My point was that despite getting in to the house for relatively low money down and not cash flowing much historically (plus we put a new roof on it, refinished the wood floors, new front porch, new side porch, etc.), real estate is a very tolerant business if you are in it for the long haul.

I believe that there is a long term return on investment on these types of improvements in form of longer tenancy and lower turnover cost.I love these red oak floors: they are money in the bank and can be sanded and refinished very effectivley.

Cleaned it up, laminate countertops, scratch and dent appliances, refinished cabinets and some other smaller cosmetic fixes, but when I was looking around on this site I saw multiple people put up some pretty substantial renovation budgets for their rentals.

I know we all do things to save money when we're getting started, however, who makes more mula, real estate investors or floor refinishers?

The exception would be refinishing hardwood floors ... tried that DIY once and wow did that NOT work out.

Next time I turn that apartment over I plan to refinish the floor which will cost around 1050.

We had a professional from Cullman who refinished the tub/repaired crack for us for $550.

So we chose that route and repainted, added baseboards, refinished the bathroom cabinets, added granite to the kitchen and bathrooms, added used stainless appliances, and cleaned up the yard and house.

Two rentals, learning the process of landlording, a job transition, and re-finishing out a basement and garage of a new home seems like a lot to take on all at once.

Refinishing wood floors: 1-2 per square foot without staining, and 2-4 per square foot with staining.