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. However, a rental property is not like an owner-occupied one. As renters and owners of single-family rental homes in Grandville both understand, all changes done to the interior of the home need landlord permission. 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 greatest residents are those who ask before doing interior changes to your rental property. Occasionally, after they’ve signed the lease, a resident might want to alter certain aspects of the home. Maybe they want to paint a couple or all of the walls in another color, put in new bathroom fixtures, change the blinds or other window coverings, install a new ceiling fan or light fixture, or perhaps even paint the kitchen cabinets.
Some of you might believe that if they want to remodel your home for you at their own expense, maybe it’s better to just let them have their way. But, there are a number of things to consider before saying yes. The most vital of these is probably quality. There is no guarantee that the quality of the work will meet any professional standard if your resident is making changes themselves. Actually, if they do a really poor job, it could negatively affect the value of your property and then cost you even more money to fix later.
Another important matter to keep in mind is that interior design trends come and go quickly. 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 completely within your rights to charge a departing resident for any needed repairs, keeping your rental house neutral is still the most cost-effective option.
As a rule, residents who disregard the terms of their lease and perform unauthorized changes anyway are responsible for returning the home to how you want it 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 begin making unauthorized changes to your Grandville property, it can be difficult to know what to do next. That is why you should have the right property management company to keep an eye on things, pick quality residents who will take care of your property for you, and take action to safeguard your real estate investment if and when it is needed.
At Real Property Management Investment Solutions, we provide all of these services to single-family rental homeowners and more. Our professional property managers can create a maintenance program just for you while taking care of the hassles and headaches of handling lease violations. Do you want to know more? Please contact us online or call us at 616-419-8880 for further 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.
