Writing Your Own Ticket
Something many don’t realize when it comes to apartment living is that you can actually make a little money collaterally through your relationship with the landlord. There are many situations in LA, as an example, where a responsible tenant may have their monthly cost of living reduced in exchange for a few property management services.
Likewise, there are things you can do with your existing apartment to make the burden of property maintenance less affecting for your landlord. They’re going to have to renovate the properties themselves eventually. If you do it for them, you may be able to strike a deal. The pivot point, then, is finding renovation solutions that don’t cost you much, but that your landlord values highly.
A great example of such a move might be the installation of brass lanterns; LanternAndScroll.com provides a: “…core collection of copper and brass lanterns [that] feature period reproductions of lighting manufactured in the Carolina and Charleston lantern style, available in gas or electric.” Installing lanterns like these can make a big impression, and your landlord may just love them.
Renovation of a leased property makes a lot of sense, but something else that’s worth considering is finding the kind of property you’d like to keep leasing regardless of whether or not you renovate it.
Fine Apartment Solutions
One such apartment family can be found at www.CarmelApartments.com/the-madrid-townhomes-flats-los-angeles-ca/ ; according to the site: “This beautiful, perfectly-manufactured community offers you life’s luxuries and a true sense of neighborhood. You’ll come home to a park-like setting with the feel of an urban oasis.”
This agency has multiple properties all over the country; for example, if you’re looking to rent a luxury apartment in mountain view, you can find: “…luxury apartments for rent…[that] offer the key ingredient to high end living and location. …. Combined with the amazing weather offered from such close proximity to the bay, there’s no better place to be.”
In terms of renovating a lease property, working with more luxurious properties can sometimes provide you better advantages. For example, if you’re renting a luxury place with a hot tub that’s ten years old, you might put a new one in on your own nickel—provided the landlord gives you a few months off on the lease.
If you’re going to make an arrangement like that work, you’ll need to show the landlord the kind of tubs you’ve got in mind. And this process can be expensive, so you’d better have an angle. Like, for example, a friend who sells the tubs and knows his store is about to fail, so is offering one almost for free.
Strategic Considerations
The key to renovating leased property is value expansion strategically employed. Granted, you don’t have to renovate strictly for the increase of value in your living situation, but it really makes sense to because you don’t own most apartments.
True, there are condominium arrangements where you buy the luxury quarters you occupy. You can even own your own small apartment in a building if you like—but for the most part, if you’re living this lifestyle, you’re renting. This means your monthly rent doesn’t go toward anything permanent. So if you’re going to renovate a place you may not continue to live in permanently, achieving value beyond the aesthetic requires strategy.
All that being said, when you can save someone hassle, that itself is often valuable enough to net you a discount or at the very least a monthly lease that’s less expensive. So think outside the box, consider your options, and do something that has advantages from multiple angles.
