Renovation Project for First Rental Property With Tenants

[Karen Jackson]

I have just purchased my first rental property (2 bedroom 1.5 bath) townhouse.  I have tenants currently living in the property and paying rent.  The condition of the property is fairly good, however I want to make a few cosmetic adjustments to the exterior;  such as painting the trim and replaying a front screen door, etc to add value to my investment.  What other exterior projects could I do to add value to this property?  Should I attempt to do interior projects while the tenants are still there?

[Gary Nestler]

First of all Congratulations Karen for taking action and buying your first rental property.  My first reaction to doing rehab on a property that’s occupied is to be careful.  Unless it’s safety related which you should always fix right away you may want to hold off on major renovations with the property all ready occupied.  I would wait until the property turns over.  That way you can usually raise rents to off set the cost.  Leaky roof,  water leaks, smoke detectors-  definitely fix right away.  Cosmetic stuff, I would wait til the property turns over.