Customizing a living space is part of enjoying a home, and renters are no different. They want to be able to have an aesthetic space that they feel comfortable in when they rent a home. But, a rental property is unlike an owner-occupied home. Owners and renters of single-family rental homes in Temple both know that any modifications made to the home’s interior require permission from the landlord. When your rental residents go beyond furniture and décor and choose to make unauthorized changes, this can put you as the owner in a tough situation.
The best residents are those who ask permission before making changes to the interior of your rental property. Sometimes, after a resident has signed the lease, they might decide they would like to modify certain aspects of the home. Perhaps they want to change the paint color of a couple (or all) of the walls, install new bathroom fixtures, change the blinds or other window coverings, install a new light fixture or ceiling fan, or possibly even paint the kitchen cabinets.
Part of you might be thinking that if they want to change up your home for you at their own expense, maybe it’s better to just allow them to do it. But you need to keep in mind a few things before saying yes. Probably the most crucial of these is quality. If your resident is performing changes themselves, there is no assurance that the quality of their work will meet any professional standard. In actuality, if they do a really bad job of it, it could lessen the value of your property and then cost you even more money to fix it later.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that trends in interior design quickly change. Painted cabinets may be popular now, but in a year or two, you might learn that residents want more natural wood tones. While it is entirely within your rights to charge a departing resident for any repair needed, maintaining a neutral rental home is still the most cost-effective option.
As a rule, residents who go against lease terms and make unauthorized alterations anyway are responsible for reverting the home back when they move out. Of course, some residents will do their best to avoid the cost involved in putting the home back the way it was when they first came in, potentially leading to expensive collections or even legal action.
When residents start performing unauthorized changes to your Temple property, knowing what to do next can be hard. This is why you should get the right property management company to keep an eye on things, choose quality residents who would take care of the property, and take action to protect your real estate investment if and when it is required.
At Real Property Management Talent, we offer all of these services and more to single-family rental homeowners. Our skilled property managers can customize a maintenance program just for you while also taking care of the stresses and headaches of dealing with lease violations. Do you want to know more? For more information, please contact us online or call us at 254-4010-0400.
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.
