5 Hardscaping Ideas to Add Value to Your Rental Property
The hard and fast rule of a rental property is to make prospective tenants want to grab yours as soon as they lay eyes on it. To illustrate, let’s consider this scenario. If you stand in front of two rental properties in Burbank: one with a neat, paved walkway to the front door, and another with a huge but wildly grown lawn, which one would you choose? You betcha the first one. Hardscapes not only sell, they also add value to your rental property in the long term. Check out these 5 hardscaping ideas to add value to your rental property this summer.
1. Patio
Living in Los Angeles, where the weather can get quite warm, a patio can be a nice time-off area for family and friends. Anything between 10X15 or 5X3 feet in concrete or wood creates a comfortable haven for the occupants of the house. You can choose to make it shaded or open; with or without a swing seat. Go on to Pinterest to get plenty of ideas!
2. Walkway
For some reason cobblestones give a walkway that inviting look that a concrete path would never do. If you’re not into cobblestone paving, go for the red or colored bricks. Nowadays, you can also get large, tiled slabs in stone and granite as well for walkways. Arrange them in neat rows, zigzag, semi-circular, or L-shape patterns – you literally have unlimited ways to decorate your walkway to give that luxurious look and add value to your rental property.
3. Retaining Wall
Rental properties or personal homes built on uneven terrains can greatly benefit from retaining walls. Undesirable slopes, connected woodlands, underground pests like moles, shrubs, multilevel landscapes etc. require retaining walls for practical as well as aesthetics reasons.
Heavy rainfall, soil erosion and wildly grown greenery can damage your property pretty fast if you don’t take measures to correct them soon. And how do you do it? You guessed it, by building a retaining wall around the area. Retaining walls help contain tree roots, weeds, erodible dirt, and course soil effectively.
That’s not all. You can also build retaining walls to give that extra beauty to your rental property by creating additional flowerbeds, water body, or seating area. Go on, start building now!
4. Water Body
There is no doubt a swimming pool can add value to your rental property manifolds, it is a highly expensive option. Unless you can afford it, the next best alternatives are a small fish pond, water fountain and waterfall. Listening to the soothing sound of a waterfall; looking at a pool of mesmeric koi fish swimming; or touching a gurgling water fountain, water bodies will attract tenants like magnets. They give a sense of peace for those who occupy the space and will rock your property for a long while.
5. Fire pit
A fire pit can double up as a barbeque pit as well as a cozy-up sitting area for the whole family in winter. For this hardscape idea to work, you’ll have to have a decent sized front yard or backyard. A circular or square stone fire pit with stone seats around it, will definitely make your yard eye-catching and attractive to prospective tenants. If budget is an issue then just set up the fire pit with patio chairs around it!
While there are tons of hardscape ideas out there, these five will help you get started in less time as well as budget. You can build them yourself if you’re DIY savvy, or you could refer to Los Angeles Property Management Group to get in touch with a professional contractor specializing in landscaping. We have partnered with a network of professional contractors for all types of construction so you’ll be sure to get the best skills to work on your hardscape ideas.
