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Discover 6 of our top picks for cost effective ways to improve your long-term rental ROI when getting your rental home ready for listing on the market.

6 Ways to Improve Your Rental Listing Price and ROI with Belong

What’s going to get you the best possible listing price and return on investment for your rental home? Livability. 

Sure, nice design and first impressions count when it comes to getting your home loved and lived in quickly. But it’s the practical upgrades that will improve your ROI long-term. If you want your residents to love your home as much as you do, making the home as comfortable as possible is key. 

Belong has worked with over 2,000 homeowners (and counting) to make sure they meet a high standard of safety and livability that reduces vacancy, increases rental values, and attracts dependable, long-term residents who want to call your place home.

In this article, we’ll take a look at six of Belong’s top picks for cost effective ways to improve your long-term rental ROI when getting your rental home ready for listing. 

There’s nothing more frustrating than a home that looks great but doesn’t function well. If something in your home isn’t working, it’s going to bother you every day. It’s a sure-fire way to make sure your residents will want to leave when the lease is up. 

Of course, functional doesn’t scream value add. Making sure the plumbing is working won’t yield you a higher rental rate. This is where you need to look beyond the bare-minimum of “not broken” and consider how a functionality upgrade might make your home a more desirable place to live. 

Let’s use the bathroom shower as an example. Is there anything better than a good hot shower at the end of a long day? This is one area that homeowners often value the most in their personal space, but neglect in rental homes. If your rental home has a leaky shower head that falls off its hinge all the time, it will drive your residents crazy. 

You could fix the leak to make it functional. Or, to boost the value of your home to your new residents, you could replace it with a more modern fixture with good water pressure and flow. This will help elevate the bathroom aesthetics, while giving your residents a great experience every day. Not to mention avoiding the repeated repair requests. 

If you partner with Belong PRO, we’ll suggest some functional upgrades that will improve the resident experience and can attract a premium rental price for your home on our network. 

Read More: How Belong Inspections Reduce Vacancy and Prepare Your Home For New Residents

People rent homes because they have a practical need for somewhere to live. But a decision to spend more is often more emotional. A home that feels light and bright has the power to lift your mood. They look great in photos and feel good to walk through during tours. 

When new homeowners join Belong, we often recommend giving their rental homes a fresh coat of paint in a neutral color. Not only does it make the home appear bigger and brighter, it’s a simple and cost-effective way to make a rental home look updated. 

Upgrading old and outdated light fixtures is another great way to create a nice light ambiance in the home. A well-lit home is inviting and shows you have nothing to hide! 

You can even create the illusion of more square footage with light tricks. Ditch heavy drapes in favor of shutters or blinds that let more light in. Install a mirror or two to increase the visual size of rooms. 

Keeping a strong return on investment also means protecting yourself against costly problems such as structural damage, safety hazards, and legal liability. 

Rental homes in the US have what’s known as an ‘implied warranty of habitability’. If your house becomes unsafe or unliveable and you don’t take action, your residents may have a legal right to stop paying rent, move out without notice, or even sue you. 

Indoor air quality problems such as mold, radon, and lead

Security to minimize the risk of crime against residents in your home

If you partner with Belong PRO, we’ll give your rental home a full safety inspection. This will get you off to a good start with your new residents and save you costly headaches down the road when things left unchecked would start to break down. We even offer rental home insurance to protect against unexpected damage. 

No one is going to pay top dollar for a home that isn’t clean. Just as a great first impression can lift a home’s appeal, things like dirty carpets, scratched up flooring and heavy scuff marks on the wall can work against you. A professional clean might not increase the price of your listing, but it won’t detract from it like listing an unclean home could. 

Belong also recommends having a no-smoking policy in your rental home. This will protect the rental value of your home by avoiding the staining and smell of nicotine that seeps into the paint work of houses. 

A clever way to increase the value of your rental home long-term is to reduce the running costs and carbon footprint for your future residents. Energy-efficient homes cost less to run which makes them more attractive to applicants — reducing vacancies and attracting more rent than a non-efficient home. 

Sustainability is increasingly important to Millennial and Gen Z renters, with research already suggesting that 61% of renters would pay more each month in rent for an eco-friendly apartment. Single-family homes cost more to run than apartment rentals and we anticipate that in future, more sustainable rental homes will have the upper-hand on competing homes in their neighborhood. 

Read More: 7 Cost-Effective Ways To Make Your Rental Home Sustainable in 2023

The weeds popping up through the cracks in your driveway may not bother you, but this can be a signal to potential renters that your home hasn’t been occupied or cared for in a while. Before listing your home, give the yard a tidy up. You should make a plan for keeping it that way. The outside of homes need regular maintenance to keep them in top shape — things like mowing lawns and clearing gutters. Decide if this is something you want to include in your rental as a service, or if residents need to take responsibility for it, so details can be included in the lease. 

