How to Make a Vacant Apartment More Attractive to Potential Renters

So, you have a vacant property but no renters are coming to you with interest. Why not? To put it simply, your vacant apartment might not be attractive enough. There is a lot that goes into an apartment listing or showing to a potential renter, and you might not be doing enough. Here are the best steps you can follow to make your apartment much more attractive to any potential renters looking for a fresh start or a new place to lay their head at night.

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Clean Up

First, you must clean your vacant apartment. There should not be any mess when showing your apartment to potential renters. As they start to imagine their lives in the place, they will quickly start seeing that they have to spend hours cleaning before they can really move in and place furniture and start living their lives there.

You may want to hire a professional cleaner to make sure you do not miss a spot. It can be common to miss dusting hard-to-reach areas, but renters can see the dust from a mile away, especially when other apartments they have toured are clean. It will turn them away from yours and into the door of another one. A cleaner may be pricey, but it will be worth it to increase the attractiveness of your property. Plus, you will only have to do it between tenants.

Fix Up

Next, you need to fix anything that is broken. It sounds like an easy enough task, but you need to look at everything from a huge hole in the wall to a slightly water-damaged floorboard. Something as simple as a dead light bulb can turn any potential renters away. Again, this just turns into a project for them and makes it much less move-in-ready.

When you get ahead of the curve and work on any projects before showing the vacant apartment to potential renters, you are making a huge impact! The apartment-seekers can immediately imagine their life here without having to waste time and money on doing any projects themselves, especially when there is no shortage of completely new apartment buildings.

Modernize the Appliances

When was the last time that you replaced the appliances in the kitchen or the washer and dryer, if applicable? While the ones you have may still be functional, are they incredibly outdated? Some potential renters may see appliances that are clearly old and assume they will not work as well. Subconsciously, they know they will have to buy new ones soon as these may be on the fritz. Many modern apartment buildings have stainless steel but do research in your area to see what appliances your competition has.

You want high-quality, powerful, and long-lasting appliances to pull renters in. In fact, the appliances alone may be a selling point for them. Have they been looking for a modern kitchen? Maybe so, and now you can market yourself as having one instead of being stuck in the past.

Decorate the Space

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Oftentimes, our brains think an empty space can look smaller than it actually is. Can my couch fit there, or are my eyes playing a trick on me? You might want to consider staging the vacant apartment to look like a slightly lived-in place. Place some furniture in the space so that potential renters can really visualize the space to its extent. This is necessary in apartments with a more open layout so the renters have an idea of what exactly they can do. Open floor plans are a blessing and a curse sometimes!

Now, do not make your vacancy look overly lived-in. It still needs to be clean! The furniture and decorations should be only for show. However, if the renter is interested in the furniture, you can make them a deal to get it with what is inside. Do not underestimate the power of a well-designed space.

Incentives

Now that you have made your apartment as attractive as you can, it is time to consider using incentives to draw in potential renters. For example, a discount on the first few months of rent, the first month of rent free, or constant maintenance, improvements, and upgrades to help keep the apartment a high-priority place to live. Incentives really do work and can help keep good tenants around for a long time. Consider what types of incentives will work best for you and what other properties are offering. After all, you want to offer something even better to make potential renters more interested.

Showcase Your Vacancy

Your vacant apartment is ready and renters are interested in both the property and the good incentives you are offering as a landlord. Get out there and show the property to all who are interested! Use your best practices to find the perfect tenant for you.