The rental market at the Jersey Shore has become extremely competitive.  Families are looking for CLEAN, WELL EQUIPPED properties with as many amenities as possible.  As a Landlord, you must meet or exceed the demands of your Tenants.  Any improvement in condition or amenity will increase the rental value of your property.  Click here for Sea Isle City "Merchants & Local Businesses" (Blue Phone Book - Handyman, Plumbers, Electricians, Appliance Repair...).


1. Telephone - Supply a phone with a phone block.  What happens if grandmom, who doesn't have a cell phone, is home alone, maybe with small grandchildren, and there is a fire?  Could you, the property owner, be liable?
2. TV with Cable. If more than one bedroom, you should have more than one tv. Provide 2nd tier cable service. The cost is low and is something often requested by tenants.  You may be surprised by how much time a family will use the TV/DVD/VCR when on vacation at the Jersey Shore.  This is an important amenity.  Note: Check with Comcast Cable for February 2009 digital upgrade where your TV's will have to be replaced with digital TV's or you will have purchase conveter boxes for each TV. I have heard the convertor boxes are about $60.00 each.  Check out www.dtv.gov for more information.
3. DVDs & VCRs now cost under $200 and more and more owners provide them. Also supply a few movies, particularly ones for children for rainy days.
4. Deck Furniture - is inexpensive. An inexpensive table and 6-8 chairs will cost less than $200. Having a four bedroom unit with 4 deck chairs is inviting the tenant to bring living room or dining room chairs onto the deck/porch.
5. Provide a BBQ grille with a full tank of gas for their use.  Clean the grille after each tenant. Tenants do not tend to clean grilles.
6. Dining and living room chairs - Does your unit sleep 10 and feed 6? Be sure you provide ample places for the tenant to sit and eat. Inexpensive folding chairs are one solution.
7. Dishes, Pots, Pans, Utensils, tableware, etc. Look them over before the summer. Make sure there are enough for the number of persons who will occupy your unit.
8. Small Appliances - Microwave oven, toaster oven, mixers, blender, stereo, etc. The items you would want for yourself.
9. Appliances - Make sure all of your appliances work as intended.  If you need to hold the door shut and turn the knob to get it to work, then it is time to professionally fix it or replace that appliance.  Things should work as designed.  Don't make it an inconvience for a tenant because they will complain and may want money back from YOU the property owner.  DISHWASHER TIP - Becasue of the "soft" water in Sea Isle City, DO NOT USE "soap capulets" in the dishwasher, this type of soap foams up and causes the dishwasher to leak around the door seal.
10. Beach Tags - If you sleep 8-10, provide eight beach tags along with a note to replace ones that are lost.
11. Beach Chairs - Provide 3-4 beach chairs. $15.00 at Kmart.
12. Ceiling Fans - Are a must.  Also clean them in the Spring & Fall.  Tenants always notice dirty fans when previewing the property during the winter and always ask if they will be cleaned before the rental season.  Check them durning the summer and clean them as tenants who arrive in August notice dirty fans and many times want them cleaned at the property owners expense.
13. Trash Containers - Have ample large trash containers outside - a couple of extra in case the trash collection is missed.  Sea Isle City Ordinance 18-2.4 requires a property owner to provide one trash can for each two people occupying the unit plus three recycling containers.  If your property sleeps 10, the property should have 5 trash cans plus 3 recycling containers.  Have a larger size container in the kitchen for convenience. Post the day during the week when trash is picked up along with rules for recycling. Leave plenty of bags.
14. A fold-away cot kept in one of the bedroom closets will keep people from sleeping on the sofa.
15. A supply of Board Games, cards, paperbacks, and magazines will be used and appreciated.
16. Provide a Supply of: light bulbs, batteries for the remote controls, etc will be used and appreciated.  You don't want to have to pay an electrician or handyman to replace a light bulb in your bedroom lamp.  Tenants do complain about light bulbs being out and will replace them if they have the correct bulb.   Make sure all your exterior lights work (entryway, driveway, deck/porch lights).   You don't want a liability issue if someone falls because the light didn't work.
17. Cleaning Supplies - If you expect the people to clean, leave them plenty to clean with. Good mops, brooms, buckets, sponges, detergents, windex, etc. A good vacuum with spare bags and spare belts will save your rugs much wear and tear.  Tenants can't vacuum if the belt breaks.
18. Door Locks - Lube all entryway and garage door locks with WD-40 at least every Spring and Fall.  It is recommended that all the door locks are lubed every month during the season.  Keep a can of WD-40 in the house that anyone can get to all the time.  It is cheaper for a can of WD-40 than to replace a lock where a key gets broken off in.  Also make sure the locks are in good working order.
