Thinking of renovating your bathroom in you rental property?

[Alan Asriants]

After rehabbing a few rental properties, I get asked: how do you renovate your bathrooms? The simple answer I give them: white subway tile. The reason I do subway tile on my tub/shower surround is because subway tile has been in style since forever. You can find an older home with white subway tile and make it feel modern again without doing a major makeover. Your plumbing and tiling are the highest costs when renovating a bathroom. Why choose a style that might be "outdated" in 10 years? Subway tile is simple and will always look good. I do recommend sticking to the 2x4 tile instead of the squared look. Hopefully your tenants stay there for a long time and when it comes to refreshing your bathroom all you will have to do is replace: a vanity ($240-400), plumbing fixtures ($120-180 for both shower and vanity), maybe your toilet ($200), and vanity light ($100). For under $1000 you made your bathroom look modern again. Retiling the bathroom can cost you thousands alone for the work. You may have to regrout due to prolonged use, but it is still cheaper than retiling. 

For the floor tile I recommend a neutral 12x12 or 12x24 tile with minimal to no design patterns. Stick to cream, off whites, grays for color

Another tip: I used brushed nickel finishes because they are a lot more "water friendly" Black and chrome fixtures can look awful if they are not constantly cleaned. 

One thought out renovation will save you thousands in the future. Hope this helps