Belong is not a traditional property management company. We do things differently to help people achieve financial freedom through real estate, on their own terms. 

With Belong PRO, we’ll partner with you to get your home the best price, guarantee your rent, and care for it the way you would. Never worry about bad residents, late rent, cost blowouts, or 2am phone calls ever again. 

Visit our homeowner's page to find out more about how our services are helping people to ditch Seattle Property Management, Redmond Property Management, Oakland Property Management, and more.

8 tips on how to maximize your rental income, guarantee your cash flow, and get more deductions for each tax season.

8 Ways Self-Managing Rental Owners Can Maximize and Protect Their Cash Flow

When your home becomes a rental, do you treat it like a business or an investment? The answer is a little of both. Turning your home into a long-term rental will change your financial situation overnight. Especially when you take on the role of DIY property manager, managing your rental home will become a side hustle. 

If you’re looking at setting up your accounting and bookkeeping for the first time, check out this simple guide. For pointers on how to maximize your rental income, guarantee your cash flow, and get more deductions during tax season — keeping reading for the answers. 

This article will highlight eight tips on how to manage your rental income and expenses as a self-managed rental owner. 

Keeping rental income and expenses separate from personal finances will make it easier to manage your cash flow and tax records.



Tracking the time you spend on property management tasks can improve your tax deductions and allow you to deduct losses against other income.



Setting long-term goals will make financial planning easier, helping you to achieve bigger objectives such as retirement planning or paying off a mortgage sooner.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information for rental homeowners and should not replace personalized financial planning. Please consult an accountant or tax professional for advice tailored to your personal financial situation. 

8 financial tips for DIY rental property managers 

1. Establish separate bank accounts for your rental home

When you put your home on the rental market, it’s time to split it off from your personal finances. That means a fresh bank account for all income and expenses. This will provide clarity on your cash flow, simplify your record keeping (especially during tax season) and make reconciliation much easier.

If you buy another investment property or inherit a house that you rent out, be sure to repeat this process and open a new account for each home to avoid confusion in your accounting.

Chasing down rent is one of the hardest tasks when managing your own rental home. If your residents are late with payments, your cash flow will fall out of sync. Without stable income, you could fall short on your own financial obligations, putting you further behind every month. 

It's important to be flexible and work out the best payment options and schedules for your residents, making it as easy as possible to meet their obligations. If they get paid monthly, a monthly rent schedule should be easy to stick to. But if they get paid weekly or fortnightly, this may put them behind in those tricky 5-week months. 


Don't rely on cash and cheques, investing in a secure payment platform that is designed for rent payments to reduce fraud. 

Pro Tip: If rent collection is becoming an issue, try Belong PRO. We'll find you people that will love and care for your home and guarantee that rent is paid like clockwork, no matter when we receive it. 

Calculating cash flow on a rental property isn’t quite as simple as the amount you earn in rental income. Nor is it as straightforward as rental income, less your mortgage repayments. To do an accurate rental property cash flow analysis, you’ll need to account for:

Extra income for any services or storage provided

The impact of vacancies on your total income

Operating expenses such as maintenance costs, property taxes, insurance, HOA fees and paying professionals such as contractors and accountants

Any debt or financial liabilities such as mortgage repayments and loans


This cash flow analysis should be kept on a spreadsheet and updated in line with actual expenses, helping you to budget and track your cash flow. 

Read More: How To Do An Accurate Rental Property Cash Flow Analysis

4. Set a budget that includes emergency funds

Do you have a rainy day fund for the unexpected? What about improvements to the home such as replacing an aging hot water heater or upgrading the backyard to attract a higher rental rate? Having extra money in your budget could help you achieve your financial goals sooner and will make sure that unexpected costs don’t derail your personal household budget. 

Pro Tip: If the cost of living is making it too hard to save extra cash, Belong can help there too. We give homeowners the option to spread their rental home costs like maintenance and insurance premiums over the term of their lease. Learn more here.  

5. Set long-term financial goals for your rental home

A cash flow analysis and budget are great for staying on top of your income and expenses. But what about achieving long term goals? Do you need positive cash flow or are you using negative gearing to reduce a tax liability?

If you want to maximize your rental income, start by setting goals for what you’re looking to achieve. Having a clear view of the outcome will make it easier to create a financial plan that helps you achieve them. Even if you are an ‘accidental landlord’ and didn’t set out to become a real estate investor, the right goals could help you pay off your home sooner or work toward your retirement. 

