Making a Quality First Impression

Exuding Quality

I recently purchased a new fall coat and as the weather is starting to really cool off in the mornings I felt today would be a great day to wear it out.

To be fair this wasn’t a really expensive jacket, in fact it wasn’t even a real “jacket”, but rather a nice hoodie that had a very fuzzy interior lining, plush according to the label. A lining that would keep me perfectly warm on a cooler day.

I don’t even think I paid $50 for it, but it looked good and felt warm and comfy when I tried it on, so I was hooked. That was back in early August and since it’s been so nice it’s been safely squirrelled away in my closet waiting for the cooler fall days.

Well, now that we’re into October, those cooler fall days have quickly arrived! So out comes the new fall hoodie and that’s when I made some observations. It was as I was cutting the tag off that I noticed something. Just a tiny little detail.

But a tiny detail that upgraded my impression of the jacket, sorry hoodie, to another level.

The tags were made of a very thick sturdy paper that instantly upgraded my thoughts about the quality of the clothing.

Feeling the heft and weight of the tag made a huge impression on me. This tiny little incidental item, a tag albeit a nice one, exuded quality and the feeling that the manufacturer’s of this product actually cared about it.

It was as if they they didn’t cut corners, as so many people do, and rather than throwing on the cheapest tag possible in order to save .0001 cents, they had a better product that deserved a better tag.

Have you ever felt like this when you bought something?

If you did, how did it make you feel? A little prouder to own it? Maybe you stood up a bit straighter when you wore it or your friends saw it?

Now here’s the zinger, do your tenants say the same thing about your rental property…

Exuding Quality With Your Rental

They say you only get once chance to make a first impression and it’s so true. Although with my coat it was actually the second impression when I looked closer, but you get the idea!

Well, what impression does your rental give to potential tenants? Or to add to it, what impression do you give?

Is the entrance tidy and clean, or worn and cluttered? Do you show up in a torn t-shirt and the same shoes you use to cut the grass (which may be ok if you are actually there cutting the grass…).

Did you pick up a welcome mat from the Dollar Store that looks cheap, or did you spend a few extra dollars and buy a nice sturdy mat from a home furnishing store? It’s little upgrades like this that can make that good first impression!

Maybe it’s just a new door handle instead of the old worn knob, maybe swapping out the broken and chipped door skirt for a new tidy looking one to help make your property stand out.

It’s little steps like these can can help ensure your property not only gets rented faster, but stays rented. We often forget that our rentals are people’s homes and its a trap that can bite you in the pocketbook later.

Sure when the rental market is hot it’s not much of an issue, but when things turn, and they inevitably do, and the market is a bit tighter with more vacancies and less tenants to go around that they suddenly become very pressing issues.

Consistently High Quality Rentals

That’s why it’s far easier to be consistent with your properties and be pro-active at setting a higher standard. Then you don’t run into the hurdles of the down times, or if you do, unlike your competition you coast through them as others flounder.

This type of pride of rental property ownership pays more dividends than just filling your property faster, it also helps you keep tenants longer, attract higher quality tenants and as you stay on top of your property it helps maintain values.

A story I share with many people involves a property I owned years ago that had a very similar property just down the street. At least very similar in the style of property.

Both were half duplexes, both had front decks and both had yards, but the similarities ended there.

My property had tenants in place usually two to three years at a time, theirs had a for rent sign out front every six to nine months.

Now we’d never personally been in the unit, but one day my wife was at our property and saw the other landlord was doing some showings so she invited herself in to check it out, and chat with the owner.

Upon entering the difference was easy to see.

Now this was only a decade ago, but the other property still had the original shag carpeting from the 70’s in it…

And quite possibly the original white paint color, great first impression.

Going further into the property and looking at the kitchen my wife found the original dark brown fake wood look cupboard doors with more original 1970’s hardware.

No wonder people kept leaving like it was a revolving door.

In comparison, our property had hard wood (which probably had shag carpet on top of it at one point), freshly painted walls with a modern color, newer white kitchen cabinets with newer countertops and bright shiny contemporary knobs on all the cabinets.

It’s Not Rocket Science

So just by description alone, which would you chose?

And maybe that’s why we were always able to fill the property so quickly and kept tenants for so long!

Now, let’s talk about you and perhaps some homework?

What do you think your property gives off as a first impression? Cozy place to call home? Or pitstop until we find something better?

Your homework, if you truly want to be an educated landlord, is to stop and take an objective look at your property.

Would you live there? If not, that’s the first sign you might want to change things.

What could you do to spruce it up just a bit? New front door? Drastic updates at the entrance to make it more inviting? Or maybe simple steps like fresh paint on the door and a new handle or trim plate across the bottom of the door?

Taking simple steps like this pay handsome dividends over time and it’s a matter of small efforts to get this done that pay back so well with longer term tenants and shorter gaps between occupancy.

If you’re struggling to fill your vacant property this might want to be a priority. If you expect to have a vacancy soon it should also be high on your radar. At the same time, if you have great tenants it can also be an assurance to them that you want to take care of your property and can also be rewarded with them acknowledging it and taking even better care of your property for you.

So, ball is back in your court. Are you willing to do some homework? If you are I’d love to hear what YOUR thoughts are on YOUR property and what you might need to do to improve it and to start making a good first impression as soon as possible!

Leave me a comment below with any changes you may be making in the near future to your property or with any changes you’ve made in the past that have paid dividends!