Decesions on level of upgrades
I acquired a small property in a class A neighborhood that has experienced skyrocketing appreciation (at least for the south). I usually buy for cash flow but bought this one with some thought toward appreciation. It's one of those that has ok numbers as a rental and ok numbers as a flip today. My thinking is to rent it 2 - 4 years and then possibly sell. It's a small home (1500 SF) with 3 BR 2.5BA. It would need very little work to put in place as a rental - paint, replace BR carpet, possibly replace some appliances/toliets and possibly paint kitchen cabinets. If I were to flip I would probably need to update baths and do a little more in the kitchen.
If my plan is to only keep the house that long should I go ahead and update to flip level or do the minimum and do further updates just before selling? I think the answer is do enough to get a good rent rate now and hold off on full updating but wanted to hear from others.
I am most undecided about the bedroom flooring. It's three small bedrooms with carpet that I need to tear out. The rest of the house is hardwoods everywhere except the bathrooms which are tiled. Should I put in economical carpet or go ahead and put flooring in as if I were flipping now? Maybe that is carpet but I'm not sure. I could do hardwoods but it seems like it would be hard to make them match existing hardwoods unless I refinished the whole house. That's expensive and I hate to do that for a rental as they are in decent shape.
This is only my third property and first one I consider a "tweener" as far as flip/rental.
Thoughts?