Blog & Advice

Tips to Prep Your Rental Property for Peak Season

As a rental property owner, you are already familiar with the ebb and flow of the rental market. For example, rental activity tends to slow down over the winter holidays, and then heat up with the onset of warmer weather. The most active part of the year is “peak season,” when turnover rates rise and demand for rental property is at its highest. Of course, with those increases comes the busiest time of year for rental property owners! To maximize your returns and ensure you aren’t overwhelmed by the rush, it’s important to prepare your properties - and your business - before peak season arrives. Here are our top tips to ensure you are ready to have the best peak season yet!

Conduct a Thorough Property Inspection

First, it’s important to know about and address any maintenance or repair issues before peak season. The last thing you’ll need during your busiest months of the year is to deal with unexpected repairs! So whether your current tenant has decided to move out or not, it’s best to conduct a thorough property inspection at least once a year. And one of the best times for a property inspection is before peak season ramps up.

You can do the inspection yourself or hire a professional, depending on your experience and preference. But at a minimum, you should be taking detailed notes about your property’s major systems (plumbing, electrical, HVAC), roof, foundation, appliances, and fixtures. You can use an inspection checklist like the one found on this website, or create your own. Then, create a maintenance plan and schedule. Finally, don’t forget to coordinate with any current tenants to minimize disruption.

Understand Your Target Market

When planning for property maintenance, repairs, and future updates, it’s important to first develop a clear understanding of who your target market is. For example, depending on the location of your rental property, the local renter demographic could be made up of young professionals, retirees, students, young families, and so on. By researching local market trends and knowing your preferences, you can better understand who your rental property would most likely appeal to. You can then plan ahead for property repairs, upgrades, and amenities that would best appeal to your ideal tenants.

Upgrade Interior Spaces

All rental properties need regular updates, whether you have current tenants or not. A clean and functional interior is an absolutely essential for any profitable rental property, and one of the best ways to avoid extra work during peak season is to plan and carry out certain upgrades during the slower times of the year. For example, replacing flooring, updating appliances, replacing fixtures and hardware, and incorporating smart home technology are upgrades that can all be done before peak season arrives. Even if your tenant is moving out, by completing many updates early on you can minimize the amount of work needed to prepare your property for a new tenant.

Enhance Curb Appeal

Along with your interiors, don’t forget about your rental property’s curb appeal! A good first impression is critical to attracting quality tenants and preserving property values. So, including exterior improvements in your maintenance and repair plan is a smart way to keep your property in good shape and profitable year-round. For example, even small improvements in landscaping, some fresh paint, or a new garage door can make a huge difference in a property’s curb appeal. And, these are all tasks that can be done during the slower times of the year. That way, you won’t have to worry about it amidst the rush of peak season.

Streamline Rental Processes

Finally, one of the best ways to manage a rental property during peak season (and year-round) is to develop and implement efficient rental processes. Fortunately, technology can greatly assist with more efficient rental application and screening procedures, streamlining communication, and facilitating rent collection. If you haven’t already, consider using property management software to streamline your processes.

Also, one of the most effective marketing tools available today is the video walk-through. To effectively and efficiently market your property, you should have high-quality photos and a video tour ready for prospective tenants. Then, make these materials accessible for applicants and cut down on the time spent on showing the property. This can help you keep your vacancy times low and ensure that you are spending your limited time on prospective tenants who already think your property is a good fit.

Trust Your Local Experts

Getting your rental property ready for peak season is a lot of work, but doing that work in advance is the key to getting through peak season as easily as possible.

Perhaps this is why so many rental property owners trust their local rental property management experts at Real Property Management to help. By offering advanced technology, vetted service pros, and market analyses (to name a few), a professional property manager can take the stress out of your peak season while helping you maximize your property’s potential.

Visit Real Property Management online to learn more about the services we offer to rental property owners in your area.