Lipstick on a pig?

[Steve Schreiber]

Hey all,

Long time follower. Long time real estate dreamer. Finally (after 7 years of reading books, research, podcasts etc) jumped off the cliff and bought a major fixer upper for very little money. It's a duplex that will eventually be two three bedroom units. It's a total gut job (hoping to start my brrrr journey here). My question and discussion point is about, as my contractor put it "putting lipstick on a pig". (on things like flooring, cabinets, remodels, siding etc) I want to hear thoughts on going as cheap as possible, making the house look "high end" (possibly attracting higher end renters and charging more) or somewhere in the middle? Is there a time to "put lipstick on the pig" to separate your house from others to get better and more well off tenants or does it just not matter? Thanks everyone! 

~Steve

[Steve Schreiber]

Quote from @Caleb Brown:

If you are going to gut and rehab the place then do it right. Lip stick on a pig is cutting corners and doing bad work. Make sure you aren't cutting corners. If there's things you can save money on you can but if something is too far gone replace it. Every GC has different ways how they do work but be careful. You will bite yourself in the butt when you go to resale

I guess I'm not talking about cutting corners as much as I'm asking is it worth putting more than the minimum in? Tiling bathroom floors instead of laminate, nicer carpet, back splash in the kitchen, tiling around the tub instead of surround... Upgrades might be a better word for it. Does this help to stand out and get better, higher end tenets or does it just not matter that much?