Three Property Features That Will Increase Your Rental Income This Summer

Spring is well underway but everyone’s focus is on summer: Gym memberships, diet plans, planning long weekend trips and re-hashing last summer’s beach pics on social media.

But is your rental property ready for the summer?

Do you know how to make your property the most appealing to the summer tenancy market? You’re going to need to stand out and offer something special in order to find a tenant in a short timeframe.

Below are some of the features that I always see in high demand from tenants when looking for a rental coming into the summer months. I’ve restricted the features to those that are not specific to property type and can be utilised in your property without too much hassle.

My advice to you is to try and include as many of these features as possible in your investment property. This will ensure you appeal to the widest possible cross-section of the tenancy market, therefore enabling you to reduce vacancy.

1. Enticing outdoor areas

In the long, warm summer evenings there’s nothing better than being outside. Whether it’s a couple enjoying dinner and wine on their cosy apartment balcony, or a family entertaining friends on their freshly oiled deck overlooking manicured gardens, these are the pictures you want to plant in your prospective tenants’ minds as they walk through your property. Immaculate presentation of these areas will greatly enhance the likelihood of a fast spring/summer leasing.

Simple measures such as ensuring the area is clean and tidy, or having the area well-lit is a good start. Privacy is a big bonus, but especially for tenants in units and apartments.

Having a covered outdoor area is very popular. Ensure that the surface finishes are looking fresh - paint, stained decking or pressure-cleaned tiles can make a huge difference to the look of outdoor areas.

2. Air conditioning/ceiling fans

This one goes without saying! We’re all familiar of those long, sleepless summer nights, tossing and turning countless times in an effort to get some sleep.

If you’re leasing in late spring/summer, there’s a good chance your prospective tenants are viewing your property following one of these sleepless nights! In this case, they will be lining up at the front door of your air-conditioned property to secure it.

But it’s a double-edged sword. With air conditioning comes appliances, and with appliances comes maintenance. Just make sure you budget for these costs and do your calculations to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth in terms of an increased rent or decreased vacancy.

3. Effective window coverings and screens

With the early sunrises waking you up too early, or the late sunsets keeping the kids awake, it’s important that your window coverings do an effective job of keeping the light out. Are your blackout blinds or curtains measured correctly, or are there large gaps around the edges? Do your vertical/Venetian blinds twist well, or are they bent and broken?

To obtain a cross-breeze in their home during the hot seasons, most people will leave windows and doors open throughout the day and night. The only negative with this is that it allows the creepy-crawlies in. And we all know how frustrating that incessant buzzing and corresponding mozzie bites are.

To have the best of both worlds, it’s important to show off your fly screens (or to install them if you haven’t got them). Tattered, weathered screens won’t work here (for the obvious reason that they fail at the one job they were installed for!)

Wrapping Up

This is a small list of things you can do to help lease your property fast in the summer tenancy market. You may already have these items, or have plans to install these items, which is great. But it’ll be all for nothing if you don’t PROMOTE these things!

Review your ad before you go to market in summer. Have you mentioned your summer-benefit features prominently?

Due to the recency bias, property features that combat the hot weather will be top of mind for your prospective tenants. They will be hunting for properties with air conditioning and beautiful outdoor areas.

Making sure you are shortlisted by as many tenants as possible leads to busy open homes, which then leads to a fast leasing and more money for you this year - meaning you can enjoy your summer.