Maintaining the landscaping of your Arlington rental property is important. Not only does it make your property look better, it can also increase its value. You’ll earn more rent on a well-landscaped home, and you’ll also attract better tenants.
It’s not always easy, even if you have a small lawn. Maintaining the landscaping on a rental property can take a lot of your time if you’re doing it yourself. If you hire a service, it can become expensive.
We recommend keeping your landscaping simple and easy to maintain. Here are a few tips on how to accomplish that.
The climate in and around Arlington is not extreme. We have humid, hot summers and cold winters, but seasonally, we all know what to expect. Manage your landscaping according to the season and choose plants that will do well with differing temperatures. You also want plants that will thrive with minimal care and maintenance. Try evergreen shrubs, succulents, and native perennials.
Plant enough to inspire interest, but don’t overwhelm your tenants. If they arrive to see a property with complicated landscaping, they may worry about what will be required of them in terms of keeping everything alive and healthy.
Invest in mulch. A layer of mulch around plants helps retain moisture after watering so they don’t need to be watered as often; plus it helps prevent weeds from growing between their roots which makes weeding much simpler down the line.
Installing a drip system or an automatic sprinkler system can also help reduce water usage while still giving your plants enough water to survive and thrive throughout the year.
Who is responsible for your landscaping at your rental property? For some owners, it’s them. For others, they want their tenants to take the lead. It depends on what level of involvement you want to have in keeping the landscaping well-maintained. It also depends on your tenant and your property type.
Many renters lease a home because they don’t want the maintenance and work that comes with weeding and trimming and mowing and watering.
It’s a good idea to hire a landscaping service. You can roll the cost of that service into the monthly rent. This ensures that your property is landscaped to a standard that’s acceptable to you, and it relieves your tenants of any responsibility for taking care of the lawn.
Always address landscaping responsibilities in your lease agreement, whether you’ll take care of it, your tenants will take care of it, or you’ll have a service taking care of the lawn.
Keeping things simple will ensure an easy, enjoyable rental experience for you and your residents. The landscaping is a big part of your property’s curb appeal and your ability to attract and
retain good tenants. If you are renting out a home in an HOA community, there may be additional landscaping standards that need to be met. Be aware of those.
If you need help with landscaping or anything pertaining to your rental property, please contact us at Arlington Realty Property Management.
