Would you like to invest in real estate but haven’t yet? Maybe, you are afraid to lose your hard-earned money? With the population boom, more and more people are looking for places to stay. If you have rental apartments, then renting them out to people can be a great way of making some money.
Nevertheless, a major problem with rental apartments is that people do not know how to successfully invest, so they never reach their next property. And by not succeeding, they put a halt to their financial freedom and independence.
Since thousands of owners of rental apartments or properties own them as their main or secondary means of income, this is a long-standing issue. What if I told you there’s a tried and true way to make money with rental apartments?
In this article, I will teach you how to unlock your property’s full potential, follow these expert ideas for maximizing returns and creating financial stability.
1. Invest in a good location
The first step in investing in real estate is finding a good location. A good location for a rental apartment has a dense population. It also must have a high turnover rate. Many, many people desire to live close to their jobs or schools.
Those people will move often if they feel like they can find something better for less money. As long as you stay in a busy area with lots of turnovers, you will get your investments back over time no matter how things go with the market.
Investing in a good location starts with the following considerations;
- Walkthrough the potential rental units
- Find out the average monthly rent in the area
- Who lives in the area and how many people can afford to live there
- Go for areas with a growing economy
- How much money you will need for your investment
- Crime records and property values
- Analyze whether there are other rentals in the area
- Have a plan B – it’s always good to have a back-up
Location is more crucial for making money with rental apartments than the apartment itself. A high-traffic area in which people travel all day long is one of the main advantages of an investment. For example, places close to a subway, office building, or stores.
2. Rent out an extra room
An extra room in your home or an apartment that you don’t use could lead to a profit for you. Whether it is a studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, or even a three-bedroom room. There are likely people around you who want to pay for just another room, as they cannot afford a place with the whole apartment.
Renting out an extra room in your home provides a nice return and it can also create a sense of community. For example, someone might stay in your spare bedroom while you are traveling. Or, your guest might help watch over your place when you’re away at work.
You can charge about $300 to $500 or more depending on the features of the room you intend to rent out.
Learn more: How to Make Money Renting Out Your Space
3. Lease basement or attic
Basement and attic are two areas where you can easily transform space into extra income.
Leasing your unfinished basement or attic space can be a great way to make extra income, especially in these tough economic times.
If you live in a city or urban area that doesn’t look ritzy from the outside but has a desirable ambiance or facilities inside, you could be sitting on a gold mine. Many apartment owners charge about $300 to $1,000/month to lease the unused space in basements and attics.
Renovations and painting and installing new furniture and fixtures can be done to make it more attractive to potential tenants. Put advertisements on flyers and bulletin boards that will draw attention to the building.
4. Create a rental property blog
You have considered purchasing a rental property. Now, you need to find a way to get your property the attention it deserves. You can do this by creating a blog about the latest trends in rental property investment.
Follow the following tips to get started on your rental apartment blog.
- Choose your ideal blogging website builder
- Add dedicated pages for landlords, properties, and tenants
- Use high-quality images
- Create a contact page
- Have multiple ads in different areas
- Update your ad regularly
- Establish a good reputation with searches using phone numbers, email, and social media
- Keep the webpage as updated as possible
- Answer all inquiries quickly and professionally
- Remember that this is not a get-rich scheme but a way to build passive income gradually.
The most important aspect of creating a blog for your rental property is doing it regularly. This can be a commitment that you can create on your own or something that you outsource to guest bloggers.
All investors should have a blog because of the passive income opportunities they can create from SEO. Search engines are more likely to deem your keywords relevant if your site has a lot of quality content for users to read.
Learn more: How To Make Money Blogging
5. Rent out parking spaces for events
As a landlord, you are always looking for ways to increase your rental property’s income. Imagine a scenario where there is an event going on nearby, perhaps it’s a concert or an important celebration of some sort. One thing you may want to consider would be to rent out parking spaces for people who are attending the event.
Ever been in a situation where you had to park a mile away from your destination? People often find themselves in need of a place to park their vehicles.
All you need to do is explain to people coming to the events that you have extra parking and will rent them spaces for a small fee. With just 10 slots available you could charge up to $10 per vehicle. You can charge more if they intend to stay longer.
That’s $100 for a weekend.
Learn more: How to Make $100 a Day
6. Sign up for property renting sites (e.g Airbnb)
If you have an extra room, why not make some money out of it? Property renting sites provide a built-in audience who is prepared to pay and they will take care of the check-in/check-out process.
You might get some guests from the town you’re not familiar with, so make sure you leave the number where you can be reached.
Sign up to rent your favorite space on Airbnb or other related sites. You will be amazed at how many people around the world are looking for convenient accommodations.
Learn more: How to Make Money with Airbnb
7. Turn your rental apartment into a vacation home
The demand for vacation homes continues to grow, and many people are turning to their rental properties. Consider using your vacant property to start earning extra income.
You don’t have to live in an apartment building to make money with rental apartments. You can also run them as vacation rentals – so the tenants can enjoy living there and you get the income from your investment property.
Here are some tips on how to turn your rental apartment into a vacation home.
- Re-design your space
- Be prepared to host guests all the time
- Start a board game or movie night
- Set up an advertising platform
- Give it a seasonal touch
- Think outside of the box
- Consider renting for short term (week or weekend)
- Offer incentives
Renting your apartment will allow you to earn during your off-season and provide a steady flow of income all year long. If you live in a resort area that has a high volume of tourist traffic, this is a perfect way to earn extra money from your place.
