extra shot of aesthetic appeal, while also allowing you to more effectively utilise the space by including additional wall powerpoints, better fittings, and more modern utilities.

One of the most valuable renovations that can be done to a property is the adding of additional rooms. Look at rental prices for any area, and you will see a distinct increase in prices for each extra room offered by a property. Although adding more rooms can limit your floor space, it also allows groups of multiple tenants, such as share houses or families, to cohabitate comfortably. By not limiting the number of rooms your property offers, you can both charge more for your property and draw in a larger number of prospective tenants. It’s a win-win scenario.

Being a landlord can be difficult, and there are a lot of obligations that come with finding and managing tenants. So, why not let us take care of the tricky stuff while you focus on the more important things? At My Rental, we are passionate about providing an innovative, affordable property management service to landlords across Melbourne. Contact us today to see what we can do for you, and stay up-to-date with our blog for more news & tips to help you traverse the Melbourne property landscape.