How I avoided 'You Can't'itis'

Question

Several years ago I bought a condo in San Diego county California. I lived in the condo for years, took money out for other investments and such. Then I decided that I didn't want to live in the condo and that I should rent it out. Because I work full time, have a part-time makeup business and travel a lot it It took two years to get the condo empty and prepared for refurbishing. I budgeted $6k for the refurbish. The entire time I was preparing people around me said things like:
"You can't get enough rent to cover all of your expenses and you won't be in the black."
"You can't get that much for your condo because there are others that are cheaper in the same complex." And finally, "You can't rent anything during the holiday season."

I learned so much from Bigger Pockets contributors and these are some of the things I did to avoid the pitfalls and warnings that came in the form of "You can't." First, I looked at other condos for rent in my area and apartments nearby. I took notes on their "key features" and designed a refurbish that would make mine look distinctively different, classy and modern but within budget. That meant rather than new granite counter tops I used custom tile and a mosaic back-splash, rather than new stainless steal appliances I kept the old appliances, had them repaired and cleaned them until they looked like new, rather than new kitchen cabinets, we painted the old ones to match the rest of the condo and added fancy new knobs and hinges. Everything from the flooring to the lighting was different than all the other cheaper condos for rent in my complex. I even bought new welcome mats for the front and back door and left 'home sweet home' signs out. I figured that if it was different enough it would stand out and someone would want to pay more for it.

To find good renters I found a good property manager. I looked at four different companies and settled on one. The reason I chose this one was because what she thought my condo could rent for was in line with what I wanted, while she aknowledged that it was high for the area she also thought it was worth a shot (others wanted to rent lower because they thought it would rent faster), she assured me that she could rent it in 30 days or less, she returned calls and email messages promptly and her fee was mid-range when compared to the others. She listed the rental on December 18th and found a qualified renter who signed a one year lease and took possession on December 31st.

As it turned out the family that rented my condo looked at the other cheaper units in my complex and they said they liked mine better and it was worth more money to them. I'm so excited that everything has worked out and I'm optimistic that these tenants will be great long term tenants. And, not only are all of my expenses covered with this rental, I've got a cash flow rental.

Valerie Reed · Answer

@Luke Williams

Thanks! That flooring is vinyl plank commercial grade and its floating so we saved a lot on installation.

Luke Williams · Answer

good job it looks great.  floors look amazing.

Valerie Reed · Answer

Thanks everyone, @Bruce  @Will Pritchett & @Raymond B. I couldn't get the @function to work  consistently. Yes, I've learned so much from Bigger Pockets but I had to  take the leap and I'm glad I did. I really do believe I learned from  past challenges, mine and those of others and I'm sure there will be  more mistakes to learn from but I'm happy that I kept at it.@Andrey Y.  - Yes, I've got plenty of pics and they are posted below - including the bling.Some of the things we already had and removed, touched up and reused, like the wooden stained base boards, appliances, vertical blinds (fixed with a $5 repair kit). The black light fixture and the track lighting was from the ReStore.  The flooring I got at 5% above cost plus shipping from a friend who owns a flooring store. My husband and I did most of the work but we hired flooring installers from Craigslist. We also got a lot of materials from Amazon, like the kitchen sink, shower door repair kit, shower drain repair cover, and cabinet hinges. My husband tore out the old counter top and built the plywood/backerboard underlay and I did the tile work. The mulch in the back patio area was free from the city. My husband says it was a fun refurbish and he wants me to buy another one so we can do it again.

Andrey Y. · Answer

@Valerie Reed

Way to go!

Do you have any pics of the condo to share?

Bruce Scannell · Answer

heres to 2015 and more deals, happy new year

Bruce Scannell · Answer

thanks @Raymond B. I selected @Valerie Reed from the bottom but mistakenly backspaced and I think erased the connection. Was an apple glitch not mine ????

Raymond B. · Answer

@Bruce Scannell,

To make the @ work, do the following:Hold down the shift key and type @?Look below this Window, and you will see a list of names of people that have posted in this thread. Click on the name of the person that you want notified via an email, that you responded to them.If you are a Colleague with anyone that has NOT posted in the thread, and you want them to see your post, hold down the shift key, type the  @ and the first 4 letters of their First or Last Name.Then look below this Window and click on that person's name.Raymond

Will Pritchett · Answer

@Valerie Reed - nice work. Good luck in the future!

Ron Drake · Answer

@Valerie Reed Yep, adding some bling works every time. Congrats!

Bruce Scannell · Answer

way to stick with it @Valerie Reed and thanks for posting because there's a lot of us trying to rationalize some deals that look to make sense on paper but don't follow some or all of the rules of thumb... for us newbies who don't fully understand the details can research and read until we it hurts but the truth is we won't fully understand till a small leap of faith is made and learn for ourselves.

Congrats!