What happended to my European vacation this summer?
John and I had the opportunity to improve one of our rental properties during a brief period of time that it was vacant in June. It was the first property that we purchased in East Austin and our first big remodel project almost ten years ago. We were fortunate to have the same renter for the last five years. After assessing the current rental market we agreed that the market would support a rent increase from $1,095 to $1,450 if we made some improvements. As usual the cost ended up being about double what we expected and the job took longer to complete. It was a good experience and I thought I would share some of the costs involved and final thoughts on the overall project.
Here’s what we did:
1. Interior paint including ceilings, walls, doors and trim - $650 for the paint from Benjamin Moore, $2,264 for the painter who ended up retexturing at least one bedroom and repairing lots of trim with Bondo and painting the exterior doors.
2. Installed two new full light exterior doors with blinds included – The doors were purchased at Stock Building Supply for a total of $579.60 and ready within three days. Home Depot prices were over $800 for the doors and it would have been a special ordered with an estimated two week delivery time.
3. Built shelves over the washer and dryer.
4. Installed laminate wood flooring in the last bedroom that originally had carpet. I’m not usually a fan of laminate flooring but it is so cost effective and is way better than carpet.
5. Installed one new ceiling fan and one light fixture.
6. Installed shoe molding throughout the house.
7. Installed designer numbers for the address.
8. New dishwasher and microwave - $517.99. This was an unexpected surprise but should not have been because these items usually have a ten year lifespan.
9. Labor and material for Items 2-8 - $1,440. Contractor was David Fudge with Maple Leaf Construction.
10. Cleaned the front and back yard that included two truck loads of debris, limbs, etc. - $120.
11. Deep cleaned the whole house including appliances and all windows. - $170 Cleaners were Maria and Moy Borja and they did an awesome job.
12. Utilities - $125.
13. New bathroom faucet - $115 (material and labor)
14. New water heater - $900. This was also unexpected and unfortunately did not become a need until after the renters moved in but the water heater was almost ten years old after all.
$7,100 later…we have a lovely spot that will continue to appreciate and attract higher rents over the years. One thing that I forgot to do was take pictures after we were done. I'll work on adding those later.
Here’s what we did:
1. Interior paint including ceilings, walls, doors and trim - $650 for the paint from Benjamin Moore, $2,264 for the painter who ended up retexturing at least one bedroom and repairing lots of trim with Bondo and painting the exterior doors.
2. Installed two new full light exterior doors with blinds included – The doors were purchased at Stock Building Supply for a total of $579.60 and ready within three days. Home Depot prices were over $800 for the doors and it would have been a special ordered with an estimated two week delivery time.
3. Built shelves over the washer and dryer.
4. Installed laminate wood flooring in the last bedroom that originally had carpet. I’m not usually a fan of laminate flooring but it is so cost effective and is way better than carpet.
5. Installed one new ceiling fan and one light fixture.
6. Installed shoe molding throughout the house.
7. Installed designer numbers for the address.
8. New dishwasher and microwave - $517.99. This was an unexpected surprise but should not have been because these items usually have a ten year lifespan.
9. Labor and material for Items 2-8 - $1,440. Contractor was David Fudge with Maple Leaf Construction.
10. Cleaned the front and back yard that included two truck loads of debris, limbs, etc. - $120.
11. Deep cleaned the whole house including appliances and all windows. - $170 Cleaners were Maria and Moy Borja and they did an awesome job.
12. Utilities - $125.
13. New bathroom faucet - $115 (material and labor)
14. New water heater - $900. This was also unexpected and unfortunately did not become a need until after the renters moved in but the water heater was almost ten years old after all.
$7,100 later…we have a lovely spot that will continue to appreciate and attract higher rents over the years. One thing that I forgot to do was take pictures after we were done. I'll work on adding those later.
You have pictures of your renovations? Looking for some laminate flooring for my spot so want to see my options.
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