Hello, property and potential property owners! Welcome to the RPM Distinguished Care blog, where we provide practical advice about property management! If you’re a return visitor, welcome back. We sincerely appreciate your support! RPM Distinguished Care specializes in managing successful rental properties in and around the Charleston area. We’re here to make your lives easier by giving you the resources you need to maximize profitability and have a successful rental property. We provide comprehensive property management services at every conceivable level. From advertising and marketing, to responding to applications, to inspecting and maintaining properties–there’s nothing we do not do. Further, we ensure tenant compliance, handle necessary evictions, and report directly back to you about revenue and profit potentials. We aim to make owning rental property as easy for you as possible, for as little money as possible. Check out the rest of our site to meet our team and discover what makes RPM Distinguished Care the best property management company in Charleston!
In our last article, we discussed resident retention ideas. As a rental property owner or property manager, one of your biggest goals is undoubtedly to attract and retain good tenants. Once you find a great tenant, you can’t stop there– You’ll want to keep working hard to make sure they stick around. Otherwise, you’ll have a vacant property, and that means a loss of profit. We talked about ideas such as cultivating a relationship with tenants, investing in maintenance, offering incentives, and more. If you’re interested in learning more about resident retention ideas, we encourage you to check out our last post!
Today, we’ll be discussing ways that you can decorate and personalize your space as a renter. When renting a house, apartment, or other space, you typically cannot customize the space completely due to the fact that you do not own the property. Additionally, you may only be living there temporarily, for a variety of reasons. With the knowledge that you might be vacating the space at some point, it makes sense that you wouldn’t want to invest in expensive upgrades or decor. However, there are still ways that you can make the space your own, even if you don’t own it. The first step is moving all of your stuff, including furniture, inside! This will undoubtedly make your space more comfortable, but there’s still more that can be done. If you are interested in learning more about how you can personalize your space, you’re in the right place! Let’s get started.
Replace Cabinet Handles and Door Knobs
A simple way to add your own personal touch to your rental home or apartment is to swap out existing cabinet knobs/handles and doorknobs. As long as the cabinet and doorknobs can be screwed off and screwed back on, it won’t do permanent damage– However, you may still want to ask your landlord or property manager first. If given the green light, this is a great way to customize your kitchen, bathroom, and doors. If you’re an artistic or creative person, you may even want to create your own cabinet knobs using a DIY tutorial. The possibilities are endless! Just make sure you save the original cabinet and door knobs to replace them when you’re ready to move out.
Amp Up Your Lighting
Adding lighting fixtures is a great way to make your rental home feel cozier. Table lamps and floor lamps can enhance the overall look of any space and even give off a more sophisticated vibe, depending on the style you choose. Not only can you add lighting, but you can also swap out existing lighting fixtures for ones that better reflect your personality. For altering existing lighting without changing the fixtures, you may want to consider changing the bulbs. There are many different lightbulb options available, so you can choose a warmer-toned light or a more fluorescent light, or even a pink or blue bulb for ultimate mood lighting, depending on your taste.
Add Plants
If you have a green thumb, or maybe just really love the thought of being surrounded by greenery, adding plants inside your home is a great way to decorate and make your space feel more inviting. There are plenty of plants that thrive indoors with proper care– Some even love having the shade! Indoor plants can enhance the overall appearance of a space and eliminate air pollutants. Some low-maintenance indoor plants are the snake plant, peace lily, and succulents.
Hang Photographs and Artwork Without Nails
Everyone knows that decorating walls with photos or artwork has the ability to make a space more lively. The downside is that banging nails into the walls can do some pretty serious damage. Luckily, you can find damage-free picture hanging strips or hooks and easily removable tape. This will allow you to decorate to your heart’s content while sparing the walls of damage such as stripping the paint.
Add Color
Most rental homes and apartments come in pretty neutral colors– Whites, grays, and tones of tan or beige. You could always ask your landlord if they would be okay with you painting a room or ceiling, but they might be reluctant to allow this. If they do, they may ask you to limit your color palette to neutral colors. If repainting is out of the picture, don’t worry; there are plenty of other ways that you can add a pop of color to your space! This can be done with hanging artwork or photographs as mentioned above, or by adding colorful curtains, pillows, and rugs. Consider getting a statement rug to brighten up your living room, or pile on the throw pillows on your couch to add a pop of color to the room.
Replace Light Switch Plates
This upgrade might be one of the most overlooked ones. Most rental spaces come with a standard, plain, white light switch plate. Simply replacing these plates with more decorative ones that emulate your style and personality can add your personal touch to every room. You can find a light switch plate in almost any color and with almost any design, and most of them are very cheap– Some are even under $5!
Swap the Showerhead
Replacing the existing showerhead is a great way to customize the look and feel of your bathroom. This is arguably one of the easiest and most effective ways to upgrade a bathroom. Showerheads are generally inexpensive, and they can make a major difference in water pressure!
Use Tile Decals
You may not be able to rip up the kitchen or bathroom tiles and replace them, but you can use tile stickers or decals to spruce up your space! Depending on how much you are willing to invest, you can find some decals that look pretty realistic. Vinyl decals are opaque and will cover whatever you stick them on, and they can simply be peeled off when you’re ready to move, without damaging the existing tile.
As you can see, there are many ways you can personalize your rental home or apartment without tearing down the walls and doing a complete renovation! From things as simple as replacing cabinet handles to investing in a colorful rug that really makes a statement, you can upgrade your space easily and, typically, for a good price.
We hope you found this article helpful. If you are a rental property owner looking for assistance in managing your property, feel free to reach out to us! RPM Distinguished Care specializes in residential property management and offers a range of services including communication, marketing, and advertising, thorough tenant screening and selection, full-service leasing, timely rent collection, regular evaluations, cost-effective and reliable maintenance, strict and compliant evictions, and comprehensive accounting. We utilize an online portal for owners to keep track of their property, including access to reports and financial statements. With over 30 years of experience, we know how to keep your property at its best. We believe in full-service and comprehensive property management. That’s why we take the time to understand each of our clients and help identify their most closely-held goals. Let us give you peace of mind that your property is in good hands. Use our website to request your free assessment and meet with our expert team! Thank you for taking the time to read this article and we hope to hear from you soon! See you next time!
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
