40-unit - Recommendations on how nice to renovate Kitchens

[David Walkotten]

Just bought a 40-unit garden style apartment complex. 

Advice on renovating kitchens as we turn occasional units: currently there are 1990s honey oak kitchen cabinets and a standard stainless kitchen sink with regular old faucet. Laminate countertops, white appliances.

Would you paint cabinets? I am planning on some stainless pulls for hardware. Gooseneck faucet? Replace with black or stainless appliances if they're old?

Or more 'leave it' and just throw on some pull handles. 

These are roughly $800 rent rate apartments with accepting section 8 tenants. Around 800 sq ft and they can get beat up a little bit. Tons of pretty identical apartments in the area so I'm thinking it would give me an edge if I do them slightly nicer. Or am I wasting money by doing them nicer (roughly $1000 more per kitchen). 

[Marc Winter]

A lot will depend on how much the tenants beat up the apartments.  When we do rehabs in sec 8-type housing, we go for sturdy and clean.  Medium grade Delta or Moen faucet, single handle, no removable gooseneck, and often no sprayer either.  For some reason, the sprayers in lower end apartments become fun and games for the kids and end up breaking often and leaking.

We want the apartments CLEAN when they are shown.  Most tenants in that price range don't expect higher end, but the do appreciate fresh paint and clean smelling, bright kitchens.

Consider changing pulls, refinishing cabinet doors by sanding and varnish/poly.  I'm not a fan of painting cabinets--unless you are a pro and a spray painter, they just don't come out well.  Look at the lighting fixtures--think LED.  Flooring--if needed, we use solid vinyl planks, glued down, not floating.  We have seen the floating floors get wet at subfloor, and end up moldy/soft.   

Hope this helps, and congrats on the 40 units!