Kitchen Countertops (Granite)

[Guevara M.]

Need help on what type of countertops I should use on my small 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom town home. I'm getting ready to renovate the whole thing. Total living space is about 540 sq/ft. Going to remove the popcorn ceilings, paint the entire unit from head to toe with light gray walls and white trim with white ceilings. Paint the kitchen cabinets white. Install vinyl wood plank flooring (not sure on color yet), instal recessed lighting and a few other odds and ends. Thinking of spending the extra money and going with granite countertops. Do you guys recommend granite for rentals? Had someone tell me to use 12x12 granite tiles instead due to being a lot cheaper just not sure if the look will feel outdated compared to the rest of the unit. Any help would be much appreciated.

[Patrick M.]

I think I may be the odd man out here. On appliances I go stainless by frigidaire. Cost effective but plays nicely with my kitchen renovations (which we do ourselves). Again, I think it is specific to area- but when I can hit the sweet spot of just below the high end apartments, I am very happy. I don't feel as confident that I can do that with formica/ laminate and white appliances. With my appliance guy I am routinely at the same cost or below the white of the same model. Now these are not the stainless that you might have in your home, but everyone came through and commented on them.

Also, it is a small kitchen counter top wise so I wanted to make what I could of it.

I relied heavily on the input of my mentor and I am always paying attention to the market. So, much to my surprise when I spoke to him about flooring he said to get the cheapest laminate from HD... very surprise. I wound up getting Lakeshore Pecan at .71 a square foot (the cheapest)... Wouldn't you know everyone couldn't get over it! My other big splurge was for radiator covers.

Rent was increased by 64%. Rented quickly to young couple. I will break even on the complete renovation before the 2nd year is up.

Vs. the low end of my market:

The 2 that we are renovating right now I am confident I can get at least 50% and 42% return on. Additional the tenants will be drastically improved from those I inherited and removed. I will post pics of the kitchens when we get there.