Starting out: Kitchen rehab advice needed

[Jonathan Partsch]

Hello,

I am just starting out with 2-BR SFH in Ohio that I inherited this year. Never owned property before, let alone investment property.

I want to rehab the kitchen in my inherited house to a condition that would be appropriate from both a rental and from a sale or flip perspective. I want to try the rental business out, but if it's not for me then I want to sell the house. What would you recommend regarding materials and appliances for a kitchen rehab intended to serve dual purpose as a rental property kitchen and a flip/resale property?

Also, contractors I have talked to about doing the kitchen rehab have told me that they won't deal with helping pick and purchase appliances. Given the same dual purpose goal what would you suggest I do about appliances? Please note that I am located out-of-state from this property and the kitchen hasn't been updated since the '70s (small galley kitchen FYI)

Thank you in advance for your advice. Also, please forgive me if this post isn't in the best forum. There are many forums here and it's hard to know how to categorize these posts!

~ Jon

[Russell Gronsky]

@Jonathan Partsch, I just did a kitchen cabinet build out at Lowes and with their mid-tier, online order cabinets, a galley kitchen came out to about $3k. Yours will vary obviously, as I'm sure your kitchen dimensions are different.

I normally don't buy from Lowes or Home Depot. I have cabinet companies locally I deal with but being 3,000 miles away, the Lowes/Home Depot option may have some advantages for you:

They have relatively cheap prices for decent MDF cabinets in the currently popular colors (white and gray) and styles. I prefer shaker style but they have several modern styles to pick from. They also do dove tail drawers and soft close drawers/cabinet doors which are pretty much standards for cabinets now days. You'll want these features, if you decide to sell the property. HD carries their own line of cabinets called Home Decorators Collection. They are a solid mid-tier box.

You can usually ask for 18 or even 24 month no interest financing and normally the department lead or store manager can/will approve it. Then your renters can pay those cabinets off for you with the rental income.

Lowes/HD will design the kitchen for you and give you all the part numbers to order. You then order them and all the boxes come pre-assembled to whatever address you specify. So have them delivered to your investment property and have your GC hang them up for you.

While you're at the lowes/HD, pick out your back splash (they have some as low as $6/sq ft), flooring, appliances, counters, etc and buy them all on the same 24-month no interest deal with your cabinets but tell them you want your contractor to pick up all of these things at the lowes closest to your investment property in Ohio. Either the pro desk or customer service can do this for you. However, this is not a common request at these stores and HD/lowes don't teach their employees how to set up orders like this but be persistent. Usually, 1 or 2 people in the store know how to do this and I am living proof it can be done. I've paid for supplies at Home Depot in Colorado and had my GC pick up the supplies from a store in CA. 

This probably isn't going to be your cheapest option as far as bottom line is concerned for buying all these materials but you don't have the luxury of being on the ground to find the best local deals. However, with the flexibility and service of lowes/home depot and convenience of the 18 months or 2 years of no interest financing, which your renters will pay off for you, this is how I'd do it if I were in your shoes.