Converting your home into a rental

Rentals are a big deal in urban centres today, so many property owners have moved and rented out their homes or apartments to earn a living. However, some people do not earn as expected because of the state of their houses. To earn reasonable money from your property, you need to make your house worth the money, here is how to modify and add value to your home when converting it into a rental.

Paint
According to Eliana Kemigisa, a freelance interior designer, paint is a fundamental thing on a house because it enhances beauty and attracts people’s attention.
“Painting adds value and comfort on the house, you need to have competent painters, reliable products and a good colour scheme to have a good look in your house,” she advises.

She adds that painting needs the art of blending various colours to create a good picture in the house, the living room needs cool colours such as blue, and white. The bedroom room should have colours that bring passion such as blue, and purple.
“When painting the exterior, put in mind the environment around you, don’t use green if you have a lot of trees around because the insects will not differentiate your house from the environment and this will cause insect invasion in your house, which dangerous to your tenants. Besides that, your house will not be outstanding from the environment,” she adds.

Lighting
Ensure your house has good lighting. Dorothy Nabatanzi, an interior designer at Rota services limited, Bugolobi, notes that: “Light has the power to make small rooms look bigger when blended well with paint especially white and mirrors by help of reflection.

Ceiling
The upper interior surface of a room should also be catered for. If your house has no ceiling, build one, and if you already have one, revamp it. Walter Ochola, a house broker, says, ceilings increase the rental value of a house. John Magezi, a builder, notes that the ceiling is one of the things that make the house look good
because they hide materials used to make the roof and also regulates heat in the house, especially during day.
“The best ceiling designs are
those with circular designs in the middle and adding a spotlight at the corner of the house,” he says.
He adds that in the bedroom, you have to put a ceiling depending on where the bed will face to create a uniform pattern and in here he says, you can blend a white colour with reddish or pinkish colours.
Nabatanzi adds that the best colour for the ceiling is white because it is a neutral colour and therefore will blend well with the rest of the colours used.
You can also use a simple plywood to cover the timber and colour it to give it beauty.

Window and doors
Besides airing and security, the doors and windows do a good job in beautifying the house and they will as well attract tenants. Upgrade the quality of your doors and windows. Doors and windows come in different designs and materials for example metal, wood and aluminum.
Magezi notes that the most trending windows and the ones that will make your house beautiful and classy. Gliding or sliding windows will give your doors and windows that classy look. They have a good locking system – all you have to do is slide them when opening or closing. He adds that for those who prefer burglar designs, choosing a good design would add extra beauty to the windows and doors as well as improve security.
“You need good looking doors that are durable and have normal shatters/panels because they do not get spoilt easily, a good door should be 3.5 meters wide on opening,” he says.

Floor
Kemigisa notes that a floor is the walking surface of a house; floors may be made out of wood, tiles, cement or any other material that can support the expected load. Floors do a lot in making the house beautiful. She says the best floor that would give your house beauty and comfort is the tiled one and since it is the trend, most people will settle for houses with tiles.

Landscape
The compound is the first thing people will see when they enter your house so it has to be attractive and clean.
Moses Mukasa, a landlord, notes that redesigning your garden can help your home get a new look, hence attract tenants because everyone would love to settle in a cool environment. You can consider adding beautiful boundaries, fences and paths, plants or pavers to give your home a beautiful scenery.

Security
Everyone needs security for their life and property so they will always look for places with good security. Patrick Akena, a security personnel, says you can deploy someone or use a dog to guard.

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