Contractor Recommendations Albany NY

[Meghan Cheek]

Hi BP community!

I'm a newbie investor.  My husband and I recently purchased our first two family in Albany and we are currently house hacking in one unit.  Our tenant is moving out in April and we would like to renovate the unit's kitchen and possibly the bathroom too.  We're looking for any recommendations or referrals for contractors.  If you have any personal experiences to share all all the better!  

Also have another side note question.  We want to post the unit and get it rented asap, but since we plan to renovate, should we wait until the work is complete in order to show the property at it's best?  Or should we explain in the posting the work we plan to do?  Want to minimize vacancy as much as possible.

Thanks!

[Ronald Starusnak]

Hey Meghan, I am a contractor and property manager but not in Albany so I can't help you with that but I can answer the other question. Do not show tenants unfinished properties, we do it sometimes but if you bring a potential tenant into the property and explain to them what it's going to look like when you're done, you're setting yourself up for a nightmare. 

After they move in there will be an endless list of things they claim you said were going to be done and it can be very hard to please them. Tenants also fail to visualize what you're visualizing. If you want to post it up now, go ahead but don't mention the impending remodel, don't listen to ANYONE'S STORY. Look at their income, verify their income, check their identity, and call the past references. 

They will be your tenants, not your friends. It might even be a good idea to not even tell the potential tenants you own the property, they will start spewing manipulation by instinct and you won't see their true side.