MJ once sang, “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make a change.”
Well, the same goes for owners and landlords: If you want to increase the value of your rental property, take a look at the surrounding neighborhood and do what you can to improve it! Here are five tips from the Jeff Cook team on how you can be a better neighbor within your rental property community:
1. Join/organize a marsh sweep or neighborhood cleanup. Many Lowcountry neighborhoods are located on the marsh. Some may not be on the water, but could still use a good facelift. See what you can do about joining or organizing a trash pick-up event in the property area.
2. Let your inner landscaper loose. Is your rental property located in a neighborhood that could use some landscaping? Offer to plant flowers, spread pine straw, or grow a community garden that all neighbors can enjoy (including your tenants)!
3. Get social in person. Organize, attend, or volunteer at community events in the area like neighborhood association meetings, book clubs, or block parties so you can mingle with your tenants and their neighbors. Become a familiar face to these folks.
4. Stay social online. You may not live in the area where your rental property is located, but all you have to do to stay in-the-know on what’s going on in that community is monitor and participate in neighborhood groups on Facebook or Nextdoor (a fab app for all things neighborhood-related, by the way)!
5. Pencil it into your schedule. Sure, it may seem overwhelming to become heavily involved in a neighborhood in which you do not live. But don’t forget: penciling in just one day a week (or one week a month) to devote time to your rental property neighborhood could improve your property’s value immensely.