Is it worth it? $7,500 kitchen reno for $50 - $75 more a month?

[Autumn Whittington]

I am under contract on a townhouse that should rent for $1200 - $1300 a month. The kitchen is in fair condition (50 yr old, lower end cabinets, laminate counter tops and low end older appliances). I got a detailed estimate from the store and I know the material cost would be $7,500 for new all plywood, soft close-white shaker cabinets, granite, stainless steel appliances, farm house stainless steel sink with back splash. Everything was chosen to look good, last long, be the lowest cost I could find and hopefully low upkeep maintenance. I would be doing the install, not my first. The cabinets would take 4 weeks to arrive, resulting in one month of lost rent. My property manager told me to only expect about $50 - $75 more a month for this upgrade. I expect 8 - 12 yrs to recover this upgrade cost from rent. I can expect an increase in the sale value of about 7% ($10,000) but I don't plan to sell it for another 15yrs once the mortgage loan is paid off. 

Pros: Likely result in renting the property faster, higher rent of about 4 - 6% and if I sell in 15 years, the look should not be too outdated (I hope).

Cons: I lose a months rent, upfront cost that I lost to invest now, my time and effort, long return and risk of the project going over budget or take longer than planned.

Should I just clean it up and rent it ASAP or invest my time and money? 

[Jaysen Medhurst]

That's an 7-10% annual ROI on ~$8800, @Autumn Whittington. Is that worth it to you? Can you get a better return by putting that money somewhere else?

There is also the competitive advantage to consider. Will you get better tenants who stay longer? That ups your ROI.