To Convert or not to Convert to Non-Smoking??

[Lisa L Day]

I'm buying a 4 plex in an area with cheap rent and a lot of smokers in general, a blue collar area.  Currently, the 4 plex allows smoking and pets.  To convert it to a non smoking 4 plex, it would cost about $25,000-$30,000 up front.  We would get about $100-$150 more per month per unit ($400-$600month) more for fixing it up...  Right now it's dated and junkie and stinky, but safe and in working order.

So....Do we spend the money up front to convert it and get more rent and cut our tenant pool in half and go with non smoking?  OR keep it smoking, only fix up a bit up front at possession, $5,000? and keep the rent cheaper?  It's all 4 or nothing in my book.  A non-smoker doesn't want to share a building with a smoker; I never would!

Thoughts from experience? Thanks!