How to Make Efficient Apartment Plans: Landlord’s Digest

• Audience Targeting 
• Identifying Target Audience Desires 
• Marketing to Your Target Audience 
• Principles of Efficient Apartment Design

Over the years of renting apartments and gaining experience in the process, we’ve picked up some insights that we’d like to share with you. Specifically, we’d like to discuss how to design an efficient rental space to stand the test of time while creating a welcoming feel for everyone who walks through its doors. 

Firstly, consider the location, property type, and who you want to rent it to. For instance, if you have rental properties close to the university, your focus could be on students looking for reasonably priced and conveniently located places.

On the other hand, if you own properties in a suburban location, your target audience might be families searching for spacious and family-friendly homes. By narrowing down your target audience, you can tailor investments to meet your tenants’ specific needs and preferences.

Audience Targeting 

There are two approaches to audience targeting in rental marketing. You have two options: start with your home’s qualities and market them to the tenants who will value them the most, or start with your ideal tenant and promote the features of your property that will most appeal to them.

That said, here are three primary categories of audience targeting:

Example for Families:

Needs:

• Two+ bedrooms
• Garden
• Suitable park nearby
• Adequate schools
• Storage for buggies and scooters
• No (or few) stairs to the front door
• Furnished or unfurnished, as families usually have their own furniture

• Parking space

Benefits:

• Very stable; they usually stay long-term for children’s schooling.

Watch out:

• Young children or pets can cause damage.

Identifying Target Audience Desires 

1. Preferred Amenities 

Considering your target group’s age, income level, and specific demographic details, you can easily figure out their preferred apartment features. Namely, the number of rooms and bathrooms, whether they seek outdoor areas, or whether they would appreciate a modernized kitchen or home office.  

2. Location 

The location plays a major role in the decision-making process for numerous renters out there. For instance, college students usually prefer living near downtown, young families tend to seek proximity to daycares or top-notch school districts, and the list goes on. It’s all about understanding your target demographic—once you have a picture of who they are and what they value in a property location, it all falls into place effortlessly.

Once you’ve pinpointed your desired audience for rental properties, it’s necessary to adjust your property’s features and offerings to cater to their requirements. This means personalizing your properties’ amenities and features to match their preferences.

For example, if your target audience consists of working individuals, consider including contemporary gadgets, fast internet connection, and coworking workspaces. On the flip side, if families are your target market, concentrate on designing family-friendly facilities and close proximity to educational institutions and parks. This way, you will surely increase the appeal and desirability of your apartment.

Creating a target audience profile can help you tailor your property to their needs. Let’s say your property is a sixth-floor apartment without an elevator, and you want to rent it to a family; the stairs will turn away anyone using a stroller. Targeting young professionals and furnishing the apartment with modern furniture would be a better move. This will set your property apart from other comparable properties in the surrounding area.

In fact, understanding the nearby rental market will also help you choose which improvements to make, say, deciding between a new kitchen or just repainting the existing one.

Marketing to Your Target Audience 

Begin with learning two basic rules:

1. Be where your target audience is;

2. Advertise the apartment features your target audience prefers.

Marketing and advertising plans are essential for connecting with and captivating your desired audience. A property management company like Wunderflats could be a significant ally in achieving this goal. Leveraging our know-how on diverse marketing channels, online platforms, social media, and industry knowledge can assist you in maneuvering through the apartment promotion.

When it comes to renting out your apartment to the right audience and precisely meeting their preferences and needs, a property management agency can do wonders for you! For example, expertise to grab the interest of tenants and convey the exceptional features of your apartment using top-notch images and virtual walkthroughs, as well as keeping up with the market trends (regular market analysis to monitor rental rates, occupancy levels, and competitor offerings), are just a few ways partnering with a property management company can help you master your rental business.

By staying informed, you can make strategic decisions about marketing tactics, property upgrades, and rental pricing.

Principles of Efficient Apartment Design

The interior design of a rental property differs greatly from that of your own house. When furnishing a rental, you aim to design something that will look good on everyone while being reasonably priced, somewhat resilient, and durable.

Flooring

First, let’s address the obvious: installing pricey, light-colored carpets throughout your home is a big mistake that will not end well.

If you must have carpets, always choose deeper, darker colors and invest in quality underlay rather than pricey carpets. When redoing the flooring in a rental, choose sealed wood floors or wood-look Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring (LVP). These two have a high-end appearance that enlarges the sense of space.

Choose laminate flooring for the kitchen, bathroom, and hallways. As long as you obtain high-quality laminate, it shouldn’t rip or wear and is simple to clean.

Walls

Think neutral! For the kitchen and bathroom, choose a color scheme with white or very light grey tones and water-resistant eggshell or acrylic paint. 

Decorating your rental apartment in a single color will look great in photos for your listing, make a good impression on your tenants, and make maintenance hassle-free and straightforward. 

The top five neutral colors well-suited to rental properties are:

• White
• Beige
• Gray
• Ivory

• Cream

If you plan to turn your apartment into a long-term rental property, we recommend focusing on repairs, remodeling, and redecoration.

So, setting aside a budget upfront to manage your rental expenditures is absolutely necessary.

Choosing Affordable, Durable Materials

Quartz stands out as a choice for countertops not only due to its appealing aesthetics but also its excellent durability and low upkeep needs—making it ideal for rental properties. Compared to marble, quartz is nonporous and resistant to spills and stains; it’s durable and less prone to chips or cracks.

If you’re looking for a budget-friendly choice for countertops and other surfaces, acrylic is a great alternative. It’s available in a variety of colors and patterns and is known for its durability as well. 

Maximizing Space

In studio apartments, every inch of space counts. Consider trying interior design strategies to make your compact living area feel more open and inviting. Give efficiency and functionality a top priority. 

Choosing the Right Furniture

With the abundance of choices, it’s common to feel a bit overwhelmed. Whether you are searching for a couch, a side table, or a cozy bed, these suggestions will nudge you in the right direction. If you’re on a budget, don’t worry; there are plenty of ways to find furniture that doesn’t sacrifice quality or style.

Preparing for Renovations

A vacant property is a landlord’s worst enemy. So, landlords need to be skilled at attracting and retaining tenants.

Investing in the interests of your tenants is one of the finest methods of increasing your return on investment. There are various ways to make a property look nicer for tenants, from minor adjustments like replacing hardware to bigger tasks like demolishing walls. But which improvements raise a rental property’s worth the most?

Decorating an Efficiency Apartment

Balancing functionality and aesthetics is imperative when designing your living space. With guidance, it’s definitely achievable. Take a peek at these decorating suggestions from industry experts to ensure your apartment’s design stands out.

Integrating Smart Home Technology

More smart amenities and apartment security measures are available in apartments today than in the past. Just a few of the most popular designs in apartment amenities right now are smart access controls, smart locks, smart thermostats, etc.