Just found this article over at Minnesota Investment Real Estate blog written by fellow investor Scott Ficek. Love his ideas but realized that many would not work here in Texas because, strangely enough, Minnesota has snow and we have hurricanes.

So here’s a list of 7 ways to generate more income from single family homes Gulf Coast Edition along with an estimate based on Brz experience of how much each will add to rent value.

1) Offer to allow pets on a case by case basis with a big pet deposit and $25/month/pet.

2) Challenge your property taxes. In Texas, with a hefty 3% property tax on non-homestead property this is just about mandatory, especially when county officials decide to raise revenue by artificially inflating home values. Every. Stinkin’. Year.

3) Install ceiling fans. In every room. Make sure they don’t squeak. $15/month or so.

4) Cover windows with solar screens. Point them out when showing the house because most won’t notice otherwise but seem duly impressed once they do. $10-15/month. Blowing an extra six inches of cellulose in the attic doesn’t cost much and will up that to about $25/month total.

5) Charge extra for the shed in the backyard. We don’t, but others we know have (by claiming they use it for ‘business’ but will clean it out for an extra $25/month)

6) Upgrade the flooring to something wood-like…vinyl planks, laminate or the real thing. Tenants around here will pay more for this even in lower income rent homes. Maybe it’s a regional thing, but nobody likes someone else’s dirty carpet. $15-$50/month depending on size of home.

7) Offer hurricane insurance. Charge $200/month to guarantee hurricane-free lease term. Cross fingers and pray. Alot.

Your Mileage May Vary, Etc. Etc

Of course lipstick on a pig and all that. Ceiling fans in a crack house will not raise the rent. And the cost of upgrades has to be weighed against length of time to recover costs, blah, blah. And implementing all 7 will not raise the rent by $340. There’s only so much you can charge for any given home based on school district, neighborhood, market conditions and other stuff.

Right about now, I’d trade Ike for a little snow, thanks much.

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Tags: cashflow, increasing cashflow, increasing rental income, real estate investments, single family homes