Landlord Capital Expenditure Projects

Projects that you might choose to sell your personal home can be drastically different from what you might choose to do in order to sell your rental property. For example, to sell a single family home, you might consider changing countertops, paint, flooring and hardware. However, if you’re selling a rental property, that might be what my family calls “SEP”: someone else’s problem. In this case, the problem belongs to the tenant and often it is sufficient for them.

So what should a landlord consider as a capital expenditure project prior to listing a property? You can start with your major systems. Oftentimes a lot of landlords are not first time home owners and they have some experience with roofs, HVAC systems and water heaters. You can also consider what are the least appealing calls to get as a landlord. I might put a roof leak at the top of my list. Nothing like having a simple roof leak expand into a much more significant problem. The last thing I might consider would be the curb appeal. Re-imagining landscape and fencing such that both a new owner and a tenant are happy to walk the property is certainly a great way to invest in your investment property.