Let’s say for example your goal is to increase your monthly cash flow. Raising the rent could be a simple solution, but a higher price could also increase your vacancy rate and turnover. 

You could visit your budget and cut costs, or you could research your area to see what amenities yield a higher rent. Making cost-effective improvements may cost money now, but help you to achieve longer term goals.

Revisit financial goals whenever you are setting a new budget or making big decisions about your home to ensure they align with your long-term vision. 

6. Don’t leave tax preparation to the last minute

Even if you decide to hire an accountant, you’ll still need to get a handle on the kind of information you need to supply to them and the IRS under Schedule E (Form 1040). Don’t wait until March every year to start looking for your paperwork.

It’s also worth putting away a percentage of your rental income every month to pay tax. Like your income, this should be kept in a separate account so you’re not tempted to spend it.  

Income (minus your deducted expenses) from a rental property is taxed as ordinary income, so how much you earn from other income such as your salary will impact the tax bracket your rental income falls into. You can see the latest tax brackets for rental income here. 


7. Keep a log of the work you do on your rental home

On the subject of tax, it’s important to log all work activity you complete on your rental home, no matter how big or small. The IRS treats investments as passive activity, which affects your tax claims. Most homeowners managing their own rental home or even just making major decisions will qualify for “active participation”. This would qualify you to deduct up to $25,000 of passive losses. You can also be eligible for active participation if you hire a company like Belong to handle all the day-to-day work. 

If your rental home workload is quite high (~10 hours a week or over 500 hours a year), you might be classified as a real estate professional. This means you can offset any losses against other types of income and you won't be subject to the 3.8% tax that applies to net investment income. 

There are regulations, income thresholds and caps on participation and deductions so you will need to speak to an accountant to determine how you qualify. If you can’t show what work you’ve done on your rental home, this is going to be considerably harder so it’s best to keep records throughout the year.

Read More: The Ultimate Tax Prep Guide for Landlords

For self-managing rental home owners, get 8 tips on how to maximize your rental income, guarantee your cash flow, and get more deductions for each tax season.

Self-managing a rental home is challenging. Discover 7 issues you're likely to face and how to overcome them when taking a DIY approach to property management.

Top Challenges of Self-Managing a Rental Home (and How to Overcome Them)

Self-managing a rental home is not an easy road to passive income or long-term wealth creation. Most first-time rental owners confess it quickly became the second job they never asked for. But there are plenty of reasons why homeowners decide to roll up their sleeves and take control of their own rental property management. From the budget-conscious to the experienced and savvy hobbyists, DIY property management can be profitable if done well. 

If you’ve ever asked yourself “do I really need a property manager?” or even “how hard could it be?”, this article will get into the nitty gritty of navigating self management as a rental homeowner.

While you can avoid property management fees, successful self management of a rental home means taking on a lot of responsibility, legal liability, and work.



Over 7.7million households in the US are behind on their rent payments, so safe and effective rent collection is a must 



Local cities and jurisdictions have their own ordinances above standard housing laws, so do your research for your local area before putting your home on the rental market. 



Understanding your strengths and weaknesses as a property manager will help you determine what to take on yourself and when to outsource to professionals. 

What’s involved in managing your own rental property?

First things first, what does successful self-management look like for rental homeowners? It’s not as easy as listing your home online and kicking back while the cash rolls in. When you take on the responsibility of managing your own rental home, think of it like starting a business that you are in charge of. You’ll need to run your home like a business and keep tax documentation in the same way. 

Here is an idea of the kind of tasks you’ll be responsible for on an ongoing basis when you self-manage your own rental property:

Setting up accounting and bookkeeping to manage your rental income and tax

Getting up to speed with local laws and regulations including fair housing laws, tenant rights, eviction processes in your area, and safety regulations

Preparing your house for the rental market, including cleaning and repairs

Securing appropriate insurance coverage for liability, property damage, and potential rental income loss

Photographing and taking video of the home for marketing purposes

Analyzing your local rental market to determine a monthly rental price

Creating an online listing and marketing the home on popular rental websites

Running background checks and calling references for potential residents

Preparing and signing a lease agreement that complies with local rules and regulations

Arranging a move-in date and conducting a pre-entry inspection, keeping a record of the home’s condition

Collecting rent and tracking regular payments

Managing an ongoing relationship with your residents, including being responsive to maintenance and repair requests

Maintaining the property or hiring professional contractors

Arranging regular home inspections to check in with residents and track wear and tear vs damage

Financial management and ongoing documentation of all income, expenses, and communication for tax and compliance purposes

Renew lease at the end of the rental period or manage the move-out process

Inspect the home for wear and tear vs damage to assess and document if there is a security deposit claim

Return any owed security deposit, minus the cost of repairs or extra cleaning 

How time-consuming and challenging these tasks are will depend on the age and scale of your rental home, how far away you live from the property, the residents you choose and whether or not they are compliant with the lease conditions. 

