Apartment turns in old multi family houses

[Frank Maratta]

I’ve done about 20 apartment turns to this date. I always seek a higher end product, it helps attracting new tenants and things like wiring, overhead lighting with switches, in each room, all new interior solid core six panel doors, and all new plumbing help to make me to rest easy with very little maintenance.

up till now, I have always “pieced” these apartments back together. What I mean when I say “pieced” is that the multiple holes the electricians cut for wiring (and they are a lot) get patched, old varnished window and door casing gets sanded down and painted white, interior doors are slabs we cut down rather than pre-hung ( and in some instances the slabs we hang expand and don’t close and require trimming after time, hinges dont always hold, ect.  

A friend of mine recently took another approach to this and it got me thinking. He demoed everything down to the studs and just started fresh. 

His approach is certainly much easier and straightforward and at the end of the day his costs were similar to mine. 

Keep in mind these are all old house knob and tube, and plaster walls and Ceilings  and we all know that once you start cutting holes or Channels for the Electrican, plaster is a nightmare to deal with and piece back together. 

What do you guys who own apartments do for unit turns? Do any of you take the demo- to the studs approach or do you leave the knob and tube and basically just do the bare minimum with new flooring, paint, cabinets ect? 

For me, the old trim, doors, and old electrical is really what seems to cause more work then it’s worth. 

Demoing to the studs gives a nicer finished product with all new Sheetrock trim, wiring, ect. And seems to be a more efficient approach.  

Thoughts?