Making a buy and hold investment too trendy?

[Brian Nordman]

Hey guys, so I'm in the process of closing on a SFH on May 12. I'm going to do some house hacking while I rent out the second bedroom to a friend of mine. The long term plan is to eventually rent the entire unit out. The entire property was renovated inside and out in 2004 and was owned by an elderly couple who maintained the property very well. My plan is to do some very minor updates such as paint and some different flooring options. The kitchen currently has beautiful oak cabinetry but I also know the trend right now is painted cabinetry, specifically white. I want to make this more of a "high end" rental but I also don't want to be continuously doing updates to change with the trends. My thoughts were to paint the walls a medium to lighter gray color and do the trim a white color. I'm stuck on whether I should paint the kitchen cabinetry and if so what color?! Would you recommend going with the white or another color that's in style right now or leave the cabinets their natural oak? I just know once I do it I can't go back so any help is appreciated!

[Carolina E.]

@Brian Nordman I would definitely not paint the cabinets if they are beautiful the way there are.  It would be a waste.  You can always paint them once they look bad and a painting could give them a new look.