Investing too much or too little

[Stephanie Ford]

I just recently finished a property for my rental portfolio.  I acquired it at $50,000 and I put in $15,000.  The common mistake I find with a lot of investors is that they don't invest the right amount in the property and they start having problems when the tenant moves in.  Even though I did cosmetic improvements, I also did things to increase the value of the property.  I added two bedrooms which made the property a 4 bedroom vs a 2 bedroom house.  There was a room that the previous owner used as a den and the attic space was being used for storage.  In addition to doing the cosmetic improvements, I fixed a lot of deferred maintenance issues as well as safety issues.  Even though you are not trying to make the property like one you would live in, you need to keep the tenant in mind.  My rule of thumb is to deal with issues on the front end so you won't have problems collecting your rent when the tenant moves in.  Don't be fooled when a property is occupied because people don't fix things because they don't have the money.  If the tenant ever moves out, I will rent this as an airbnb.  What's been your experience in investing in rental properties?