all of my fancy renovations payed off but one in particular sealed it
Ok for those of you who have read my posts I am a rookie land lord
and I put some pretty fancy doo dads in my rentals
they are c rentals neighborhoods that are a little sketchy There are bars on all the windows I think I am using that rating correctly.
but I have a hypothesis which is born from an experience while living in new york during the 80's
more on that later
I put the big pull faucets with the pull out sprayer
i opted for bead board back splashes because they were cheaper
I almost went with glass but ran out of money
I did floating vanities in the bathroom with water fall faucets
and I put down laminate floors and I even did an accent wall
the prospective tenants liked it all
but what froze them in their tracks
was the shower head
a relatively inexpensive square glass rain shower head
with the delta arm
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003064FXY/
that froze them dead they were so anxious to get the apartment the husband started jumping around and ran and picked up an empty krispy kreme box from the living room and wrote their email adresss on it
there is no doubt that the other renos made an impact but this shower head for the money is going to go in all my rentals
the pure allure of it for what it costs pays huge dividends
now on to my hypothesis
While growing up in New york I noticed that in the middle of some of the worse neighborhoods were people who had apartments with the african art the smell of sandle wood or some exotic insence paintings on the wall and book shelves and some nice pottery
there were bars on the windows and under the smooth jazz music you can hear the sounds of city life outside
these folks had created an oasis within their apartments
I believe that you can find these sorts of people simply by understanding who they are which doesent take much
just start talking about life and things
goals and aspirations principles of living and dichotomies and
the truly intelligent grounded caring folks will emerge in your mind.
people who may come from the ghetto but are somewhat elevated from that existence
whether through education or a realization that it goes no where a been there done that mentality and a desire for more from their lives.
artists, educators, construction workers, part time poets full time city workers
whatever. there are cultured folks that will appreciate your efforts
I have put more into my units I havent broken the bank I have brought many items from amazon and many from lowes
I have found second hand items from craigs list
but ultimately
the place looks fabulous for the neighborhood
the wife commented that the apartment was the best she has ever seen in Atlanta
now I know my unit is not the best in atlanta but it is probably the best she has seen personally and that is good enough for me.
My bet is that these newly weds who want to get into a rent to own situation are a upward moving couple who will care for my stuff they are both sharp and are real thinkers.
what more can you want .