Keeping Up Appearances
This may be a silly question, but here goes. We have bought our first property. We are currently scraping 5+ layers of wallpaper/paint off of the three small bedrooms and painting. The majority of the house has panneling some in really good shape, some not. I have painted the panelling in the kitchen.
We are planning to hold this property and rent it. This was my grandmothers house and so my parents are sort of involved (always asking how it is going) My main question is I am trying to make it look as good as possible. I make all of my own curtians and want to replace the ones in the house. My parents keep harping on us to not spend a lot of money because the people renting it wont appreciate all of the hard work we did. We have put a total of about 400 in it so far (not too much if you ask me).
Is it your experience that your renters really abuse your properties or if you properly screen them and get decent people do they respect your things and keep things relatively clean etc.
Sorry for rambling.
Thanks
Kim
Kim- Your parents are exactly right. Do not treat this like it was your home you would live in. As a rental you want it to look nice, be clean and secure. You also want to spend as little as possible and receive as much rent as possible. Good luck
This is obviously going to depend on your market but a clean place with working systems (electric, plumbing etc) will rent for sure. Space is important as well. A one bedroom I rent has dated cabinets, tiling and panelling but its a good size for the price, applicants have always been impressed with that. The last renter left the place in relatively good condition. Except for a stain on the carpet which they paid for the unit was clean and ready to go. It is definitely worth it to screen well.
I would not waste too much money on cosmetic updates if everthing is at least clean and not broken.