Ensuring your property is well-maintained and looking good from the outside is important all year long. However, it’s especially necessary during the leasing season. Although the inside of your rental is what prospective tenants really want to see, the outdoor curb appeal is the first thing they notice. That said, follow along as we go over some ways you can take advantage of spring landscaping this year’s leasing season.
What’s the Importance of Spring Landscaping for Leasing Season?
Spring is upon us, which means the weather is getting warmer and more people are spending time outdoors. Additionally, prime leasing season is coming up, so it’s time for rental owners to prepare their properties.
Many rental owners prepare for leasing season by doing landscaping around their properties. Increasing curb appeal is one great way to attract prospective renters and pique their interest in your rental home. It’s imperative to make changes during prime leasing season to quickly secure new tenants for your rentals.
Now, if you aren’t sure what leasing season is or how curb appeal adds to a rental, we’ll go over that next.
What is Leasing Season?
Leasing season, or peak rental season, is when most prospective renters are looking for a rental property. Typically, prime leasing season happens throughout the summer. More specifically, anywhere from May through September is when most people are looking to relocate to a new rental property.
During peak leasing season, rental property owners need to prepare their rentals to make sure they are ready to show. Part of this includes improving the curb appeal and outdoor elements. So next, let’s discuss the importance of improving rental property curb appeal.
What is Curb Appeal?
Curb appeal is a term used to describe the attractiveness of rental property from the outside to a prospective tenant. In other words, curb appeal is what you see on the outside of a home when you’re driving or walking past a rental.
Now, it’s important to improve curb appeal to grab prospective renters’ attention. After all, if a property looks cluttered or run-down from the outside, you probably don’t think the inside will look much better. That said, first impressions are everything when showing a rental property. If a renter doesn’t like the property from the outside, they may not even bother taking a tour of the inside.
Next, let’s go over some simple landscaping tips that you can use to boost your rental property’s curb appeal and prepare for leasing season.
7 Simple Spring Landscaping Tips to Boost Your Rental’s Curb Appeal
You’re not alone if you’re not sure where to start with your spring landscaping. It can be time-consuming to take care of multiple properties, especially if you don’t live near them. Luckily, services like property management in Philadelphia can help you maintain your property and keep things in order when you’re not there.
However, if you are wondering how you can prepare your rental properties for this Spring’s leasing season, here are a few tips to get you started.
- Clear Away Debris
- Address Winter Damage
- Eliminate Weeds and Dead Plants
- Fertilize Your Lawn
- Add Free Standing Planters
- Consider Low-Maintenance Plants
- Increase Entertainment Spaces
Clear Away Debris
One of the first steps to making your rental property look better from the outside is cleaning up the debris. If it snows where you live during the winter, it can cover a lot of the landscaping you did the year before.
That said, the moisture and snow can cause damage to the ground underneath. Additionally, the melting snow can uncover sticks and debris that accumulated throughout the fall and winter. So, cleaning up the debris is one way to start off your Spring landscaping for leasing season.
Address Winter Damage
Secondly, as stated above, the snow and cold air can cause damage to some outdoor elements such as grass, plants, trees, and mulch. So, once the snow melts and you spot any damages, don’t put off taking care of it. For example, dead grass or any dead plants around your home should be addressed, removed, or replaced.
Additionally, snow mold can happen during the winter months, creating a ring or patch on your grass. You can address this before winter or in early spring by using a lawn fungicide such as BioAdvanced Fungus Control.
Eliminate Weeds
Most likely, the first growth you’ll see in your front lawn during Spring is miscellaneous weeds. That said, it’s important to remove weeds early on before they reach full maturity. By taking care of pesky weeds early in the spring season, you’ll save yourself time later.
To eliminate weeds from your front lawn, pull from the root and dispose of them elsewhere. If you drop them in your garden or compost, they will likely sprout back up and cause you and your rental tenants more eyesore.
Fertilize Your Lawn
To make sure your lawn stays attractive and healthy, you should apply fertilizer a few times during the spring and summer months. As soon as the temperature hits around 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s time to start thinking about fertilizing your lawn.
Fertilizing early on in the year helps your yard stay healthy and can help grass establish deep, nourished root systems. Additionally, it can help with weed control. Fertilizing your yard in the Spring is an easy way to ensure healthy grass and a green lawn during leasing season.
Add Freestanding Planters
Freestanding planters are a straightforward way to spruce up your rental property’s walkway or front porch. Planters add a unique color and welcoming entryway that most prospective tenants appreciate while observing the outside of a rental property.
Additionally, planters are easy to maintain since they only need to be watered occasionally and occasionally pruned.
Consider Low-Maintenance Plants
Low-maintenance plants are another easy way to freshen up a rental property in the Spring. However, when choosing plants to incorporate, it’s important to be mindful of the climate in which your rentals are located.
Often, vendors that you purchase plants from can let you know details such as how much sunlight they need, how often you should water them, and how large they will get. It’s important to pay attention to these details to maintain the plants and keep your rental property looking good for the leasing season.
Increase Entertainment Spaces
Finally, most tenants want to live in a rental home accommodating outdoor entertainment. Although adding more entertainment space isn’t in every landlord’s budget, making small changes to the outside of your home can increase the overall value and grab the attention of prospective tenants.
That said, it’s not necessary to go too overboard with your outdoor entertainment space. Instead, consider adding a small patio and some outdoor seating options while using cost-effective materials.
How to Care for Your Property When You’re Not There
If you don’t live near your rental property, getting ready for spring may not be at the top of your list. However, spring landscaping for leasing season is crucial for running a successful rental business. Luckily, you don’t have to live near your rental to make sure it’s ready for new tenants.
A trusted property management team like Bay Property Management Group can make sure your rental property is taken care of all year round. If you are looking for management services in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Northern Virginia, Washington DC, or other surrounding counties, contact us today!
