I want to renovate my apartment for use as a rental unit. I want it to look nice to command top dollar, but want to limit damage costs in case renters don’t take good care of the unit. Some choices, like use of quartz for the counters seem obvious. What other recommendations do you have for rental unit renos?
Lighting, especially high efficiency. Reduces maintenance costs and can make a huge difference in how all of your other upgrades look.
As an owner of several mid-to-higher end rentals, I would offer these things:
- Don’t skimp too much on cabinetry quality. Always use plywood-based cabinetry near wet areas in a kitchen or bath. Tenants mop and spill things, and it can seep up into the base cabinet framing. They also spill stuff on the counters and it drips down onto your base cabinet finished parts. And the sink may leak and plywood will hold out longer down there. You can upgrade to plywood for the base cabs, and then use the cheaper stuff for the uppers. Don’t go white either. Oak or cherry finishes work well to conceal imperfections.
- Use semi-gloss paint in the kitchens and baths. Make sure to caulk in the baths around tubs, etc.
- Install a larger than needed exhaust fan in the bathrooms, and link the switch on it to the lights in there so that the tenant is forced to turn it on when in there taking showers. Moisture is the enemy!
- Do not use stainless steel appliances if you can help it, although they do indeed attract top dollar.
- Put a higher quality disposer in there. Tenants are complete idiots when it comes to using them correctly. Educate them on proper use.
- Berber carpet works well because it hides imperfections for a longer time than plush carpet. But, lower quality Berber (like the Berber they sell at big box stores) can more easily get caught on something and run a thread. Berber cleans up easily with steam cleaning. Use a tan color, but not to dark.
- Upgrade your closet shelves to wood old-style shelving with solid steep hanger rods.
- For kitchen and bath flooring, and even living areas, consider a product such as CoreTec luxury vinyl plank, instead of tile. The stuff is amazing looking and waterproof. If you install it as floating floor, do not run it under cabinets. Tile looks nice, but your grout will not, and it may crack. Do not use particle board as an under-layer for vinyl plank. Use plywood instead. Particle board will swell up if water seeps in there. For a super cool look, you can run CoreTec horizontally or even diagonally as your back splash.
- If you have a wood burning fireplace, remove it/seal it off, or convert it to gas.
- Make sure you are using GFCI outlets in the wet locations.
Hope that helps!
The bathroom and kitchen remodel is the best upgrade for a rental unit. If its carpet, then new carpet. The painting isn’t really necessary since they will most likely paint anyways, unless its very bad.