Top Summer Upgrades Worth Making In Your Rental Units

With college students back home for the summer, you have a lot of time on your hands to bring your units up to par. From long-term maintenance to maximizing tenant wants and needs, there are a few upgrades that won’t break the bank and can be done before the school year comes back around.

Below is a list of easy-to-install, affordable upgrades you can make to bring your units to the top of rental listing sites. This list is divided into 5 sections: Flooring, Tech Appeal, Cool for the Summer, Common Areas, and Exterior Shine.

Flooring

Flooring is an easy way to start your renovation. You can DIY it or get a crew to install, but in the long run, it can last for years and save on future renovations. Your best place to start is with:

• Luxury Vinyl Plank (LVP): In terms of long-lasting, this installation is more cost-effective than replacing carpets between tenants and the lackluster appearance of earlier wood planks. In addition, it’s waterproof, scratch-resistant, doesn’t hold on to pet odors, and can last for 10+ years.

Tech Appeal

With college students, your best way to appeal is through tech. Nobody wants a thousand keys to get into their home or outdated appliances. To appeal to your new audience, upgrade to:

• Keyless Entry Locks: To avoid losing or breaking keys, a key fob and/or a smartphone key can be an attraction to young tenants looking for easy access, a faster way for maintenance to get repairs done, and a simpler process to switch keys for different tenants. For more information on simplifying the tenant turnover process, this article walks you through it step by step.
• Smart Thermostats: In addition to smartphone key locks, smart thermostats that give you multiple energy options, such as eco-friendly and pre-set heat and cold temperatures, can keep energy costs down while the unit is vacant and make it easier for tenants to control the temperature from their couch.
• Smart Washer and Dryers: A washer and dryer with few settings and loud machinery is not the best combo for a student studying into the night and not getting the right settings for all the different fabrics they have. A unit with multiple cycle settings can make laundry less taxing and quieter.

Cool for the Summer

Continuing from thermostats, if you’re on the West Coast, you’re quite familiar with summer lasting long after August ends and well into October/November. If you’re unable to add central AC to your units, you can still make your tenants happy as they start the new school year. Some things to try are:

• Ceiling Fans: Most tenants will appreciate not having to shell out extra money to buy fans on top of not having Central AC. Plus, the fans will improve airflow, generate more cooling depending on their direction (counterclockwise for cooling, clockwise for heating), and they don’t require filter replacements like A/C units.
• A/C Unit Upgrades: If you’re looking to take it a step further, installing A/C units will bring down the humidity, filter out dust and allergens as fans may hold on to them on the top part, and provide a wider net of cooling compared to fans, as they only work in one direction.

Common Areas

This is arguably your best place to start if you’re looking to stand out in your rental photos. Most college students are looking for top-notch kitchens and bathrooms, especially if they have roommates. To stay ahead and not go into debt, try to:

• Cabinet Updates: Instead of replacing them, paint cabinets a neutral color like white or black, or an eye-catching color like red or brown, with updated cabinet knobs. If you want to avoid the chips, go for a vinyl wrap, as you can cut to size and it sits more flush with the cabinets.
• Fixtures & Hardware: Replace rusted or dated sink faucets with high-end models. A double basin and a sprayer feature are great additions for a kitchen, and a detachable filtered showerhead can take a shower from regular to spa-like.
• Change the Lighting: Swap out old, dim lighting fixtures for bright, energy-efficient LEDs since they burn fewer watts compared to regular bulbs. If you’re looking to go above and beyond, consider installing light fixtures in cabinet areas and under kitchen islands to enhance ambiance.

Exterior Shine

To really make a college student feel at home, make the outside look just as good as the inside. They are what takes a first impression from zero to hero before they walk through the door. To achieve this, be sure to:

• Power Wash & Landscape: If you have a house rental, pressure wash the driveway and garage for a revitalized look. Trim your overgrown bushes and consider planting some perennial flowers that come back around the springtime to keep the long-term maintenance down and the luxury feel up to date.

• Walkway Lighting: An extra touch to a driveway is solar-powered lights that go into the grass/dirt. They do not require timers and can replace outdated porch lights.

Once college students start coming back to town, you’ll be ahead of the game by advertising a rental that meets their wants and needs without compromising your wallet. Enjoy your summer!