Looking to rent out my townhouse but needs work

[Patrick Edelin]

Good day all.  I have a few RE quandaries that I could use some help with and I wasn't sure where exactly to start this post but I suppose this can serve as my BP introduction as well :-)  By way of introduction, my wife and I own a townhome in Northern Virginia (6 min. walk to VRE station) that we are contemplating selling (more space, expand family, etc.) but we're not in a position to sell right now.  My parents house has an in-law suite and they've suggested we move in with them for a year or so and rent out our house.  Ideally, this would allow us to save a significant amount of money towards either a new home or investment property.  

The house needs some work, however.  Nothing major but things like the crown molding and carpet need replacing, the fire place needs to be checked, the kitchen counters are formica, dated appliances but not too dated, etc.  All passable but I'm a bit of a perfectionist.  Thus, my questions are:

-how much do we need to do (should do) in order to get our house rent-ready?

-after checking the rent comps in my neighborhood, I know we're going to run cash negative but should we be willing to take a small hit for the potential savings by moving in with the folks?

Thanks in advance for you insight and go BP Family!!

[Michael Boyer]

Patrick, neat idea.... good questions...

One concept that helped me (alot) as a newbie was understanding the difference in  the showroom condition of a house (often newly remodeled) that is for sale and one that is a standard rental... This is sale versus fair rental condition... 

For rental condition, make sure everything is clean and functional (and safe) and has amenities similar to those in your area and price range.... no need to make it look like HGTV after shots...

Some of these items you list sound cosmetic and it may fair well in your rental market as is or with just some minor fixes (again, I would look at similar units for rent (not sale) in the area to get an idea if formica and older carpet is the norm in your area and price range...)

And I would simply look at temporarily blocking off or restricting the fireplace use, clean the carpet, tack on the molding. Then study up on BP and elsewhere about some basic landlording processes (like screening tenants, etc)...

When you sell it in a few years, then be a perfectionist to get it in show condition with new counter tops, appliances and floors to wow would be buyers... truth be told, if you replace these now, a few years of wear and tear by renters may mean you'd just have to redo it anyway to get perfect sale condition down the road... Best of luck.