When I work with my contractor and vendors preparing a unit for rent, I use the term “rent ready” to identify what I want done to the unit. It means do what is necessary, make sure it is durable, and do it for the lowest cost possible. I want the unit to look nice, but last enough years to get my initial investment back. A hidden expense that I have eliminated slowly is carpeting; I no longer install carpeting in any of my units. The long-term cost of replacing carpet is more expensive, versus a durable laminated wood flooring, e.g., Pergo. I installed laminate flooring in a nice 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom house that I own. Four tenants and seven years later, the floors look like new. I also install tile in my kitchens and bathrooms; it’s more expensive, but long term, it’s a better investment. Tile not only looks better; it’s also more durable than Linoleum. I can’t tell you how many times Linoleum floors have been torn by tenants when they move the refrigerator or some piece of heavy furniture. Repairing the tear never looked right; we would have to replace the entire floor.
Sometimes it’s worthwhile to spend a little extra on an upgrade, and sometimes it’s not. I used to install nice curtains, but after a number of rentals I noticed the tenant either didn’t care or wanted different window coverings. So now, in all my units, I install new $5 - $10 blinds in each window. It looks nice, but I won’t be upset when the blinds are broken. Then I let the tenant take care of their own curtains.
I always keep extra paint stored in a garage with the room, unit address and date on the paint can. Sometimes I can avoid an entire room painting by spot-painting with the original paint. This tip alone has saved me lots of time and thousands of dollars.
I try to install or replace all plumbing faucets with single handles. The two-handle faucets tend to leak, and if you have a careless tenant they can strip the handle and cost you the expense of a plumbing call.
Finally, when I change locks I use the same key package for all the locks. This way I have one key to worry about. After ten units I strongly recommend you get a key lockbox to organize the number of keys you will have. I try my best to mark every key with the street name, not the full address, in case I lose the key. |
