Investing in real estate can make a difference in your personal life and grow your finances. Maybe your family has outgrown your current home, and you’re looking to become a landlord instead of selling it. Becoming a landlord may be fun, as it means you don’t have to give up the home you love entirely. But it comes with a few obstacles you should prepare yourself for.

Preparing your home for becoming a rental property might not be easy, depending on the age of the house and how many issues need to be addressed before others move in. You can’t renovate a house like you would renovate your home, either. You have to appeal to a wide array of styles and narrow down your renter niche.

Think About These 7 Things Before Renovating

Renovations take work and plenty of planning. Before choosing to renovate anything, you must survey your home and figure out what you plan to do and what can hang around. Keep in mind that some things can be changed easily, while others take more effort to alter.

1. Home Layout

Consider the layout of your home. Does it match what many people want out of a house? Open floorplans are relatively popular these days. It allows hosts to move about the main floor freely while still communicating with guests or other members of the household. If your home isn’t an open floorplan, you might consider knocking down walls to make it more appealing to renters.

What else will you be updating? Consider updating the flooring to something more popular if yours is old and worn. Hardwood floors are attractive to potential renters and buyers, so if you can afford the investment, you should pick out the flooring that goes best with your style of home.

2. Rooms to Renovate

Consider which rooms you plan to upgrade. The number of rooms that need updating to make your home look attractive to renters may make you think twice about flipping it into a rental property. Which rooms you renovate will also have an effect on your overall budget for the mass renovation.

On the other hand, if you’ve recently renovated some of the rooms in your home, you might see this as an excellent opportunity to finish the renovation process. Just make sure your rooms are all the same style, else it might look odd to have only a couple of renovated rooms.

3. Your Curb Appeal

Does the exterior of your house match the interior? Increasing your curb appeal adds value to your home in the long run, as the outside of your house is the first thing people see. The exterior of your home serves as a first impression, so you shouldn’t neglect it when remodeling your home.

The exterior of your house should complement the interior so people know what to expect when they walk through the door. Having a cohesive image, inside and out, will help people see your overall vision for the home and please their eyes.

4. Small Improvements

Look for minor cosmetic issues here and there that you can fix before you tackle massive remodels. Can you touch up the paint here and there, or even change up the color of a wall entirely? Do some research on what looks good in your style of home and tailor it toward that expectation. These touch-ups can help you decide whether you want to continue with a larger, more intensive remodel.

5. Big Upgrades

You may consider upgrading your home to have amenities and appliances that are more cutting-edge than the ones you’re currently using. Buying a newer washing machine and dryer will ensure you likely won’t have any issues with them in the near future, making them perfect for move-in-ready tenants.

Likewise, making sure that all the appliances in a particular area match could improve your house’s visual appeal. Having devices of the same finish in the kitchen, from the fridge to the stove to the dishwasher, looks better than if they are all mismatched.

6. Responsibilities of Landlords

Your responsibilities don’t vanish once you’re done with the renovations. Consider whether you’re physically and mentally able to take on the responsibilities of being a landlord at this time. It might not be the right time in your life if you’ve started a new job or added to your family. You want to minimize stress as much as possible so you can be a fair and trustworthy landlord.

To assess whether you’re ready for the role of landlord, you need to look at all the responsibilities they have. Drafting a potential lease for any renter would be one task for you to tackle to see if you’re ready to take on this new role. Once you figure out that you’re prepared to be a landlord, you can start to act on your list of renovations and make them a reality.

7. Your Budget

To establish a proper budget, you need to see how much you can afford and how much the other homes in your area are renting for. Once you know the average monthly rent in your area, you can make upgrades as you see fit while sticking to your budget to add to the value of your potential rental property. Setting a budget is essential so you don’t go overboard with your choices or accidentally slip into debt while preparing your property for rent.

The low end of an average remodel is nearly $20,000 , so you should carefully consider which rooms need remodeling and how you can save on costs as much as possible while still being a competitive housing option in your area.

Home Renovation Leads to Excellent Rentals

The more you renovate your home to be more modern, the likelier you may be to find a renter who enjoys the style and will want to stay there. Upgrading your home doesn’t just make it more attractive to renters — it also means you’ll have fewer repairs to make in the future if something goes awry.

By upgrading your home through remodels, you can ensure you’ll have happy tenants who enjoy living in your rental property as much as you did!