First impressions go a long way, so it’s essential to pay attention to the exterior of your rental property.
If you’re looking for landscaping ideas to increase rental property curb appeal, you’re at the right place. This article highlights six creative ways to boost your property’s appearance and attract higher-paying tenants. You could work with your PM company to bring some of these ideas to life!
Plant some trees
Trees are a great prop to boost your curb appeal and attract higher-paying tenants. Remember that it doesn’t have to be a grand oak that could sprawl out and take up a lot of yard space. You could go for a smaller shrubby tree like a turnip, a colorful Japanese maple, or a fruitful apple tree. Many pretty and low-maintenance trees would be perfect for your rental property.
Asides from the obvious aesthetic appeal, trees have other added benefits. They’re a great source of shade for get-togethers like family barbeques and provide cool air during the summer, reducing your heating bill. They also improve the air quality around your house, which is an excellent selling point for any tenant.
Trim your lawn
There’s a reason the cranky old man yelling “get off my yard” is a heartwarming and familiar trope. It springs from the idea that a well-kept lawn is something worth protecting, especially when you consider how much work goes into it. But can you blame the old retiree next door? A well-trimmed yard does lift the appearance of any home.
Thus, putting in the work to mow the lawn, trim your hedges, and pull out weeds could be pretty rewarding. Besides, if neglected, your yard can become overrun by weeds and overgrown grass, which attract unwanted vermin. So you could be saving yourself some trouble down the road by averting pests and rodents capable of damaging your property.
Add a flower bed
If you’re still in the mood to use your green thumb, then spruce up your yard with some flowers. Flowers go a long way in making a rental property feel like a home. The pop of color gives the house a fresh feel that is warm and inviting, rather than cold and temporary as the case may be.
Besides lifting your curb appeal, flowers can also help keep pests away. The ones they attract, like bees and birds, are beneficial cross-pollination agents that can increase your garden’s harvest. Some plants also have medicinal value. For instance, if you plant a patch of attractive sunflowers, you could also enjoy their edible and highly proteinous seeds.
Add more lighting
What better way to boost your rental’s external appearance than by lighting it up? Research shows that extra lights go a long way in improving a property’s ROI, so it could be an opportunity for you to make more money. You could consider a row of outdoor lights on your driveway or near walk paths to illuminate the ground and make movement easier. It also makes outdoor spaces like your patio accessible in the evenings and sets the right ambiance for a relaxing night. Security lights are also helpful in warding off burglars. If your unit is empty, you could consider automated lights to keep away questionable characters that might want to prey on your investment.
You might already be doing the math for running all these extra bulbs, but LED lights are energy-efficient. So, in the long run, the trade-off would be worth it. Besides, you could always look into installing solar-powered outdoor lamps.
Refresh your driveway
Get creative with your driveway to make it both functional and aesthetically pleasing. As highlighted in the previous point, illuminating it would make it more accessible at night and visually pleasing. However, if you want to up the appeal, you can toy around with other elements.
For example, a well-maintained bed of pink pumila plants lining either side of your driveway as you come home would be stunning. Moreso, opting for a hedge could add some texture and height to your property. You could even make your driveway a showcase by opting for a different material than traditional asphalt. Crushed marble and mod are some of the latest trends.
Create a sitting space
Finally, you could create a sitting space so your tenants can fully enjoy the benefits of having a beautiful yard. If you’re on a tight budget, you don’t have to get anything elaborate. A pair of folding lightweight beach or patio chairs from Amazon will do.
However, if you have a couple of extra bucks, you could go all out with more elegant recliner chairs or even a wicker set. You could also build a sophisticated garden shed and truly make it an escape into nature. Of course, you can cap it off by creating a lovely stone path that’s aesthetically pleasing and keeps people off the lawn.
Conclusion
There you have it! Six great landscaping ideas to increase rental property curb appeal and attract higher-paying tenants. Landscaping is a great way to make your home more attractive, and the only limit to what you can do is your imagination.