8. Charge for home services
One of the easiest ways to make money with rental apartments is to start a home services business. Charge for your services, or sell items that you already have but perhaps hardly ever use. You can get additional money by offering home services such as cooking, cleaning, or chauffeuring people around.
This is a great option for stay-at-home landlords who have the time and skill to do this. If you are a cook then sell your cooking services to others in your neighborhood by placing a bulletin or an ad on the bulletin board of your local supermarket.
Charge different rates depending upon the type of service you will be offering (i.e., cooking, cleaning, chauffeuring, etc.). I like this strategy because you’ll make money from the tenants in two ways. they pay rent and still pay you to help with some home services. I find this quite fascinating.
With this, your earning potential will only be limited by how much service you can offer.
Learn more: How to make money on weekends.
9. Make friends with real estate agents
You can make money by becoming friends with local real estate agents, as they know the local market well, and you will most likely get a good deal. I’m not talking about an agent to help you buy, but one who helps you rent out your vacant unit.
Real estate agents are people that like to throw parties and hang out. They also know all the people that need a place to live in your city. If you get their trust, they will refer them to you when they know you have vacancies in your rental apartment.
Being friends with real agents has lots of perks, some of them include;
- They know the market and what tenants want
- They act as a mediator to resolve rental issues
- Education, training, and free advice from experts in the real estate field
- They increase the chances of finding good tenants
- Real estate agents lower competition for the property
- Provision of feedback on the price of your home as well as other properties.
- You may need them to help find your next investment property
Do you think renting your apartment was the end of the journey? Think again. Get to know real estate agents in your region, everyone knows a good deal when they hear it and you get even more renters in your units.
10. Invest in proper insurance coverage as a landlord
Investing in insurance coverage is vital as a landlord. It is not just the property that you have to protect, and your assets but also your tenant’s belongings which are in the same rented property.
You may ask, why is it important for owners of rental apartments to have insurance coverage? After all, I should be making money, not spending it on some investment. Here’s why.
- Protect your property and your investment
- Your guests are covered
- Protect against fire, flood, and other damages
- Can include liability insurance in the policy
- Insurance can provide financial protection against lawsuits
- Liability coverage is mandatory in many states and/or countries
- If damage happens to a visitor, their benefits are much higher than their costs
If you fail to protect your investment, you are risking your profits. When renting out an apartment unit, it is important to obtain proper insurance coverage.
Rental properties are prone to many kinds of damages that not only affect the running of the establishment but can also be very expensive.
How much money can you make with rental apartments?
Renting your apartment is a good way to make money. Rental apartments will earn you up to $800 to $1000 per month. If you have a luxury apartment, you may be able to charge more for rent than a comparable unit in the same building.
You may also be able to raise your rent by 10 percent per year, which means that even if you can not find new tenants every year, your accumulated income will still be worthwhile.
What are the best ways to find good tenants for my rental apartments?
The best way to find good tenants for your rental apartment is to advertise in a way that attracts the right people either offline or online. You can place an ad in your local newspaper, put a sign in the window of your building, and even place flyers on cars parked outside your building.
These are all effective ways to attract quality tenants to your apartment building. Furthermore, the most important thing you can do is to screen your potential tenants carefully. The old saying “let the buyer beware” still holds today.
Should you get a property manager to manage your rental apartments?
You may be wondering if you should get a property manager to help manage your properties. It certainly is not a requirement and may not be right for everyone. It may make sense to hire a professional landlord if you own several rental properties.
Managing your apartments, however, is a better option if you are starting out and only have a few apartments. The amount of time you will have to spend managing your property may not justify your investment.
Even if you are managing your property yourself, you can handle miscellaneous issues and coordinate between different job sites.
Why should you rent out your property rather than sell it?
The advantage of renting an apartment is that it brings in steady income each month. If you want the value of your investment to increase fast, you must sell your apartment.
If you want the value of your investment to increase gradually yet steadily without too much effort on your part, then renting is a good option for you.
In short, renting out your property can provide a timely, relatively hassle-free, and highly profitable means of reaping the maximum value of your assets.
Furthermore, you will incur tax expenses and potentially lose some money when you sell your property for cash.
FAQs
What can you do to lower maintenance costs?
Be reasonable about your efforts to increase efficiency and reduce maintenance costs.
Starting at the design stage, choose energy-efficient lighting (fluorescent fixtures with high-efficiency lamps), insulation (R-16 in the floor and R-19 in walls and ceilings), and appliances (high-efficiency gas range).
These measures can lower annual operating costs by 30 percent or more. Also, preventive maintenance can save you money.
Are rental apartments a good business choice?
Yes. Rental apartments can be a profitable business once you understand the process and get everything in place. It offers a high return on investment if you know what you are doing and what you want from the property.
Final thoughts
Enter a growing market and make money with rental apartments. In this article, you have found ten smart ways to make money with rental apartments. I have compiled them to help you get started with investing in rental apartments, based on my research over the years.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post. Anything related to land, property, or real estate is capable of earning serious money. If you are considering real estate, I have a post on how to make money with real estate with proven tips. There’s a lot of information here that you’ll find useful.
In addition, the blog features a post on how to make money flipping houses. Flipping houses is a big business in the US right now. This guide can help you learn how to become one of the many successful house flippers.
Tosinajy teaches you how to make money online, the software you’ll need, and guides on how to deal with common issues you may encounter.
Thanks for reading.
