If the remaining part of your property has been unused for some time, then maybe it’s time to turn it into a rental area as you did to the other portions. So it’s a good idea that you want to expand your business, and have more tenants. However, you should consider your time, money, and effort in attaining the next step for your business.
Having new tenants requires more rooms, and a bigger area to manage. To do that, you should be up to the challenge before you start the process. Since you have existing rooms for rent, you can just add granny flats so that the tenants will have privacy.
If you want to know more about the things you need to do before you start looking for new tenants, then you should check the list below!
1. Add more rooms
Do you have old home extensions or granny flats on your property? Then you’ll just need to make some repairs and upgrade the quality of the rooms. Change the old doors, cabinets, and paint so that the tenants won’t have any complaints.
On the other hand, if you’re planning to add new rooms from scratch, you might need more time and money for it. As you may know, it’ll take more time than just a regular renovation.
2. Update permits and insurance
You may already have accomplished permits and insurance for the current rooms you have. However, you still need to apply for the new rooms for rent. As you may already know the process, this part may be easier than the others.
The permit is needed so that your business will run smoothly without any interruptions, while the insurance is for the safety of your tenants and your property. If your business is not secured, then you will need to spend a large amount of money in case of emergencies.
3. Secure the property
Is the current security enough for the current and future tenants? Take your time to assess if you need to add more security cameras, personnel, and change locks. In addition, make sure that the place doesn’t have any hazardous materials left from the construction.
You can conduct indoor and outdoor inspections before finding new tenants. If your local government wants to send an inspector to your property, then it’s even better. They might also issue a certificate that states your apartments are liveable.
4. Inform existing tenants
Of course, your renovations and constructions will cause days of unbearable noise so better inform your current tenants and neighbours about it ahead of time to avoid getting any complaints. You should also inform them about the timeline of the construction before you start anything.
It’s a common courtesy, as a landlord, to inform your tenants that are other people who will also live near them. It might help you get some feedback about your current management strategy, and assess if it’s still applicable in the future.
5. Decide on the rent
When it comes to renting, there might be a difference between the existing and new tenants. You’ll need to compute some numbers based on the new or renovated rooms and granny flats, and the regular expenses just like in the current tenants.
Aside from that, this may be a good time to recalculate the rent of other occupants so that everyone’s payments are synchronised. That way, you won’t be having a hard time checking the differences in the rates monthly.
Another option is to know the rates of other apartments near you so that you’ll know how’s the market going nowadays.
6. Update terms of the agreement
Before you have the new tenants sign the lease agreement, have it updated first. There must be old terms that you no longer follow so it’s best if you reorganise them. After updating the lease, you and the new tenant should look at every section of the agreement so that questions can be easily answered.
If there are no more comments and questions, then both of you should sign the lease agreement including the present date.
7. Provide the tenants with your contact details
The most important thing is that your tenants know your contact information. Through that, you can easily address their emergencies or enquiries. Moreover, not all of them grew up in your area so they might be confused with the system, and ask you some questions.
To avoid forgetting about this crucial detail, you can have updated contact details posted at the refrigerator door or the back of the main door of all your tenants’ rooms. It’ll save both of your time and energy if they have easy access to it.
Don’t worry, even if this is a long process, having an upgrade to your current apartment business is work it. Just make sure that everything is secured before you start looking for new tenants. Let us know your plans for the upgrade by leaving a comment below!