Upcoming tenant turnover

[Roger P.]

I could use a bit of advice. We have an upcoming vacancy in a duplex and will be able to raise rents either a little or a lot. If I do the usual move out routine of cleaning, painting, replacing carpet etc., we will be able to easily raise rents by about $200 per month.

If we do more of a remodel, i.e., replace cabinets, update bathrooms, new base boards, new upgraded interior doors and maybe reconfigure the interior we could probably raise rents by $400 or more.

We have a pretty good handle on how to do a tenant turn over and get a unit ready to re-rent quickly. We do not have a lot of experience in doing a full remodel. The questions I have are, is it worth the extra cash to do a full remodel to the property? How long should the payback period be? How do I find quality contractors that can get in and get out quickly? Should we hire someone to give layout change suggestions or other improvement ideas? Are there specific materials that can be used that stand up better to tenants? 

[Samantha Klein]

Run the numbers. Get quotes for the work and then take how much you can raise rent by and divide it by the cost, it'll give you your return. I usually fix up my units nice because they stay longer and I attract a better quality tenant.