Residents often add decorative elements when they first move into a new rental home. This urge to personalize their rental home sometimes includes the exterior of the house too. A lot of Wake Forest property owners expect their residents to maintain the landscaping to a certain extent, and good residents are happy to do so. Even if they don’t actually own the property, they also like to be proud of their home.
However, when your residents want to modify the exterior of the home, things can quickly go wrong. As the owner, your residents might ask permission to make changes like planting new plants or trees in the yard, creating new flower beds, or turning a part of the yard into a vegetable garden. Other exterior modifications that residents might request include new exterior doors, light fixtures, or even changing the color of the house itself.
You might consider allowing them to make certain changes particularly if they are willing to pay for it themselves. On the other hand, keep in mind that not all changes are for the better. If the resident’s workmanship is of poor quality, it can seriously influence your property values and your ability to find a tenant for the home someday.
You could always ask them to put the property back the way it was when they initially arrived, but if sod has been disturbed or plantings moved or changed, that may not be a possibility. Future residents might not want to deal with the upkeep involved in a vegetable garden as much as your current residents do, and it’s things like these that make prospective renters pass your property over for one with less maintenance.
If your rental home is in an area where there is a homeowners’ association, there may be restrictions and added permissions that you need to follow before changes are permitted. If residents proceed and perform changes to the exterior of your Wake Forest rental property without your authorization, you should take the proper next steps. But what are these next steps? You can charge them for any repairs needed and then hire somebody to fix it or you could try to make them do it themselves. Nevertheless, your best option is to hire a property management company that can not only regularly monitor your properties for you but also deal with unauthorized changes as they happen.
At Real Property Management Raleigh, we know the hassle that comes from unauthorized changes to your property. We are committed to safeguarding your investment, and that means making sure your residents understand what unauthorized changes are and the consequences for doing them. Our property maintenance programs are designed to maximize the potential of your investment while keeping expenses low. For additional information about our property management services, please contact us online or call us at 919-481-0008 today!
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.
