Washington, IN · Member since 2015 · 78 posts · 46 votes
5y
I have done it both ways, and looking at it with hindsight I would never do a remodel with tenants living in the unit again if at all possible. Not saying it can't be done, but it will end up costing more money, time, and energy to get it done with the live in tenants. You mentioned house hacking, is this a duplex? Do you need to move in right away or could you remodel one half, move tenants in and then remodel your side. I wouldn't be afraid to remodel the unit I would personally be living in.
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
5y
@Victor Delgado Velez one of the most popular exterior renovations to one building I did was improved parking so don't lose sight of what is attractive to the tenants.
Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2018 · 61 posts · 46 votes
5y
@Victor Delgado Velez I’m dealing with this right now.
Truthfully it depends on the extent of it. My rehab was moderate-not enough to justify asking them to move out but enough to justify putting them in a hotel for a few days.
Some lessons learned:
1. Create a Gantt chart, or at least have one in your head. This will help you figure out not just the order of the rehab, but which parts can be done at the same time. The faster to get them in and out, the better.
2. Don’t expect the contractors to do anything not in their job description. I figured it was a given the guys hanging drywall would clean up after themselves. Imagine my tenants fury when she came home with an extremely asthmatic daughter to find dust covering all the surfaces! And the movers moved the furniture, but didn’t put it back together. Make sure there’s someone there to put everything back in place and someone else to clean everything.