Rental Property Maintenance: What Guests Notice Before They Step Inside

What Property Photos Can't Hide When A Guest Actually Arrives

At first, there is the dread that any owner faces with the arrival of a guest. This can happen when a guest pulls up to a property, gets out of their car, and looks around at the rental for the first time. By this time, that guest has already formed an impression of the listing for the property and been drawn to rent the place. 

Listing photos that have been professionally taken and appear amazing can still end up providing a really poor first impression of your home. Quality photos that appear perfect when your listing goes live are often shot on a good day. By good day, we mean on a nice day with good lighting, straight after you've cleaned and got everything looking perfect from top to bottom, possibly after you've made a few repairs to sort out any obvious scuffs or cracks to the walls, before any weeds have a chance to come back through the cracks in the drive or for loose pieces of fence to fall off the fence. 

By the time someone arrives for the viewing, the property may no longer look as polished as it did in the listing photos. 

The Gap Between the Listing and the Driveway

Property photography has gotten incredibly good. Most rentals today have professional shots that show clean interiors, tidy kitchens, and well-made beds. The problem is that photography compresses reality. A faded fascia board blends into the background. A stained concrete walkway reads as "neutral gray." Overgrown landscaping along the fence line barely registers when the camera is focused on the front door.

In person, none of that disappears. It registers immediately.

A guest's negative first impression creates a lasting negative view of your home. One guest reported that his negative first view of the home's exterior caused him to negatively focus on several imperfections throughout the home. His biggest complaint was a scuff on a wall, a sticky drawer, and several scratches on the hardwood flooring. He said he would have probably ignored these had he not been negatively focused from the exterior views of the home.

What Guests Actually Notice First

It's worth being specific here, because these details are easy to overlook when you're too close to a property.

• Walkway and driveway staining from rust, mildew, or long-term moisture buildup.

• Paint that's chalking or fading on trim, shutters, or the front door

• Overgrown edges around plant beds, along walkways and side walls of driveways where grass has begun to grow.

• Clogged gutters: Not all gutters are visible but those that are should be cleared regularly. Stains from water running down the siding of a home are also noticeable from a distance.

• Dead, cobbed covered and corroded outdoor fixtures; broken or missing steps, or a sliding gate.

As opposed to perfect, guests are not judging a property's exterior based on how it looks in photos. In fact, most of these exterior elements are not immediately apparent in photos and can go unnoticed for quite some time. However, once a guest arrives at the property, all of these exterior elements are immediately apparent. A guest arriving at a property after a long drive can make a strong first impression, either being extremely positive or immediately turning off the guest. A first impression sets the tone for the guest to use to judge the rest of their stay.

Why This Matters More Than Reviews Alone

Guest feedback, whether good or bad, is most useful if received immediately after the guest has left the rental. Wait until after the guest has left, and it is too late! Guest feedback and reviews become reactive after the fact, i.e. they are dealt with after the guest has already completed their stay. 

While feedback is important, waiting until a guest has left to try to please them in order to garner high ratings is a losing proposition. Damaging feedback such as the comment that the property "felt a little neglected" is just that, damage that is done. 

The better approach is to walk the property as if you are a guest! Pull up to the property across the street and take a long look at the entry as if you've never seen it before. Drive up to the driveway and take a long look at the walkway. How does it look? Don't forget to look at the gutters as well.

That kind of proactive approach is often what separates well-reviewed properties from the ones that constantly deal with avoidable complaints, which is why companies like Concept 360 Property Management prioritize regular property inspections..

Small Fixes, Real Difference

These sorts of issues with a home are not usually the sort to need extensive repairs, by and large they can be addressed by simple maintenance and can be done with tools you may already have around the house. The pressure washing of a walkway for example could take about a couple hours depending on the size of the area to be washed. You could repair the front door in a matter of an afternoon.

 Cutting back overgrown grass from edges of driveways and around buildings can take as little as an hour of work. In short there are many maintenance issues around homes that could be dealt with before they become larger problems and before they cause more damage.

By following the tips outlined for the upkeep of exterior surfaces, owners can prevent long term damage to their home caused by moisture as well as prevent structural problems. Also, the EPA notes that improving the exterior of a home can improve the indoor air quality as well.

Keeping up on all of the maintenance and details between guests will keep your property in top shape for renters. Consistency is the key.

Keep It Simple, Keep It Maintained

The bottom line is that all of the items in this list can be taken care of with some time and attention spent between guest arrivals. Many of the projects can be completed within a day or so of guest departure allowing for a great cleaning prior to the new guest's arrival. This can be referred to as routine property maintenance.