Rehabbing through THEIR eyes, appealing to a BUYER or TENANT

It is oh so easy to rehab a property to YOUR liking. Choosing the colors that YOU like. Designing the layout to YOUR satisfaction. Installing the floors, cabinets, light fixtures, doors, fencing, decking, landscaping, etc. to what YOU prefer.

Except, in reality YOU are NOT the person that will be living in the property. If you are flipping the property, the Buyer will be the ultimate occupant, and if you are holding it for rental income, a Tenant will be the occupant. Ask yourself this question: “Shouldn’t I be choosing the items that the Occupant (Buyer or Tenant) would prefer?”

What if the items that you choose are not appealing to the Buyer or Tenant? Worse than that, what if those choices turn them off, and cause it not to quickly be rented or sold?

But how would you know what they want? This can be gained a couple of ways, but the one that I prefer the most is visiting the open houses of large development companies. Walk through their model homes, model apartments, and take notes. Make note of the color schemes used and what rooms have brighter colors vs darker ones. What style kitchen cabinets are used? What shade of color are they, white, medium wood color, dark color? Do the cabinets have added-on handles, or are they part of the cabinet door. What material is the countertop and is there a backsplash?

In the baths, are they using tile shower surrounds, or a one-piece molded surround? What style bath vanity, faucet and toilet are used? Are the floors in the main portions of the home carpet, wood, or otherwise? Are the flooring colors neutral, darker or lighter? Does the dining area sport an upgraded lighting fixture (chandelier), or is it just like all of the other lighting fixtures in the property?

Development companies go to great lengths, and costs, to determine what a potential owner or tenant likes and wants to see in their next home. They have even conducted surveys or focus groups on the subject. Since they have made the investment to determine what turns potential occupants on, or off, perhaps it might be wise to follow their lead. Unless of course you would rather invest the time and money to conduct your own surveys or focus groups.

Using the camera in your smartphone, you can quickly take photos of the items addressed and then shop for similar items to introduce into your rehab. I remember visiting model homes with my Sherwin Williams paint swatch book to locate the closest color matches to the walls, trim, etc. and then incorporating those colors into my rehabs.

The result to you rehabbing the property through the eyes of the Buyer or Tenant and finishing it to their liking, hopefully is a WOW reaction when they walk the property for the first time. If you WOW them, you have nailed the rehab.