one two years later after doing A renovation in a B neighborhood

[Steven Maduro]

Hello Bigger pockets

Back in 2012 I bought a Duplex in a B or C neighborhood

I did very upscale renovations

centering around fancy kitchen and bath faucets

floating vanities, water fall faucets, upscale lighting

laminate flooring

adding stack washer and dryer

and using design styled paint schemes such

as an accent wall.

or under cabinet lighting.

I was asked to report back after a year or two and here are my results

out of my two properties that have the extra doo dads

I have had little problem collecting rent. I have gotten pretty stable tenants that actually take care of the property.

my one property with just average amenities seems to be the opposite I cannot seem to get a proper paying tenant in there.

I am not saying there is a correlation just reporting facts.

my upscale items are purchased from closeout sales or odd lot

or on sale or clearance at Home Depot or Lowes

Many items I purchase from Amazon and save a lot there as well. I have to say that the overall reaction to my apartments is more than favorable and it definitely helps me not to have a vacancy too long.

My average vacancy has been 3 days from posting the unit. I believe offering the laundry center in the unit has been worth its price and cost to plumb and wire My tenants certainly appreciate not having to go to the Laundromat..

I have provided a quality of life upgrade. If I had it to do over again I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Offering more bang for the buck is just good business for my business model I have other landlord friends who do not agree even after my good reviews. However they have units that sit vacant longer. and tend to have more problems from the tenants they do have.

Just like I do from my one unit that has just average fixtures, faucets, layout and paint schemes.

I am happy to ereport back thank you to all the original respondents to the original thread.

[Bill S.]

@Steven Maduro I do some of what you did. One thing I don't buy for cheap is faucets. I want a tried and true model that I can find parts for. I buy nice ones, but not discontinued items. Try fixing a leaky faucet by looking for a discontinued $10 part that doesn't exist so now you have to buy another one. Go with the popular model and you only have to purchase one and it can be repaired for years in the future.