Next we’ll jump into some of the more common challenges of self-management for rental owners. This will be followed by tips for more effective management of your rental home. 

What are the common challenges of self-managing a rental? (and how to prepare for them)

Taking the DIY approach to managing your rental home will come with plenty of ups and downs. Here are seven challenges you should be aware of and how you can address them for more effective self-management of your rental home. 

1. Self-managing a rental home is a drain on your time and energy 

Money is often a driving force behind why people choose to manage their own rental home. It’s common to do a budget and look at what savings could be made by cutting out property management fees. What people forget to account for is how much of their time and energy to budget for. If you have a full time job, live a long distance from the rental home, or are generally time-poor, you could end up spending more than you bargained for trying to find and piece together help when you need it. 

After the financial budget, look at a budget for your time. This will help you determine if you really have capacity to take on the job of property manager. Include allowances for travel time to and from the home, marketing (photography, creating listings, responding to applicants), legal compliance and paperwork, managing repairs and contractors, ongoing communication and inspections, accounting and bookkeeping, and turnover in the home. 

2. You’ll need to chase rent if residents fall behind with their payments

US Census data reported that as between March - May 2023, more than 7.7 million renters were behind on their rental payments, or roughly 13% of rented households. That means there are millions of homeowners with a dent in their cash flow, scrambling to cover expenses while chasing rental income. When you are the property owner and manager, the onus is on you to chase rent every month, which is not a challenge everyone is up for. 

Going the extra mile to do your due diligence on finding the right residents for your home can go a long way in protecting your cash flow. But nothing is foolproof. Anyone can fall on hard times and get behind on rent. Keep your lines of communication open and try to find the payment schedule that best fits into their budget. Be careful with platforms that aren't designed to handle rent too, such as PayPal and Venmo. 

If you're not wedded to self-management, Belong PRO offers guaranteed rent so you never have to think about your cash flow or chasing residents again. We'll pay you every month regardless of when the rent is received. Learn more here. 

3. Finding and vetting the right residents can be complicated

DIY background checks are tricky. You’ll need to get familiar with the Fair Housing Act if you're taking on this job. Next, establish a clear process for selection criteria that applies equally to every applicant and doesn’t discriminate against anyone based on things like race, religion, or family size. 

There are lots of provisions in local laws that can catch you off guard too. For example, the City of Seattle has a ‘First-in-Time ordinance’ that requires homeowners to offer a rental agreement to the first qualified applicant who provides a complete application. You can’t reject that applicant in favor of another with a better credit rating or no criminal history. 

What to do to improve your applicant vetting:

Start with the local city website in the area your rental home is located. Get up to speed with any ordinances in this jurisdiction and create a template or checklist for vetting that you can apply equally to every application. 

To get an accurate background check, look to tenant screening services that can vet rental and credit history. A property manager or alternative like Belong PRO also has the experience and resources to find and vet rental applicants more effectively. 

9 tips on how to reach your financial goals in 2023 through the Seattle rental market.

Is It Worth Owning a Rental Property in Seattle in 2023?

According to a recent Redfin analysis, a typical home in Seattle was 88% more expensive to buy than rent. So even though Seattle prices have started to cool, homeownership remains out of reach for many Seattleites. This will continue to fuel the need for long-term rentals, keeping vacancy rates low and demand high. 

If you own a home in Seattle or have received an inheritance, long-term renting could prove more lucrative than selling in 2023. Sale prices are coming back down to earth after recent records, but single family homes in Seattle consistently attract good rents and opportunities for consistent returns and appreciation. 

As for would-be investors, a drop in housing prices also isn’t going to put Seattle in the “affordable” category any time soon! But a lack of bargains doesn’t mean that there aren’t opportunities to be had for those who do their homework. Check out this video from investment experts, BiggerPockets, for a deeper dive on investing in the Seattle real estate market. 

Regardless of where you are in your rental home journey, this guide to the Seattle rental market will cover some of the ins and outs of setting the right price and maximizing your return on investment in the Emerald City. 

The topics we’ll cover in this article include:

How much rent should I charge for a home in Seattle?

What is the rental vacancy rate in Seattle in 2023? 

How can I get the best ROI for my rental home in Seattle?

