Agree with @James Wise except for the paint color. Grey is hideous! Use a nice off white like antique white or something a bit whiter. Classic and goes with everything :)
This is a classic mistake I see a lot of investors make. You are letting your personal color preference get in the way of your business. You personally think Gray is hideous however it is statistically the most popular color in the United States. This data comes directly from Sherwin Williams. Statistically speaking it appeals to more potential tenants than any other color would even if you personally like the other color more. Your own home is where you want to use colors you like. Your rental homes are where you need to use colors that the highest majority of the population likes.
No matter what the rental class is, I wouldn't feel comfortable about it not being as clean as possible. It's just the right thing to do (in my opinion)
1. If someone comes in and really demands anything from me (paint, carpet, discounts, ect.) it is a good way to screen them out. They are going to be more headache and hassle than I have time for.
2. You have to have a baseline for cleanliness and how presentable the home is. Painting and cleaning are super easy and make the home show 100x better. Most tenants and people in general lack any vision for what a property could be.
3. I have noticed that if a place is not ready, it is a waste of time to show. I have done it, and I always think it will fly and miss out on some quality people. You ain’t getting them back. 4-6 hours of cleanup and touchup might have been the tipping point.
@Charlie Moore you don’t need to clean, but that just means you will attract applicants who don’t care about cleanliness.
I show properties all the time to people who comment how dirty other properties are. Some landlords rent with stained carpets or without properly cleaning. It does scare away some applicants. I have just learned bad property condition attracts bad tenants.
As far as your original question, it is generally accepted that properties are rented as-is. If I have a perspective tenant who has a move-in request, I will consider, if it is reasonable.
@Mary Mitchell I've lived in apartment complexes for a good portion of my adult life. The standard color has always been an off white. They never use anything else.
You guys are bantering about grey or white? Really? @Mary M., it's your property, paint it the way you like. Here to learn, not pass judgment, please.
"I see a red door and I want to paint it black!" Rolling Stones.
You missed the point. I could care less about gray vs white. What I explained is that landlords who don't listen to the demand's of the market are making a mistake. The data is out there. A smart business owner should utilize it. The market wants that color more than white. I don't care if I personally like the color or not. I am a business owner fulfilling a market need. If the market wanted orange then I'd be painting my rental properties orange.
35 years ago when I was in college I managed a 20 unit apartment complex for my mom. She used antique white for all the units. Walls, ceilings, baseboards, and doors the exact same color. It was very “institutional”.
Today, every time I a see a property painted in antique white I get that same ‘80s institution vibe. All our properties now are done in “tornado” bluish gray with bright white trim and doors. Ceilings are done in flat white. Another pet peeve is glossy ceilings. The white really makes the gray pop. We finished a unit earlier this year and the tenant next door commented how nice and modern it looked compared to his boring beige.
I forgot to mention that my rentals are in the PNW. Where we have enough grey outside for a large part of the year ~ so perhaps tenants like having some brightness against all the grey outside
I@Pete Harper yeah all one color sounds terrible. I like “creamy” for my trim and ceilings :)
I'm convinced we got the rents we wanted and quality tenants for our B-/C+ area because we painted and cleaned. Many people who came to look at it commented on how much cleaner it was than the other places they looked at. And it doesn't take that long to vacuum, mop the floors, wash the walls, etc. It makes a huge difference to people. Also having moved into a filthy rental one time I know I was less than pleased, and told myself I would never be the type of landlord who expected someone to move into a dirty unit.
I opted for Accessible Beige over Agreeable Grey because my trim, baseboards, and interior doors are wood stained rather than white. But ya, all of the units get the same color. Every room. We’ve done a lot of painting this last 6 months.
I don't specifically say in my rental ads that the house/unit is "as is". I think that's implied. And, to actually state it, would come off to me that there might be something wrong with the house and/or it's only in "okay" (or worse) condition.
