Spending Money to Help Renters Feel at Home

My husband and I are back in North Carolina for the weekend. While I spent the day writing software, my hubby was busy checking off ‘to-dos’ from our accumulating list. He wrapped up a bunch of tasks in the pool house this morning and early this evening we bleached, washed and ironed all of the curtains. I thought we’d have to purchase all new curtains this season, (renters get food and dirt in places I just don’t understand), but a cup of bleach made everything look like new.

After a thorough inspection we’ve decided to purchase a number of big ticket items before the rental season begins. Most importantly we need a new kitchen table and a new sofa. Tomorrow we’ll head out in search of affordable, renter-friendly furniture. Unfortunately, renters often sit on the couch with wet bathing suits and over time the furniture tends to get that ‘wet dog’ smell. For awhile you can use a carpet cleaner to get the stink out, but eventually the smell saturates into the fabric.

We’ll also plunk down some money on a new dishwasher. Since we purchased the house we’ve replaced just about every kitchen appliance. We bought a stove, refrigerator, blender, toaster, coffee maker and tomorrow we’ll close out the new appliances by buying a new dishwasher.

We’ll also fork over some money to paint the entryway into our home. We typically paint everything ourselves, but the ceiling is just too high for us to reach.

Deciding how to spend money on a beach rental home can be difficult. We have to weigh the desire to make renters comfortable and happy, with the knowledge that some renters will be downright abusive no matter what we buy.

I actually have no idea how much we’ll spend tomorrow, but I hope that we’ll make back every dollar by maintaining a beach house that renters want to revisit time and time again.

4 thoughts on “Spending Money to Help Renters Feel at Home”

  1. EW, to the sitting on the couch in a wet bathing suit. that’s just gross, for both the person and the furniture!

    here’s hoping you find deals on all your purchases!

    Reply
  2. I’m interested to know what type of sofa u ended up going with & what your budget is? We currently need one for our rental, and have a pool so I imagine we will deal with the same wet bathing suit issue. I personally hate leather sofas (or faux leather) but am thinking it might be the best option- what r ur thoughts?

    Reply
    • We purchased an IKEA couch. The Ektorp because it has replaceable covers. We wash them when we need to and when they become too stained we simply buy a brand new cover and it looks as good as the day we bought it. It isn’t beautiful but it does the trick. We also purchased wicker furniture with cushions. So far its worked for us. Good luck with your search!

      Reply

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