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People these days are busy! Eating a formal dinner at a large family table is less common than it once was. As a result, traditional dining rooms are falling out of style. Many people now choose to eat at a small table in their kitchen or take dinner to the couch so they can watch their favourite streaming show while they eat.
Some renters may not ever use your unit’s dining room for its intended purpose, and others may see it as wasted space when they come to view your rental. Rather than letting a dining room turn into a potential drawback for potential renters, use your creativity to repurpose the space into a room they’ll see as an asset.
Creativity is key to the success of most real estate investors. While it may seem like a small touch, taking the time and effort to convert your dining area into a new type of room will show prospective renters you care about the experience they have at your property. Remodelling and converting a room could add value to the property, making it more attractive to potential buyers later on down the road.
But first, if you would like to learn how you can use your existing equity to update the dining room, click the link below for a free strategy call today.
Redefining the dining room
In older buildings, it was popular to put a dining room in every residential unit. The dining room is usually well-lit, with plenty of windows, and tend to be attached to the kitchen.
As tastes have changed, dining rooms have become less and less important in modern homes. Taking the time and effort necessary to convert a dining room into a specialty area allows you to create a unique rental property. There’s more room for living, working, exercising or whatever else your future tenants may need or want.
The way you choose to convert your dining room depends on the size of the room and the target demographic your rental property serves. Several popular conversion strategies exist. You might want to consider pursuing any of the following:
Build a bar area
If you’re hoping to rent to a professional, distinguished crowd, consider turning your property’s dining room into a bar area. Creating a place for residents to store their favourite bottles of vino, craft beer or spirits adds a very unique feature to your rental home. While you may think it’s expensive to convert a dining room to a bar, it can usually be done with some specialty shelving. Keep in mind, installing taps and lines isn’t a good idea! Stick to creating more of a social area.
Create an entertainment room
Who doesn’t love a space to play games, watch TV and bond with friends and family? Converting your property’s dining room into an entertainment room is a move sure to go over well with a broad, diverse audience. To accomplish this task, consider adding some wall-mounts for a TV and audio set. Built-in shelving and cozy, comfy flooring should finish the job.
Turn it into a home exercise center
For tenants active early in the morning, consider converting the dining room into a home exercise center. Use hard flooring and paint the walls a neutral colour. Then, make as much room as possible for the tenants’ exercise equipment. Consider opening up the doorways and walls to make it easier to move equipment in and out.
Convert to a children’s nursery/playroom
If you’re renting to a family-oriented crowd, consider converting the dining area into a children’s room, play area or nursery. Think about ways to make the room as soft and inviting as possible. Use warm colours for the walls, install a soft, durable flooring and place rubber protectors on sharp corners.
Install a library
There are few things more distinguished than a residence with a built-in library. If you’re looking for a creative way to set your rental home apart from the competition, consider installing wall-mounted shelving and a desk or study center where the dining room used to be. This is particularly popular if you plan on renting to students.
Make a guest room
If your dining room is relatively isolated or could be with a well-placed wall, it might be a candidate for a bedroom conversion. Adding another bedroom to the property allows you to command a higher rent, and opens it up to a larger tenant pool. Just make sure you’re not disrupting the flow of your floor plan.
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Re-purposing other areas of the home
Particularly if your investment property is an older home or building, there are likely other areas of the property you could re-purpose to serve tenants’ needs. Here are parts of the home you could renovate, remodel or convert to better meet the needs of your residents. Plus, they’ll add value to your rental property:
Attics
Attics are among the most notorious sources of wasted space in the home. But your attic doesn’t have to be a hot, stuffy place for dust-bunnies to congregate. With a little bit of hard work, you can make your home’s attic an exciting and inviting space.
The basement
Don’t let your investment property’s basement space go to waste. Finish it as an entertainment room, game area or even as a guest bedroom. It takes very little effort to successfully finish an underutilized basement. Try to think of the best way to remodel your basement to serve your target tenants.
Garages
These days, more and more people car-share and take advantage of public transportation. Consider ways to convert your garage space into areas better serving of modern renters’ needs. Lining a garage with storage shelves is often a wise choice.
Closets and nooks
Lots of homes and older multifamily buildings are chock-full of awkwardly-sized closets and nooks. You shouldn’t let these spaces go to waste. Instead, focus on ways you can incorporate amenities, like built-in storage, into otherwise underutilized areas of your property.
While converting a room of your rental property for a different use may not seem groundbreaking, it’s a small step you to show you care about the details. Investing time and money in making your rental property desirable will enhance its value as a rental and for resale. Start with the dining room and see what other areas are ripe for improvement.
Now, if you would like to learn how you can refinance your property to get the funds needed to update key rooms and features, click the link below for a free strategy call today.