When you’re renting out a property, you want to make it comfortable, but you also want to avoid the responsibility of excessive maintenance. Remember that anything you leave behind in your investment property for your tenants to use must be kept in full working order always.
We recommend that, where possible, you leave items like:
A dishwasher in the kitchen. If you have one, it will be an attractive feature for a tenant. We recommend that you leave the appliance manual for the tenants to refer to. Keep in mind that if the dishwasher becomes faulty, you will need to have it repaired.
A garden hose and sprinkler. If your investment property has a nice garden and lawn, and you live in a climate that requires additional watering of lawns and gardens, it’s useful to leave some watering devices behind. A cheap hose and simple sprinkler is sufficient, and also very affordable to replace if, over time and sun exposure, they deteriorate and break.
Basic Window Furnishings. You will, of course leave curtains and/or blinds on your windows to ensure privacy for your tenants. However, we suggest that you keep these furnishings simple, and not leave expensive elaborate layers of curtains or valances
Some Basic Essentials. If you want to make your new tenant feel right at home, some investors like to leave a few basic household items for their new tenants. Things like: a roll of toilet paper, a box of tissues, some dishwashing liquid and hand soap are all things that your tenants will likely need the moment they arrive at the empty property, but may forget to bring on their first trip to the property.