Second Rental in the Books

[Brooks Rembert]

We closed on our second rental property in mid-December and spent the next six weeks or so doing a light rehab all by ourselves. We painted the entire interior, put up a backsplash in the kitchen, a couple of new light fixtures, etc. All in all, it was about $3,000 in rehab.

After about the third week, I put it up on Postlets for rent, hoping to get a little interest, so we weren't starting from square one when it was all complete. We had a descent amount of interest and showed it about six or seven times over the next three weeks, but I think the fact that it still had a bit of a "middle of a rehab" feel turned most people off, so lesson learned.

After we hit about 95% complete, we got a couple to sign the lease and give us the deposit money. So the takeaway is, wait until you're just about done before posting a home for rent. Even though I knew the unfinished look was turning people off, after six showings and no applications, it started to wear on me a bit.