Tenant offering to pay 1/2 for new countertops

[James M.]

Hey all, I’ve been faced with an offer from my tenant which I’m going back and forth on and wanting to seek advice from all you experienced landlords. I’ve got a 2 on 1 duplex and one of the units I just recently remodeled, taking the rent from 1900-2450. Post rehab I immediately had a huge amount of interest and immediately signed a year lease. We are about 2 months into the lease and the tenant has asked if I’d be interested in putting in new counter if they would pay half of it. I wanted to see if you guys would ever entertain this and here are some pros and cons I’ve thought of. Pros: -Tenant is more vested, so longer stay -Someone is paying 1/2 the price of the counter top -the unit will bring about 50-75$ more with new countertops -upgrade is happening while rented = no loss of rent due to vacancy during remodel. Cons: -the biggest thing I worry about is uncovering extra work, new back splash, or heaven forbid their is mold or something... -I do all my own maintenance and remodels and know that with every project always come additional work and I really would hate to uncover Pandora’s box while tenants are in there. The current countertop is laminate and in decent condition. At the end of the day, it comes down to me getting some sort of return on my money, and weighing the risk vs gain.

[Max T.]

Fancy new countertops on old worn base cabinets is not a good look.