Should you add upgrades tenants ask for?

If you own a residential property that you rent out, or even if it's a commercial property leased to a small business, you may occasionally find that tenants would like to upgrade some aspect of the space. This is understandable, especially in older buildings, because some properties don't always fit modern needs.

The question, then, is whether you should fulfil that kind of request, and how. Rentals.com noted that some tenants may offer to take on those upgrade tasks themselves, but if you allow that to happen, you need to be cautious.

Come to an understanding

There is a danger inherent to many repair jobs, and as such you will want to get into writing who is responsible for what. Someone without experience in, for example, re-tiling a bathroom floor, may not do a good job or even do damage to the ceramic or grout —or their efforts may simply be aesthetically displeasing to potential future tenants. However, if it seems like a relatively simple change, it may be perfectly acceptable to allow tenants to handle such work.

However, for more complicated jobs – especially those that is more permanent and will stay with the property potentially long after the initial tenant has moved out – you might be better off bringing in a pro.

What else to consider

Of course, you need to think about more than just who's going to complete this upgrade. That includes whether it's a good idea in the first place. Fortunately, Rent Prep pointed out that there are many upgrades your tenants may ask for that end up adding value. For instance, if they want new plumbing fixtures, more storage space, roof or window frame repairs and the like, that's all work that will cost you money, but also increase the value of your property.

That, in turn, means you can potentially charge more for rent the next time there's a lease to be renewed or a new tenant moves in. As such, you might view at least some types of upgrades as work that will more than pay for itself over time, while others may not do much to move the need.

Whenever you're thinking of buying a buying a new property to increase the size of your commercial real estate portfolio, you should have the experts on your side. Give Ray White Surfers Paradise a call today to learn more about how we can easily guide you through this process.