Backsplash in a rental of 1 bedroom?

[Tina Lee]

The handyman keeps telling me to install a backsplash. He says he can do it for $500, including materials, using simple white subway tiles. Do you think it is s worth it? This is for a small kitchen in a one-bedroom rental with a mix of white-collar and blue-collar tenants. The kitchen also has a 60-inch cabinet.

[Matthew Becker]

I put backsplashes in almost every rental, and $500 is pretty cheap.   It matters what the condition of the place is.  Does the countertop go straight into the wall, or does it have a tiny backsplash?  If it has a small backsplash don't ad anything it will look crapy.  I generally buy and rehap it completely at the beginning to maximize rent.  

Send images and a floor plan and it would be easy to tell you how to upgrade. 

How much is your rent?  Are there other things that need to be upgraded?  Can you raise the rent?  Here is one I just did.  It is cheap and simple.