There’s no hard and fast rule for working out what to charge for rent in Seattle. Even the old ‘1% rule’ (charging 1% of the home value for monthly rent) went out the window years ago when house prices skyrocketed. For example, it used to be said that a home valued at $310,000 could charge $3,100 per month.

The median listing price for homes in Seattle in June 2023 is $850,000. But charging $8,500 per month for a modest single family home would likely result in a rental income of zero while the home sat empty. At Belong we’ve seen average rental rates sit between $2,476-$3,305 per month for the Seattle market over 2022/early 2023. 

But determining a rental value should be unique to every home based on the amenities, neighborhood, and demand. When helping owners price their homes for the Seattle rental market, Belong uses technology to blend live market data with an all-important metric: real-time demand for your home. We can determine the right price for your home that will maximize rental income, while attracting the best people to care for your home in the long term. 

According to Belong partner, Zumper, median rents are up 3% YoY in June 2023, trending up from last month. The big winners are homeowners with larger 3-bedroom spaces that saw a 17% jump in rental pricing. The breakdown by housing type is:

Read More: How to Find the Sweet Spot of Rental Pricing For Your Seattle Home

Not technically. Rent control measures are governed at a state level and are currently prohibited in Washington. That said, there are rules in Seattle that don’t apply to the rest of the state. 

Seattle has recently introduced restrictions that prevent landlords from increasing rent during a lease. You can only increase housing costs when the rental agreement is monthly or up for renewal, which makes getting it right the first time all the more important. There are also more protections in place for evictions, which you can learn about here. 

Homeowners looking to fill vacancies for rentals in the regions of Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue should find new tenants quicker in 2023. According to the latest U.S. Census data for Q1 2023, rental vacancy rates in the Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue area are sitting at a mere 3.3%, down from 5.7% this time last year.

When you have a home on the Seattle rental market, you need to know how to optimize your investment. You should start with an accurate cash-flow analysis and then look at how you can increase your returns without blowing out your expenses. 

Here are 9 tips on how to best reach your financial goals through the Seattle rental market. 

1. List your home as a long-term rental for stability

While a per-night rate might be attractive, the profits may be negligible once you account for the extra work and fluctuation in vacancies. Long-term renting can offer good returns and more stability than short-term vacation rentals in Seattle. Vacation rentals are also subject to restrictions, taxes and licensing requirements in Seattle that don’t apply to homes with a longer lease agreement. 

Read More: Short-Term Rental vs. Long-Term Rental: The Pros and Cons

Nothing messes up your rental cash flow like not getting paid. Your expenses don’t stop when the rent checks do, so the best way to avoid falling behind is to stay in the green with guaranteed rent. With Belong, rent collection is something you’ll never have to worry about. All homeowners receive their rental payment at the same time every month, regardless of when the residents pay it. 

Read More: How Guaranteed Rent is Changing Property Management Forever

3. List your home in summer for Seattle’s peak rental demand

Belong data shows that August-September is the best time to attract top dollar for your property in Seattle, with average rents peaking at $3,305 per month. Zillow data shows a similar trend with median rents peaking at $2,450-$2,461 in the August/September period. 

Besides the gorgeous natural playground of the Puget Sound, Seattle is home to many desirable school districts, so single family rentals attract hot competition and rents in the lead-up to Semester 1 in September.  

Read More: Peak Cash Flow: How To Achieve The Best Rent By Listing In Summer 2023

4. Get great photos and video marketing for your home

First impressions count and will influence the demand for your Seattle rental home. To attract long-term residents, you need to get them to fall in love with your home and imagine themselves spending a year (or many years!) there. Grainy photos of a poorly-lit bathroom aren’t going to do that. It’s why Belong includes video marketing and virtual tours at no extra cost to our homeowners. 

Read More: Virtual Open Homes: 5 Tips For Offering Video Inspections For Rentals

5. Find a partner or property manager who can find great tenants

A common question from landlords is “can a property manager help you to find tenants faster?”. The short answer is yes. Screening credit scores and running background checks on every applicant is a big job and real estate companies have the skills, knowledge and resources needed to find tenants quickly. 

Is owning a rental property in Seattle worth it? Here are 9 tips for landlords on how to reach your financial goals in 2023 through the Seattle rental market.

Melanie Kershaw

Mel Kershaw is a Content Lead at Belong. With an extensive background working with technology companies including Eventbrite and Yelp, she’s always looking for ways to create educational and informative articles that simplifies tech and solves problems for her audience.

Dom Difurio

Tyler Infelise

Flora Fiorillo

Harrison Kelly

Andrea Vale

Dom Difurio

Tyler Infelise

Flora Fiorillo

Harrison Kelly

Andrea Vale