My husband and I purchased our first investment property. It's a duplex with 3/2 and 1/1. The kitchen in the 1/1 is in need of some updates. It was an addition in the 70s and the cabinets haven't been updated since. We're looking for referrals for contractors in the are as well cabinet companies that build a good product for an affordable price.
Since this is our first property we are looking for suggestions and recommendation on updates without over improving the property. I've attached a couple of pictures. Also, we are debating if we should add a dishwasher but that would mean one less base cabinet.
Rental Property Investor · Bremerton, WA · Member since 2012 · 116 posts · 61 votes
5y
Malika, congrats on your first rental! What would be market rent if you kept the existing cabinets, and how much more could you get if you put in a new kitchen? Also, how many month's or rent would you miss in the short term by choosing to renovate? Consider this when making your decision. You may find that the cost and time of the renovation would take years to recoup via just a small bump in rent. You can bring new life to the kitchen and also get a rent boost by adding cabinet pulls, painting or other inexpensive touch ups. The current layout doesn't give you much room for a dishwasher, but considering it's just a 1/1 rental, it's a nice convenience to have but probably isn't a deal breaker for your tenant, who will likely be a single person or a couple with minimal dish load. Based on the photos, I would opt for keeping the existing cabinets, making cosmetic upgrades and get a tenant in there asap.
Rental Property Investor · Bremerton, WA · Member since 2012 · 116 posts · 61 votes
5y
Malika, congrats on your first rental! What would be market rent if you kept the existing cabinets, and how much more could you get if you put in a new kitchen? Also, how many month's or rent would you miss in the short term by choosing to renovate? Consider this when making your decision. You may find that the cost and time of the renovation would take years to recoup via just a small bump in rent. You can bring new life to the kitchen and also get a rent boost by adding cabinet pulls, painting or other inexpensive touch ups. The current layout doesn't give you much room for a dishwasher, but considering it's just a 1/1 rental, it's a nice convenience to have but probably isn't a deal breaker for your tenant, who will likely be a single person or a couple with minimal dish load. Based on the photos, I would opt for keeping the existing cabinets, making cosmetic upgrades and get a tenant in there asap.
@Mike Sumsky Thanks! It's exciting and scary. The market rent for unit with the existing cabinet is between 1000-1100. With a renovated kitchen around ~1250. We will be living in the unit for a year. If we do renovate it would be while we are living here and so it's ready for a tenant when we move out. It would take around 3 years to cover the cost of the renovation. We thought about painting them but there's a weird laminate type coating on cabinet fronts which I think would weird once painted. For the dishwasher, we could remove the cabinet with the microwave in it and add a dishwasher there. Next to the refrigerator is a short retaining wall that leads to around 30 inches of dead space and then the eat in area of the kitchen. I've been using it as a space for my desk but we could put in a tall cabinet to make a pantry if we did remove base cabinet for a dishwasher. For a small kitchen, it has a lot of cabinet space.
Hi Malika, I just ran across your post. We recently bought an investment property ( duplex) in Bremerton, WA and we are also planning to do some interior remodeling. How did your rehab turn out? Do you have suggestions for a good contractor?