The reality of any successful Northern Utah rental property—whether it is in Salt Lake City, Ogden, Logan, or Brigham City—is this: your portfolio is completely dependent upon what your renters want. If you want to boost your return on investment and see consistent long term income, you need to appeal to and target what the rental community in your particular area desires in a home.
Essentially, there are three different ways to maximize the return on your investment that specifically account for this, and these are the features we want to point out to Northern Utah rental property owners. Whether you choose to follow through with the advice or not, here are our top three foci for successful rental real estate from the perspective of Northern Utah property management!
Investment Property ROI: Preventative Maintenance
Statistics have shown that the number one reason renters move out of an Ogden, Logan, Brigham City, or Salt Lake City rental property is deferred or slapdash maintenance.
I know that, as a rental property owner, we (collectively) often feel like we want to save some money instead of doing a little maintenance. However, that little piece of deferred maintenance can turn into larger problems and kill any satisfaction your renters have with your Northern Utah real estate. The last thing you want to have to deal with as an investor is an issue that has snowballed its way down a mountain. It’s better to attack the small problems right now to boost your long term returns.
Given that your renters are more likely to move due to deferred maintenance, you really lose money when you factor in the vacancy that’s created—say goodbye to rent on time! If your property rents for $1,000 per month, and your current residents move out and leave you with two weeks of vacancy, it costs you $500. So, the $300 fix you avoided is suddenly very expensive.
You can extend that same kind of math on a grand scale just by stretching out the length of time your property remains empty. That spells bad news for Northern Utah property investors! Skip the hassle and work with a qualified local Northern Utah property management company to retain renters long term.
Investment Property Utah ROI: Curb Appeal
This might seem like common-sense advice, but you should only show a property that’s appealing and inviting. Here’s a sample of what we mean:
- You don’t want a lot of garbage hanging around in front of your Ogden rental property.
- If you’re in the middle of a turn and you’re replacing the carpet, you don’t want the carpet spread out on the front porch of your Salt Lake City rental property.
- It’s hard to do showings if your current renters are outside your Logan rental property smoking.
Good curb appeal includes green grass and neatly trimmed bushes and trees. Most renters will decide if they’re not going to rent a place as soon as they pull up to a house. The curb appeal usually indicates what the home will look like on the inside.
Rather than have your prospects skip out on your rental real estate as soon as they arrive, take the time needed to bring a distressed rental property back to life with some small fixes or upgrades. Keep in mind: you don’t have to assume what these might be on your own.
If you’re an investor in Salt Lake City, turn to Salt Lake City property management to guide you on upgrades. The same applies whether your property is in Ogden or Logan. A Northern Utah property manager can make all the difference in how effective your property spend is moving forward because they know what renters want.
Investment Property ROI: Upgrades and Updates
We sent a survey to our renters to see how much extra they would be willing to pay for new carpet or new kitchen appliances. The information we got back was very interesting.
- Some said they would pay an extra $50 a month for brand new carpet throughout an apartment. In an average two-bedroom apartment, new carpet would cost around $1,200. So, if your tenants will spend $50 more a month in rent with that carpet, you’re earning $600 more a year. That’s a 50 percent return on your investment! You won’t get these numbers anywhere else.
- Appliance packages are available, too: you can get a new fridge, oven, stove, and range for around $1,400. If you can do that and charge even an extra $25 a month, that’s $300 a year, which is a 25 percent return on your investment. Your payback will be in two to four years, so this makes sense if you intend to keep your Northern Utah rental property long term.
Not only do these things maximize your investment, they’re also the right thing to do! Remember, the satisfaction of your renters is paramount to running a successful Northern Utah rental property.
If you have any questions about your investment property or how professional Northern Utah property management companies like ours can help, please contact us!
At Reeder Asset Management. We are a full service property management company with offices from Salt Lake to Logan, so we’re able to meet the needs of Northern Utah investors with hands-on care. You can trust us to protect your investment!
Updated and republished 08/25/2020.