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As mentioned in yesterday’s post, my partners and I still haven’t been able to rent out Rental Property SH #1 yet. This past weekend, we decided to take action and invest additional capital towards some light rehab work. Over the last few weeks, we’ve had quite a number of open house showings, but have been unsuccessful in securing a tenant.
For whatever reason, we can’t seem to hook a tenant! After some internal discussions, we decided that we ought to focus our efforts on installing new laminate flooring in the upstairs bedrooms. In addition, we would also re-paint the bedrooms to a more neutral color. The bedrooms were previously painted red and blue… which failed to impress!
Hopefully, the edits will make a difference and help us create a more favorable impression with prospective tenants.
We are outsourcing the labor since each partner is busy working their own 9-5 day job… The target completion day is this upcoming Saturday. It’s going to be a challenge for us, but the objective is to secure a tenant by October 01.
Here are some pictures of the rehab work that was started today:
Old Carpet
Replacing carpet with laminate
Swiss Coffee Eggshell (Looks white doesn’t it?)
The bedrooms are all being painted swiss coffee; interior eggshell enamel… a much more neutral color.
I will have pictures of the new laminate floors once they’ve been installed and are ready to go. Let’s hope these changes help us secure a quality tenant… and SOON! 🙂
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Swiss Coffee Eggshell… sounds like a specialty drink at starbucks! I’m always amazed at how many options you have when you want to paint a wall “white”.
I think this is going to make a huge difference! Carpet is more and more being considered out of style… especially if it isn’t 100% new looking. That laminate will look better today, but also will hold up a lot better in the future.
Good luck on meeting your self-imposed deadline!
Mr. Frugalwoods,
Lol! The differences are so subtle it’s hard to even notice… The wall looks white at first glance, but when you compare it side by side with the door (which is painted semi-gloss white) it’s only then you can see the “coffee” tint.
I agree, and think the laminate should hold up better through the years.
Cheers!
There are only two reasons why a property does not rent. You are over priced, or under-marketing.
Lowering price increases demand, every time. Do not fall for the sucker punch of getting a subpar tenant just to get a renter. Pricing too high could lead to a bad renter.
I’ll have to agree with this one here. A subpar tenant… avoid at all cost.
Eric,
Yup, we are overpriced relative to market right now 😉
So far, all applicants have been high-tech workers with $100k+ salaries who are looking for a place to rent as they start a new job…
They’ve applied, but ultimately decided to pursue other options… From the feedback I’ve gotten, it was the red walls they disliked… It was leaving a sour impression, apparently, even though we told all prospective tenants that the walls would be re-painted to a more neutral color…
First impressions stick… as I’m learning.
Yes, definitely no need to settle for a subpar tenant. Especially not in the Bay Area. If we have to, we will come down in rent to land someone good.
Cheers!
Get a holding fee, when you get the application. I have a MN form on my blog. It should be similar in CA, and will lock in a renter at application time.
Man, it took 2.5 WEEKS for my guys to redo my floors and get them to the coffee oak color it is now. So much sanding!
Is the price you are asking too high? Have people been coming buy and showing signs of interest at least?
I wonder if people are worried about living too close to the stadium?
Sam
Sam,
We’ve had enough open houses to assume our target rent isn’t too outlandish, but it is higher than market, probably, since demand isn’t through the roof…
We have had people fill out applications, so we are close… Ultimately, we are thinking it was the combination of ugly bedroom walls and dirty carpet that was holding people back, and leading them to pursue other alternatives.
These upgrades, while not cheap, won’t end up costing us an arm and a leg either. If the laminate holds up for many years, like we expect, it will be worth the expense.
All the best!
That’s good folks are filling out apps. Sounds like you guys are close!
I wrote a post, carpet vs laminate. Laminate or tile in all common areas, carpet in bedrooms only. Or do laminate in the bedrooms too.
http://www.nononsenselandlord.com/?p=37
In my rental properties, I keep em very clean and paint every few years with neutral colors that go with anything and often tell tenants no crazy colors if they want to paint. Some cheap laminte floors go a long way in rental properties. Really spruces the place up. Also updated light fixtures help a place if the place is beyond dated. Hope u get some new tenants soon.
I wish you good luck on that and hope you secure a good one soon. Unfortunately, I cannot give an advice as I suck in this. I can only envy you 🙂
Keep posting pictures as these are very interesting.
Maybe, if you had some $100+ prospective tenants, try to make the place look high end. It will look cheap then.
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