Countertops in Section 8 Rental near Boston

[Brendon Kerrigan]

Hi BP Community,

I am working on rehabbing my first rental investment, SFH with 2 bed and 1 bath , that I plan to rent out for section 8 tenants in a small town near cape cod. It is a C/C+ town, but I am in a B neighborhood (across from river that leads out to Cape Cod Canal). This is a BRRRR deal and I am looking to get the appraisal in June, which will be enough time for the seasoning period, so I want it to appraise as high as possible to pull out as much of my money as I can.

I replaced the cabinets with the Hampton Bay Shaker White Cabinets from HomeDepot, which I know are not high end, but I am now wondering do I install a nice countertop (granite/quartz) because they are durable and its a good thing to have for my appraisal.  Or do I go with Formica countertops since it will be lower end rentals and not good quality cabinets so I may have to replace it all in 5 years?

Thank you for the help!

[Sonia N.]

@Brendon Kerrigan Hi Brendon- Since the area you’re trying to cover is smaller, you might even be able to get away with asking for granite remnants. Those are the pieces left over from other jobs and depending on what they have left over, it’s significantly cheaper. The other option is to ask them for the “contractor’s special”. These are the lower end granites that are mass installed in your usual high rises and condos. They look great and go with every color scheme. Good luck!