With COVID-19 causing us all to spend more time at home, how we use our indoor spaces has never been more important. If you have extra space in your rental, thinking about how you could adapt it for the many changes and challenges your tenants will be facing will really help your property stand out.
Home Office
With a huge shift to working from home, using any extra space in your rental to make a clear workspace is a great move. A home office allows you to draw the line between living and working zones, allowing your tenants to focus on work without having to sit at the kitchen table or in bed.
Additionally, it’s a great option if your tenants have kids and need a quiet space to take video calls away from the young ones. It doesn’t even have to be a whole room – a desk and chair in the corner of a living room will do the trick.
Learning Space/Nursery
As parents have discovered, home-schooling during a pandemic is challenging. It’s made much harder by having to teach kids, or set up their video calls with teachers while sitting around a cramped kitchen counter!
Using any extra space you have in your rental to designate a learning space – with lower tables or desks, chairs, and easy portable storage – will not only help your tenant’s kids focus, but it will also give them a space they can call their own, and allow parents to work in (relative) peace. Alternatively, renters with toddlers could use extra space as a nursery, with soft toys and bean bags.
Home Gym
In an anxious time, the benefits of exercise cannot be understated, with countless studies showing the positive effect of regular exercise on mood and health. If going to the gym or exercising outside isn’t that attractive right now, why not use any extra space in your rental as a home gym?
A set place to roll out a yoga mat and rest dumbbells could help motivate and keep your tenants moving at home.
A Cozy Nook
Creating a calm space for your renters to relax and unwind beyond normal living spaces will help your property stand out. At a time when we may not be leaving the house that often, using any extra space you have to create a cozy nook that acts as a mini-sanctuary will help your tenants feel at home.
If you have an accessible attic, consider converting it into a little escape – or repurpose part of a room with a bay window to make a peaceful area that’s a separate space to unwind.
A Bar
If your renters are finding it more challenging to get to the bar, bring the bar to them! Installing a home bar in any extra space you have makes the house feel alive and sociable, and is bound to be an exciting feature, both at dinner parties and on Friday night video calls with friends.
It can be as simple as a drinks cabinet in the corner of a pre-existing room, or if you have more space to spare, devoting a room to a full-scale bar experience – or even combining it with a more standard living space – is a great addition to any house.
If you’re looking for help with your rental property, PMI San Francisco is here for you. Our experienced team of property managers is here to take all those time-consuming landlord tasks off your hands, so all you’ll have to do is wait for the monthly rent cheque. Get in touch here.
