Posted by By Paul Branton, Director of Investor Services for Home Rental Services
In my last post I shared the story about helping a client acquire his fifth investment property. Since then, we have completed numerous renovations to make the property ready for its first tenants. I thought I’d share that story with you today as kind of sequel of sorts!
When we put this house under contract and did the inspections, we came up with a renovation budget of at least $25k and hopefully no more than $40k. We also had a projected rental range of $2,795-$3,295, depending upon which renovations were completed. As fate and a bit of experience would have it, the quotes came in just under $40k for “everything” and we scaled it back to $35k in order to prioritize the items that would increase the rent, lower vacancy and lessen liability concerns.
Here are some of things we did in this renovation project:
Replaced sidewalk, Added front step, Buried downspout and mudjacked the driveway:
Front Walk Before/After
Sadly this downspout setup is quite common and has become a “pet peeve” of mine over the years. As you can see, when it rains, its dumping water directly on the front walk and the corner where the walk, driveway and garage floor connect. This setup presents liability issues due to the wet and uneven surface and also leads to the driveway and walkway settling over time.
Front Step Before/After
New Carpeting and Paint:
Stairs Before/After
What makes a bigger impact than a new coat of paint and a complimentary flooring choice? New Paint and Carpet will always be appreciated and help you lease the home quicker at a better rental rate! (especially if you choose a neutral color scheme)
Primary Bedroom Before/After
New Tile Surrounds for Tub & Showers:
Primary Tub Before/During/After
Primary Shower Before/During/After
Bathroom Before/After
We chose to priorize updating these bathrooms because the same rules apply with renting as they do with selling… If you invest in the kitchen and bathrooms, your property will require less marketing time and get a higher price. The hardest part here was finding a tile that would be a good match to the existing floor tile. We found the perfect option over at Floor & Décor. If you haven’t been to that store, go take a look at their inventory!
Once the home was cleaned and ready for marketing, the comparable rentals were supporting a rate of $2,995 for this property. With that in mind, we listed the home at that rate and had it leased in just 5 days! The rental market continues to be strong for quality properties in Kansas City!
We appreciate the opportunity to be involved in helping our clients, not only with the day to day leasing and management, but also with the initial due diligence, acquisition and renovations. We look forward to seeing this newest investment property continue to perform well for many years to come!
Are you interested in having us help you find your next investment property? Please give us a call!
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