Potential tenants can request whatever they wish. Just like I can turn down or agree to, whatever requests outside the norm that I wish.
Hate all the personal shots on the forum. But whatever
Lol
Yeah
I don't think people are taking personal shots. Most replies have been along the lines of "you get what you put in", etc.
But also, you've insinuated that people who can only afford to live in a C-class property are unworthy of receiving a unit at the same basic level of cleanliness as people who can afford A-class units. I don't know what your average tenant is like, but there are plenty of extremely hard-working people who have low incomes (single moms, caretakers, people on disability income, people going back to school, etc) who still deserve the dignity and respect of a clean, safe place to live. If cleaning is too tedious for you (or over your pay grade) then pay someone else to do it (as many posters have suggested) - but you've basically implied that low-dollar tenants aren't worth the ~$100-$200/max to have a unit cleaned prior to showing/move-in.
That's your call. But others have pointed out that you may be shooting yourself in the foot by 1) turning off better quality tenants, 2) never returning the unit to a deep clean/baseline.
I wouldn’t offer a unit whether for cost or for free that I personally wouldn’t use or live in. If it’s not good enough for me it’s safe to say it isn’t good for them. As long as there isn’t anything broken or a hazard then essentially the unit is being rented as-is. If painting is a request, maybe offer that the tenants can paint walls only according to their taste but it must be painted back to the color it was or white, before move out. Tenants should clean and restore the property back to original condition upon move out. Maybe professional carpet cleaning, window and appliance cleaning just to ensure that the most costly items to be replaced are restored prior to new tenants move in. This will help maintain those items (if their in your unit).
Any additional work they wish to do on exterior shouldn’t be allowed unless for example they want to have a small garden box in the yard on the patio out back for example, or potted plants (that remain in pots) placed out front. I think those things are ok. There are simple changes they can do to make their space like it’s their home but they shouldn’t be wanting to make major changes as if it’s their property. No As-Is info is necessary. If you find that you have a load of people who like the area, price point, layout of home but doesn’t like the esthetic, then maybe try updating it a tad just to appeal to a broader range or better range of quality tenants. This doesn’t mean you have to update every tenant cycle. Just enough to keep up with the demographic of people renting in the area but, most importantly, enough for your home to be maintained well.
@Charlie Moore - I think the only thing you need to not do is not using recriminating terms. Each City and State has it's own laws and should be checked with or make contact with an experienced property manager to see if there is anything they did that was bad for them.
If tenants are asking these questions in the first place, that may suggest the unit is either isn't rent ready or you need to make it more appealing to be public.
Rent AS-IS may subconsciously deter good tenants and attract bad tenants!
If tenants are asking these questions in the first place, that may suggest the unit is either isn't rent ready or you need to make it more appealing to be public.
Rent AS-IS may subconsciously deter good tenants and attract bad tenants!
Really good point. A big ole AS-IS in the ad is basically like saying "hey this place is a dump." Only people who would willingly want to live in a place advertised as a dump are those who don't qualify to live anywhere else. That's gonna lead to nothing but bad tenants.
SO True. Grey is totally in! and also white cabinets. My cabinet guy said 90% of what he is putting in these days is white. Anyhoo, on the rental, make sure it is clean, all lights working, clean air filters, everything working.
You can't say as-is and not have a working furnace...
You can advertise however you like, however I would think advertising “as is” would scare off potential good applicants. Just like I expect a potential flip that’s advertised “as is” to have some major issues I’m going to need to address if I choose to purchase, I’d think an “as is” warning on a rental is going to make a prospective renter worried about what they’d be getting into. While a unit should never be dusty/dirty when shown, that’s a simple system change, everything else is an easy “no”. No explanation needed. And, if nothing else, I personally like the opportunity to see if an applicant seems like they are going to be a PIA before I sign up to having them in my life for a year. If they annoy you at the showing, or seem unreasonable, they probably don’t qualify as your renter.