Target rent increase from unit upgrades?
Please forgive me if I have overlooked a similiar discussion. I had difficulty finding anything on the subject (could be caused by my novice ability to navigate the site).
I am currently researching local properties in the hopes of buying my first rental investment with some slight "deferred maintenance."
My question is, how do you decide how much to fix/upgrade, given the added rent it will bring? Is there a general rule to shoot for? For example, for every $2k of upgrades, you should get $50 in added rent, or you should be able to recoup your upgrade cost in 1 year of increased rent.
I may not be clear with my true question, but I am having trouble figuring out how to decide what upgrades are worth it. Obviously those that are needed to stay competitive are a little easier to decide, but I'm looking more at upgrading appliances or countertops etc.
It may be that there is not a rule of thumb, and this is more of an "art" or skill in investing that will come through time. I was just hoping to avoid making costly upgrades that yield little in increase rents just because I thougth it made the place "look a little better."
Thank you for any help! And again I am sorry if this topic has been discussed before, please point me in that direction if that is the case.