19. Shower Curtain Liners - Have a spare shower curtain in the house for each shower in the house.   Tenants do complain about moldy shower curtain liners.  Plan on replacing the shower curtains of every shower in the house the end of July every summer.
20. Do you have an enclosed outside shower? Is the outside shower clean and in good working order (plumbing, the walls & door)? Do you provide a small hose? 
21. Remove all of your personal items - they tend to get in the way, get broken and appear to clutter.
22. Maintenance Items - Professionally clean your carpets every Fall.  Have the landscaping regularly attended to - weeded, etc. Ripped screens repaired as needed.  Clean your screens every Fall and bring them into the house for the winter as they will hold up better. Check decks for holes, cracks, etc. and spray on a wood preserver every September.  Service your air conditioning system & replace the air filter every spring as it can save you expensive service calls in the summer months and not get a tenant irate and looking for money back from you.  Purchase a service contract, it's worth the cost.  Provide a plunger for each bathroom.  You don't need a $100.00 bill from a plumber to plunge a toilet during the summer when you could have bought a $15.00 plunger at Home Depot.
23. Leave specific instructions and supplies for granite counters, hardwood floors, etc.  Leave directions for audio/visual equipment (explain how YOUR tv/vcr/dvd are operated).  You may want to leave a kindly worded set of instructions of how you would like your property left at the end of your tenants stay.  Your expectations should not be high, but you should ask counters to be wiped clean, trash, recycles and personal items removed, refrigerator emptied out.
24. Leave instructions of where your circuit breaker box is and how to reset the air conditioner breaker.
25. Always check your unit between rentals.
26. Take a real good look at your unit. Open the front door, walk in, take a look around as if you were a tenant and try to be as critical as possible. Look at the rugs for wear, color, cleanliness. Look at the walls, doors and trim - Do they need paint? Is the color from the 70's? What about the furniture - does it match? is it appealing? Does it need to be replaced? Are the bedspreads, pillow covers, pillows, throw rugs, etc in good condition? If you were fussy would you rent your unit? You have to be brutally honest with yourself in this area.
27. Vents / Windows / Window Sills / Baseboards - Have your air conditioner/heater vents, windows, window sills and baseboards cleaned from dust.  Tenants do complain about these areas being dirty as they are very visible when walking through the house and this makes them feel the house is dirty.  If vents are rusty, paint or replace them.
28. Do you make it easy for agents to rent your property? Does the agent have to do handstands to confirm the rental with you? Are you hard to reach on the phone? Do you book rentals yourself without confirming it with your agent(s) first? Nothing is more embarrassing and frustrating for an agent than booking a rental and having the owner call him back two days later and telling him that he has already rented it and didn’t call. This can leave a lasting negative impression from everyones standpoint.
29. Security Deposits - Want to make your tenant really mad? Take $15-25 out of their security deposit for some minor item after they just paid $2,000 to rent your property for one week. If you are paying a cleaning service to come in and clean after your tenants leave - let them clean. Don’t be so anxious to take a tenant's security deposit because it wasn’t left as clean as the cleaner would like. Also, as a property owner, you need to expect wear and tear on the property, it's furnishings, carpets, walls, appliances, grille... This you will have to chalk up as a cost of doing business.
30. Rates - Do you really know what you should be charging based on your competition? If you raise your rent $300 a week or don't reduce it $300 where needed and lose a $2,000 rental, what have you gained? The lost income from an empty rental week can never be recaptured and can’t be made up by raising the rates. This will only create more empty weeks. There are far too many open units that are simply overpriced and will most likely sit empty. It makes no sense.
31. Feed-back Forms are provided to renters to fill out and drop off with their key when they check out. This is an excellent opportunity to find out what your tenants think about your property and encourage them to make some suggestions on how you can make it more comfortable for them in the future. Try it, it works! 
32. Fall Prep - Most prospective Tenants preview houses during the off season.  You want to have your rental property looking good for these customers.
    - Fall cleaning - Another good thorough post-season cleaning.
    - Carpet cleaning - Be objective when you inspect your floors.
    - Painting - Will a touch up do?
    - Winterize - Turn off outside showers & hoses; November 1st?
    - Rental schedule - Time to get the property on the market again for the following summer.    Submit rates early October for the following summer.  The earlier the rates are submitted, usually the better the booking of rentals go for a property owner (more exposure on the rental market - more your property is shown or seen).  A good percentage of Tenants do complete leases in the Fall for the following summer.
    

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Email:  Paul@iLoveSeaisle.com