Renovating your property is an important step for successful property owners. Renovations do a couple of things that are extraordinarily important: they make the property more attractive to potential tenants, and they increase the property’s value when it comes time to sell. This means you can get better clients, charge more for rent, and make more money off of the property when you’re done with it. This is all incredibly appealing, but it’s worth remembering that renovating costs money, so you want to pick the options that will cost you the least while providing the most value.

Outdoor renovations are important; the exterior of your property and its grounds are going to be the first thing prospective tenants or buyers will see. First, invest in the upkeep of your grounds; weed regularly, and keep the lawn and any other plant life looking healthy and fresh. This comes at very little cost and makes your home much more appealing. The National Post reports that good landscaping, including patios, trees, and pathing, can create a return on investment of 7% when selling. Similarly, exterior painting is absolutely key to attracting tenants to your property; a building with a cracked facade is going to look unappealing, no matter the neighborhood. Slap a fresh coat of paint on the exterior, make sure the front door pops, and you can be looking at an ROI upwards of 500% (depending on how bad the place looked prior to the paint). The nicer the place, the nicer the tenants.

When it comes to the interior, updating your floors can get you an ROI of close to 100%. Most folks are leery about carpet nowadays, and good tenants are often looking for solid hardwood, well worth the investment due to its durability. For a lower cost option, updating old fixtures and hardware on cabinets is an easy way of generating value; most fixture updates can be done without technical help, saving on installation costs. Like your exterior, a fresh coat of paint can do wonderful things to increase the quality of your potential tenants and add value to your home.

For a less flashy, but absolutely worthwhile investment, consider updating the insulation in your home to something like fiberglass. Here, the money gained isn’t through making the place more attractive to tenants; rather, you’ll save on the costs of heating and cooling. If these things are included in the rent, it makes a lot of sense to insulate and revel in the savings.

For commercial properties, there are a plethora of renovations residential owners might not consider; it truly depends on the nature of the businesses renting your space. Great commercial property management companies will be able to assess your tenancy and space in order to recommend cost-effective renovations you can conduct; because property managers have a vested interest in your success, and the data to show how similar renovations have paid off, you can trust them to suggest the best.