Improving any property's value sounds like an expensive, bulky task. Most times, owners imagine it as a months-long demolishing and rebuilding of the interior space. Especially when it is a multifamily building; the bigger the property, the longer the process! What they usually miss out on is that the improved value doesn't always have to come with a long bill of renovations.
Recently, we've observed that introducing new amenities and technology solutions have carved out a niche in property valuation more than one can imagine – and they don't cost a fortune.
In this article, we bring three affordable tips and tools for improving your property's value that promise elevated tenant satisfaction and long-term ROI.
1. Introduce meaningful amenities and services
In multifamily buildings, amenities mean everything. Meaningful amenities and services upgrade the experience for tenants, and they are a big reason why more and more people go for highly-amenitized buildings, especially millennials.
When we talk about new amenities, we don't necessarily mean building a large, professional gym or a coffee brewery with artisan baked goods. A meaningful amenity can be as simple as a second-hand corner in the building where tenants bring clothes, house items, books or anything they don't need anymore in their homes; but another tenant might!
Easy-make sustainable initiatives like this will not only bring good energy to the building with community support, but they will also help you make use of unused spaces in the building. If we have to brainstorm further, opening a game room for children, or a board game space for adults can bring a lot of fun to the building with only a few hundred dollars.
If you wish to address the daily needs of busy tenants; an in-house laundry service from washing to dry cleaning, a baby/pet sitting service, or grocery delivery arrangements with a local supermarket will always bring great ROI (in addition to high social ROI!).
Have some extra cash in hand for more changes? Work on the curb appeal, and add some greenery. A fresh walkway, some planters, a lounge area or a patio can definitely freshen up your property in the eyes of your future and existing tenants and thus can increase the value of a property.
2. Guarantee smooth management of those amenities and services
One of the most important aspects of a highly-amenitized building is the smooth management of them by the property manager, and use of them by the tenants with no hassle. When not managed properly, amenities can cause a mess, too!
For example, on a Sunday evening, ten different tenants want to make use of the new board game room. In a crowded building with a hundred tenants, how are they going to know that it is available at a time they wish to use it? Here, it is a no-brainer to get help from technology to let tenants digitally book the spaces and keep track of the availability of common areas via a tenant app to avoid mishaps. If not, more services will eventually bring headaches to the property manager.
By introducing a digital tool that helps tenants get informed about the availability of amenities, new activities, and events that surround those services; you'll not only help tenants make use of the entire capacity of the building. You will also help them do it at ease.
3.Invest in some easy, low-cost fixtures, interior design and cleaning
Sometimes, all it takes is a fresh coat of paint, fixing the handles, changing the bulbs and replacing the window frames to elevate the entire aura of the space. Or, a deep decluttering and cleaning the entire building.
The right fixtures give a neat feel to your property and a certain look of elegance, even though they are not always noticeable at first glance or not that fancy either. In choosing new fixtures, make sure that they have the same theme or complement one another.
As a plus, In a space where multiple people live, the common spaces will get messy at a faster pace. In order to keep track of the problems that arise in the building and address them structurally and punctually and to maintain the good looks and functioning of a multi-tenant building, help tenants report problems on a digital platform. This will help tenants have a stress-free and esthetically-rich living experience in your building.
