Rental-Grade Finishes
We all know you get what you pay for. And yet the conventional wisdom is to go low end on finishes and fixtures in a rental. I’d like to open the floor to comments from renters especially, and landlords as well on this topic. Best place to spend? Worst place to spend? I’m trying to…
We all know you get what you pay for. And yet the conventional wisdom is to go low end on finishes and fixtures in a rental.
I’d like to open the floor to comments from renters especially, and landlords as well on this topic. Best place to spend? Worst place to spend?
I’m trying to reign myself in and choose wisely as I renovate two, nearly identical, 2 bedroom units in Astoria – one for owner occupancy, one for a tenant. The unit in question is a 900 sqft 2BR, one block from the Broadway subway
What are renters really looking for when they pick an apartment? From my own experience, it was always location, size, cleanliness, and layout. One of my favorite place I ever rented had the worst vinyl flooring rolled onto the kitchen floor, but those floors were new, and level too. A tacky ceiling fan and fiberglass surround shower completed the look. But I was sold the moment I saw it on the location, size, layout and light.
Another favorite place had literally 24 inches of kitchen counter space, very compact appliances, and 60 inches of cabinets, counting top and bottom separately. But it was in a good location and everything was new.
So what do others think? Do tenants care about fixtures and finishes, provided they are new? Would a fiberglass surround be less desirable than a tiled bath? What about central air? My electrician thinks tenants prefer high-hats? Do tenants even think about lighting? How about appliance quality and size? I feel confident that a dishwasher is a worthwhile amenity, but elsewhere in the kitchen, I’m torn. More cabinet/counter space vs. bigger appliances vs. more walking around room. Also torn on the central air, lighting options, and classiness of the bathroom.
So renters, what do you like to see? Landlords, how have you handled this and what have you found actually matters?
I agree with Snezan – kitchen was the absolute most important thing to me in my recent rental search.
also, dishwashers/washer and dryers are luxuries that people will absolutely pay extra for.
Whatever the style, my advice would be to use better quality finishes if at all possible. They will look much better and be somewhat less likely to break (and the less you have to fix the happier you and your tenants will be). For example, use better quality doorknobs and get real wood doors (not hollow core). Don’t install those cheap “rental quality” light fixtures (like the kind from Lowes). That stuff goes a long way in making the place look more appealing and, ultimately, more rentable. This might sound corny but when I renovated the apartments in my house I wanted to create a really nice home environment for the tenants where they felt like they were getting their money’s worth and it has really paid off, too. I have great tenants who are taking excellent care of the units.
I tend to renovate my homes according to how I want to live. I never say “This is only a rental.” If it’s a special apartment, not only can you get more for it, but it will rent that much faster.
I recently took over my former tenant’s apartment to have more space. I was so thrilled myself for giving them a lovely apartment….because now it’s all mine!
i don’t know why you think that longer term tenancies are more profitable? You can definitely charge more for apartments if they vacate every year and the apartment will be in better shape for you to maintain it. Longer term tenants are better for small unit owners and for owner occupied units. For larger buildings, yearly vacancies are good for owners and for brokers.
I forgot to mention that hardwood floors are worth the money. New floors are better than parquet, even if it is the old kind. Anything is better than carpet.
I rent a few hundred apartments every year and there are a few very important factors in an apartment renting quickly, which I assume is what you are asking for.
– cleanliness –
the apartment and the building must be spotless, absolutely spotless. Pan Am Equities, one of the city’s largest landlords, hasn’t renovated most of their apartments in 20 years, and they still manage to rent 90 percent of their units within 3 days of showing. The reason is that before showing, they will have a contractor come and professionally clean and refresh the apartment. That means they will regrout all tile, sand and poly all the floors, patch and professionally paint, clean the windows, pull out all appliances, clean behind and inside of them, so that the apartment becomes a completely blank canvas that the renter can imagine for themselves. Don’t forget to paint the heating pipes and radiators if they are not new. That takes me into the next factor.
-neutral feel
the apartment should have no distinguishing factors that will put off the prospective renter. That means white, subway or neutral tile in the bathroom. That means off white or linen white paint. That means unadorned cabinets. I know how much you love the cabinets with the country scrollwork around the handles, but I can’t tell you how many deals fall apart because the owner has inserted their sense of style into the renovation of the apartment. That brings me to the most important factor:
– kitchen
I don’t know why but the size of the kitchen and the quality of the kitchen has made more of a difference in getting the extra $50 or a $100 a month than just about anything else. Dishwasher is worth another $25 – $50 as well. I just rented a 550 square foot 1 bedroom in park slope walkup on 5th avenue for $1950 even though the windows all faced central air conditioner ducts and the apartment had no hallways and only one closet because the kitchen was absolutely beautiful and the owner went for GE Profile appliances. If the kitchen is nice and the apartment/building is nice you will always get top dollar.
to recap, I really recommend you put in a little extra into the kitchen, make sure the building looks nice and not creepy (for instance there is one lady in Crown Heights that has plaques of all the people who lived in the building and have died next to the doors of the apartment. That is creepy!) and try to create the most neutral possible space for the renter. If the apartment is sunny and has a good location you can get top dollar.
Hope this helps.
The real question isn’t ‘What do tenants like’, but ‘What will tenants PAY MORE for?’, and will that investment increase your ROI?
Bear in mind that longer term tenancies are often more profitable to the landlord than yearly turnover.
Personally: the things that are important to me (and that I’d pay for, and stay for) are (in order of priority):
– Washing machine/Dryer
– Good kitchen faucet with mix valve
– Counter space
– Built-in storage space (e.g. cabinets, drawers)
– Hardened, waterproof, burnproof countertops
– frost-free fridge
– 30″ stove (vs the landlord standard 24″ or the truly awful 16″ 2-burner job that guarantees that only single people will stay)
– Burner cover for the stove to turn it into more counter space
– moppable kitchen floor
– hardwood floors in apartment
– tile floor in bathroom vs cheap linoleum
– Ceiling fans and high ceilings
– 3-prong outlets
– Cable TV hookups in spots that people are likely to want to put a TV.
– Clean windows without cracked panes
Sorry…nobody wants carpet, not even people with carpet. Finishes do matter. Location always matters. I had a place with a fiberglass surround once and it never bothered me because the place was in Downtown Brooklyn and had a huge kitchen with a roof terrace. Lighting is always good, but I feel you may get away with being able to go slightly cheaper in this area. A dishwasher will win you pluses, always. You also have to remember that you are in competition with a lot of newer construction and they have volume, therefore they give good deals and have apartments that rival any condo.
yes, despite what some may believe, renters are actual human beings and care about having a nice place with nice finishes too.
just keep things simple, neutral, and tasteful. make sure there is good lighting. light colored or white cabinetry. for the love of god, no black marble/granite/ceramic anything.
have you ever seen that show ‘income property’ on HGTV? i think that guy (don’t recall his name, just that he’s a fox) does the best rental apartments. there’s a budget, and it’s not very high end, but it always looks clean and bright, even when the apartments are often basement apartments. if you can catch a few episodes i highly recommend it.
“Just be mindful that the moment you add dw or w/d your water bill increases dramatically. ”
Dishwashers use less water and soap than hand washing dishes.