looking for thread on preparing houses for rent

[Nazgul Girl]

Hi, I'm looking for a recent thread on real estate where Phil, 2kids2horses, bonnap and Patstab had written about what work they're planning on doing, or what they have done, themselves on their rentals they buy. We have another rental coming online, and they had posted some very good tips. I thought that we were pretty good at fixing up and turning buildings for sale or rent, but I learned some new stuff. NOW, of course, I am tired tonight, haven't been reading the posts lately, and can't find it. These posts were kind of in the middle of the thread I can't find. I would appreciate it if anyone can guide me to the proper thread and let me know what page it is on.

We also got some good news on our legal case. The perpetrator (former attorney who has lost her license ) who has been dogging my husband for testifying against her at our state's legal board of ethics has lost her case in federal court, and we got a date in April when we will be entering the penalty phase. We are in the process of hiring a detective who is able to run down her assets, such as they are, and will help us collect our damages. We will probably be getting awarded our legal costs, which have been in excess of $15k when all is said and done, and probably damages for harassment through the courts as well. Sometimes, it takes an amazing amount of endurance as well as $$ to go through something like this. We've had to stand strong.

[TD2K]

Can't help you on the thread question but here's hoping you get something out of this person for what's she has done to you.

[Nazgul Girl]

Thank you. I think it will work out.

[zibazinski]

Wow, I would have liked to have seen that thread as well. I do the obvious, paint, clean including carpets, fix anything. As my rentals become vacant now I am replacing the carpets with vinyl that looks like wood flooring. I have it in the bathrooms, kitchens, and foyer of my apartment and I thought it was laminate!!!

[Nazgul Girl]

I know ! It's a little frustrating, since I haven't even gotten on the board to read anything in over a week ! I think the posts were a little flurry of posts by different folks who are experienced, current landlords in the midst of a non-landlord thread, such as the one on money pit of a house, or what do we do now, or something like that. I've been searching back, but so far haven't been able to come up with anything. I'll post if I do find them.

[debtheaven]

I hope things work out with your legal battle, wow, I know how painful that is.

I am none of the landlords above LOL. But I am a landlord. I am in France in a very HCOLA and we only have 1BR rentals so what I say may well not apply to you because I think you're in a LCOLA and probably talking about a house.

We shun carpets. I think it's cheaper (long term) to put down laminate or tile once than have to clean / replace carpets every time a renter moves in / out.

We love any color paint, as long as it's white. White paint makes a place look clean, as well as bigger.

New kitchen (when we had to replace one, twice so far), medium-priced Ikea, in white.

Appliances are white, like the walls. We don't believe that appliances are decorative, we believe they are just functional. So we only replace them when they break. Since they are functional and not decorative, we see no need to replace them with SS.

We also provide either wardrobes (again, in white, from Ikea) or built-in closets (from our contractor) as well as storage in the bathroom (again, either from Ikea or built in).

We like our rentals to be clean, chic, streamlined and move-in ready. But that doesn't mean they need to have SS appliances and granite counters. Heck, we can't even afford those ourselves LOL.

I do understand that things may well be different where you live.

[debtheaven]

Also, we replaced the windows in one rental with double-glazing. The renter was complaining about the drafts, complained to the syndicate that we had had the windows installed badly since there was a draft. Since we were in the process of selling that apt we got a nasty letter from the syndicate and we had to get the installer back out to redo his work. Except that his work was just fine.

The stupid renter didn't bother to mention that she made a hole in the outside wall to install a satellite dish (which was illegal). But we got a great tax break on the double-glazed windows LOL.

Again, I'm in France not in the US but you need to check out the tax breaks for (I'm guessing) anything that is energy efficient, a new boiler / furnace, double-glazing, insulation, etc.

Most of all, you need to get a decent, law-abiding tenant!

[Nazgul Girl]

Thank you for that information, Debtheaven. We tend to use off-white paint and choose "renter beige" color carpet. We don't put in granite countertops LOL. All of our tenants have asked us if we were going to put an island in the middle of the kitchen of our large rental house. Nope. One tenant wanted to know if they could knock out a wall. Nope. The house we've bid on has sound flooring and carpeting, although not in the colors we'd choose. We'll be painting the walls in off-white also.

[cael]

OP, when I do pre-rental inspections we look at things like windows intact and locking and with screens, light fixtures in working order (if elec is on), smoke detectors/CO detectors in, plumbing working, stove working, hot water at right temps, and general good condition of the apartment. Just FYI from the health inspector's pov!

[2kids10horses]

I have no idea which thread you might be referring to. I have given advice on renting on lots of threads, LOL!

As for carpets... if the carpet is cleanable when you purchase the place, do so. If it is stained beyond cleaning, install something else. What the "something else" is will depend upon the overall quality of the house, neighborhood, and tenant you are trying to attract. For long term appreciation, hardwood floors work well. However, if you rent to dog owners, know that the dog toe nail may very well scratch the floors.

Unlike debtheaven, I don't paint the walls white. I picked a neutral beige. I do use white trim/woodwork. I have found that every little mark will show on white walls, so I'll have to repaint. Also, a lot of tenants will want some color, so they'll paint over a white wall, even I tell them not to. I use the same color paint for all my rentals, so if I need to touch up, I always have some left over paint handy. I have found WalMart paint to have a surprizing good quality. (It's Martin-Senour paint.)

On a rental, I don't install upgraded appliances. White is usually best. Now, if the D/W, stove, etc are black, I'll try to get a black refridgerator to match. Oh, I shop for rental appliances at our local Habitat for Humanity store. I get great deals there.

I make sure all the safety things are up to date. I put a fire extinguusher in the kitchen, make sure the bannisters inside and out are stout, the smoke detectors work, and a CO detector if the house has gas.

I will not buy a pre-1978 house because of the lead paint issue.

I do carry commercial insurance, and have an umbrella policy.

Anything specific you want to know?

2k10h