Welcome to Home & Condo Rentals’ Monthly blog. This is an informational section of our website to help constantly educate our clients and the public on what we do and ways to improve your rental experience, both from an owner and tenant perspective. This month’s topic is geared towards Annual (1 year) Rentals Owners and what Annual Tenants are looking for when they rent. This is a just a brief synopsis on what defines an annual rental. We will get more in depth on the different aspects of an annual rental in later blogs so make sure to stay tuned each month!!
First, an explanation of what defines an annual rental: An annual rental is anything that is six months and one day or longer. Unlike seasonal rentals, there is no sales tax on annual rental properties and requires a lease agreement versus a short term rental agreement. In general, annual rentals are unfurnished and the tenant pays for all utilities on the property although both are up for negotiation between the tenant and owner. When contemplating if your unit is marketable, there are a few things that we look for whenever we take a listing:
Should I renovate the kitchen and bathrooms? A common misconception is that the bathrooms and kitchen need to be completely updated. It is not always necessary to have new granite countertops, wood cabinets, stainless steel appliances, etc., in rental properties as long as they are clean and kept in good running order. While these are nice features and obviously people like to have all the shiny new gadgets, I would argue that the increase in rental price from these upgrades is not significant enough to warrant such renovations and you won’t see a return on your investment in quite a long time, if ever. You might not be able to reach that peak rental price that you would with the upgrades, but your margins will be significantly less and by keeping the rents a little lower, you will keep good tenants in the unit for longer periods of time.
Should I include lawn and pool care in the rent? I would always recommend the owner paying for the lawn care and pool maintenance of the property. There are a number of reasons why this is a good idea:
- Comfort in knowing it is done in a timely manner and correctly
- Some tenants might have the best of intentions, but might not actually know what they are doing and end up doing more bad than good. This is especially the case with pool equipment
- If there is a dispute on something, it avoids finger pointing between the tenant and landlord
- If there is an issue, you know who to go to and you have a rapport with the vendor where you can ask what is going on
What makes the best annual rental property? I had a manager one time that used to say there is a “butt” for every seat. Meaning that there is someone for every vacancy. It is our job to find them. The most important thing to remember is that the property needs to be in good working order and clean. Handyman specials are ok for homeowners, but tenants do not want to move into a place and immediately start finding out that everything is pieced together with duct tape. Furthermore, we have found that a really thorough cleaning prior to tenants moving in will help moderate other minor issues that may be present. If someone walks into a filthy home, issues with the property become a fact finding mission.
Thank you for taking the time to read our blog. This is the second in a series that we hope will help educate both owners and tenants in the Venice, Nokomis, Osprey and Englewood area. Once again, if there is ever a question that anyone has, please do not hesitate to call us.
Thanks and have a wonderful day!!
Sincerely,
The Home & Condo Staff
