Why Should I Rehab My Rental Home?
Call us at: (510) 296-3833
Visit our website: http://www.EBPMEastBay.com
Hi, my name is Mike Connolly. I am the owner of EBPM here in Fremont. We’ve been managing houses for 35 years, currently have 400 homes under management. It’s all we do. We don’t sell real estate. We just manage houses. The first thing that I do with a prospective owner is go out and visit their home, because usually we’re in between tenants, the home is vacant, and I want to give the owner my two cents on what needs to be done in terms of rehabbing the home, getting it rent ready. And I always remind the owner that for every dollar they spend in rehabbing a home, they’re going to get at least two dollars back in increased rents.
So the first thing I look at the paint on the walls. The paint has to be new, because you’re competing against homes for rent in your neighborhood that all have new paint. That is a must. You can’t have marks here or a little touch-up there or some smudges here. So new paint on the walls. I can recommend colors and finishes when I go out and visit.
The second thing I look at is the flooring in the home. The flooring is crucial. The #1 choice among rentals right now in the East Bay is what’s called laminate flooring. These are just a couple of samples. This laminate here is 12 mm thick. That’s how thick you want it. This is all textured, so it feels like real wood even though it’s just a photograph of wood with a polyurethane finish on top. This product cannot be scratched. It’s ideal for a pet or for kids, because I lasts forever. And so laminate is your first choice for flooring even in the bedrooms, because prospective tenants here in the East Bay love laminate because it’s so sanitary, and that they bring in their own rugs to warm up the rooms.
Their second choice is new carpet. So if you have used carpet, it’s got to be replaced with new carpet. New carpet is about $2 a square foot, and it ranks quite a bit below laminate, but you can rent your house with new carpet. You’ll have a difficult time renting your house in the East Bay for fair-market rent with used carpet. Tenants find it … They just do not find used carpet sanitary, and they’ll pass on your home.
So we look at your flooring. We look at the paint on your walls. I’ll look at your lighting, see if your lighting can be improved. We’ll look at your bathrooms. We’ll look at your yards, front and back, because you want to have decent yards so that gives your home some self-esteem, and tenants feel good about entertaining there.
And then I’ll summarize it all for you, what the cost would be. I’ll give you numbers of vendors that we’ve used. And you can compare them to your quotes. We just want you to have a nice home at the time of rental, because a nice home attracts a nice tenant. An average home will attract an average tenant. And again for every dollar you spend in rehab, you’re going to get two dollars back in increased rents as well as add value to your home.
So give me a call if you have any other questions. Again. Mike Connolly, EBPM Thank you.
East Bay Property Management and Consulting
39111 Paseo Padre Pkwy
Fremont CA 94538
(510) 296-3833
http://www.EBPMEastBay.com