Have you ever thought about becoming a landlord? If you own a home with a finished basement, you could be sitting on a new income stream. As long as your basement meets a couple of requirements, it’s very likely that you could start renting it out and making some extra money. To help you get started, here are 5 projects to prepare your basement for renters.
Before You Get Started
Before you can call yourself a landlord and put a for rent sign up on your lawn, you need to make sure you’re legally allowed to. Be sure to check with your local municipality about the laws and regulations around renting out your basement. To do this, you can call 311 and ask to speak to the buildings department. Typically, you will require a minimum ceiling height of 6 feet five inches for the basement space to be considered livable. You will also need a separate entrance to the unit and egress windows in case of emergency. Once you’ve confirmed you can rent out your basement, get started with these projects to get it renter-ready.
1. Cleaning Crew
Whether your basement was previously used by your family or it hasn’t been used in some time, it’s important to give it a thorough cleaning. Since you will be making a steady income once you rent out the space, you should invest in hiring a professional cleaning company. They will bring the proper tools and equipment to get all the dust and dirt out of your basement. You may also want to invest in task-specific cleaning, such as carpet cleaners and window cleaners. Your basement suite will be much easier to rent out if it is fresh and clean.
2. Spruce Up with Paint
Once you’ve had your basement cleaned from top to bottom, the next step is to spruce it up with paint. White is an obvious choice for basements to help brighten them up, but don’t be afraid to add pops of colour. An accent wall in the bedroom or living room creates visual interest and sets your space apart from other rentals. You can always speak to your painting pro to get their expert opinion on what colours will work best in your space.
3. Plumbing Updates
Already having a three-piece bathroom in your basement will make turning your basement into a rental unit much easier. Since you already have the major bathroom pieces, you can focus on making it look nicer. Hire a plumber to install new faucets and a higher-end shower head. These little updates can help transform your bathroom without having to invest in a major renovation. For more tips about how to update your bathroom, read this article.
4. Light it Right
As you already know, basements are prone to being dark. Being below ground with little access to natural light means they need all the help they can get when it comes to lighting. Whether you need to install some pot lights or add outlets to the space, you must get a licensed electrician to do these tasks for you. Across Canada, it is every homeowner’s legal responsibility to only hire electricians who can provide proof of licensing for any and all electrical projects. Even if you’re doing a small project like adding dimmer switches for example, you must still hire a licensed electrician. You will be glad you invested in a licensed electrician to help brighten your basement.
5. Handyman for Final Touches
Need to hang some drapes? Install a shelf or two? Update all of the knobs on your kitchen cabinets? A handyman will happily help you with all of the final touches to get your unit renter-ready. If you will be renting out your unit already furnished, a handyman can also help you assemble furniture or stain old pieces to give them a new look. Whatever finishing touches you need, there’s a handyman for hire to help.
Tips on Becoming a Landlord
Now that your basement is all spruced up, you’re almost ready to rent it out. Becoming a landlord is a bit more involved than you might think. From finding qualified candidates to knowing how much to list your rental for, it can be a new and confusing world to enter. Luckily, there’s a website that can help you with all of that and more. For homeowners looking to become landlords, there’s Rhenti. Rhenti is your one-stop website to help you get as much renter awareness as possible by posting your listing on all the top listing sites. You can easily find all the information you need and do it from the comfort of your couch.
Just like HomeStars helps connect you with the right pro for your projects, Rhenti can help you connect with the right renter. If you’re seriously considering renting out your basement, take advantage of their helpful online marketing and rental leasing tools to get started. Investing in your home is always a good idea and making money off of those investments is even better. Use HomeStars to spruce up your basement and then head to Rhenti to help you start making money by renting out your new income property.
