All Forum Posts by: Sandy S.

@Bjorn Ahlblad - what is Vpl?

Selling an investment property, and wondering what are the best options for replacing carpet that exist on the 2nd and 3rd floors (townhouse). Obviously, my real estate agent suggested to go with hardwood floors, but is this the best ROI? Given that I have not lived in the unit for the last 10 years, I am not getting any benefit out of it so looking to minimize cost.

Options are:

1) Carpet
2) Laminate flooring
3) Hardwood


What would you recommend?  Given that this would be put on the market for buyers and not necessarily other investors, could I reasonably get away with carpet, as it the cheapest?  Or will the unit sell faster if there is at least laminate flooring? 

Holes update - The largest hole (4 of them in the property) is 1.5in end to end, both horizontally and vertically. So definitely not small.  There are other smaller ones to show for comparison.  

How does one go about calculating the cost? Is it by square footage of the damaged area vs. # of holes?

@Michael Peters - Got an updated painting quote.  Its $2400 (materials + labor) for entire unit, 1710 sq. ft. approximately.  To clarify, this is 1 of 4 similar holes found throughout the property.  Don't know if that changes anything, but curious to hear if it does.

Hello - I got a quote from a contractor to re-paint my entire townhouse.  The dwelling is approximately 1710 sq. ft.

The quote I received was $2400, including labor and materials.

Is this a reasonable cost?  What else am I missing?

@Mike McCarthy - Handyman quoted me per room, not per job.  IIRC, the estimate was about $375/room (materials + labor).  So a bit hard to tease out the specific effort, but thanks for the guidelines you posted. 

@Marc Winter -  Excellent point, one I had not considered before.  No, the unit had not been painted for 7 years.  I recognize that some of these things are not black and white, especially when it comes to damages related to a long-time tenant.  In general, how often should rental units be repainted?

As per the above, tenant left me some nice wall holes upon inspection.  It was where a TV was mounted on the wall.  They have been occupying this unit   for 7+ years.  Lease states that the property must be returned in the condition it was received.  There were no holes prior in these areas.  Would you count this as normal wear & tear vs. damage?  And how much would you charge?  

I'm tending to lean towards the former, but want to make sure I am making a reasonable assessment to ensure the tenant doesn't throw a berating response to my charges.

@Theresa Harris Thanks for your input, much appreciated!  Thank you for clarifying on the move-out inspection as default; their presence is optional.  Sounds like what you are saying is that anything that is not written, agreed upon, and signed (i.e., the lease) is not enforceable.  

Tenant is not renewing lease - Is it appropriate for a tenant to ask for a specific security deposit amount as they prepare to move out?  I have not had this happen before, and wonder how I could possibly give them a firm amount given that I have not done any move-out inspection.  I have not furnished this information up front, other than to say generically it is the original deposit + interest (NJ law) - deductions.  I am concerned they will be a stickler to any number they see before the lease ends.  How to address?

All well thought out responses here, and appreciate the insights.  The only thing that makes me slightly uncomfortable is going by 'feel' (relationship) rather than 'fact' (law).  As @John M Chludzinski mentioned, there's always a risk of something happening right up to the day of move-out.  @Theresa Harris good thoughts on doing a thorough inspection without being rushed.  

If the tenant insists on receiving the deposit as a condition for agreeing to a move-out inspection, I might as well tell them to move-out as originally planned and do the inspection after they leave.  Would that be reasonable?  I don't want to be in the uncomfortable position to have to meet up, go through the unit, and them expecting to get their deposit right then and there.

This article also seems to strengthen the argument of not giving a security deposit at time of move-out, for anyone else considering a similar situation: 

https://www.rentprep.com/landl...