Flipper/Rehabber · WASHINGTON State · Member since 2015 · 179 posts · 67 votes
9y
I personally like the 3 cm white quartz, looks clean and modern.
We have a couple different suppliers we use, not sure if one is ceasar stone. All quartz will stain and burn as it is a synthetic product
The RTA cabinets are more expensive then big box stores. I used Ikea cabinets a few different times and don't care for them much. If you do have a problem with the product a couple years or sometimes less, the product you used will usually be discontinued and not able to match. Also it should be noted the ikea cabinets never get delivered when they say they will, atleast not on any projects we have completed with them. They also do not come with a riser or toe kick so the cabinet is not all the way against the floor. The risers / toe kicks are additional charges.
For a rental I would use a higher quality cabinet that is built with plywood boxes not particle board as renters are hard on things. I would also have all soft close doors and drawers as some people like to slam cupboards and drawers and the soft close will help to reduce damage if, or more like, when done by the tenants.
Here are a couple pictures of kitchens and bathrooms we have done with quartz and granite.
Real Estate Agent · Princeton, NJ · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
@Raj G. - Best way to get a good deal is to get 3-5 bids. You can get remote bids if you know how to measure it yourself and send specs to installers. If you think you might botch the measurements, get one or more professional companies to come out and measure, give you a bid, then use the measurements to get more bids. The more bids you get, the more you'll understand what the outliers are. i.e. Don't pay $12000 just for granite counter tops. Home Depot and Lowes provide some good starting points and/or free design advice, but your best deals may be found elsewhere.
Rental Property Investor · Chappaqua, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 947 votes
9y
Raj G. I can give you an idea of what your looking at. 33-60sf depending on the material. My guy includes install and a basic edge in the price. He also attaches the sink and dishwasher.
I used to get a few bids on every job, then I found this guy. Lately I just ask for a bid every few jobs to make sure the train isn't going off the rails.
If you have the time to do 3-5 bids I would go that route too.
If you want a name I can pass along my guys info he's awesome.
Rental Property Investor · Chappaqua, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 947 votes
9y
Raj G. Have you been to Ikea to look at the cabinets?
If it's a rental and your looking to save money and have an awesome looking kitchen. Ikea is my fist choice. They have a 20 percent off Sale right now. I think it ends April 1.
You'll find some pretty strong responses to Ikea cabinets. I've been installing 2-3 kitchens a year for a while now in my own projects. My first Ikea kitchen was 5 years ago and it still looks brand new.
Rental Property Investor · Red Bank, NJ · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
@Raj G. I use All Granite and Marble. They are first rate- huge selection and an easy to understand price structure. I have shopped around and they always are the best bet. It is really a smooth operation. 1. Go in and give them the dimensions and pick out the granite- get an estimate. 2. have a cashiers check for half the estimate when they come for the template. 3. Have the remaining adjusted price when they come to install the counter and free sink.
For cabinets and vanities you'll get a great deal at Home Surplus in Keyport. The cabinets are much better made than the big box stores. You will likely have to wait on line, but I have not found a better price. You will have a more limited selection but I have never had a problem finding cabinets I like, and the vanities are much, much better than the big box crap.
Rental Property Investor · Red Bank, NJ · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
My pleasure. I should add that we install our own cabinets, so I've only used Home Surplus for design and purchase.
With All Granite they will have the price based on the style of granite, the more unique the higher- but there is no guess work, it is broken into a couple of different categories. Only additional pricing would be for a decorative lip or backsplash. You get a nice, free sink and all installation is included in the quoted price. They are a very large operation and they work like a well oiled machine.
Flipper/Rehabber · WASHINGTON State · Member since 2015 · 179 posts · 67 votes
9y
Congrats on your first rental unit!
What are the details of the rental unit? Beds? Bath? sq ft? single? or multifamily?
I would look around at other rentals in the area and see what they offer in their rentals as far as granite, tile or formica. Sometimes in a rental, Granite is not a good choice as it cost a lot to replace or repair if damaged by the tenants. However, if all the rentals around you have granite for your same price point (Rental Rate) I would say do granite too.
By the way... I'm sure if you look around and talk to some people you can get better rates then listed above. For Granite installed I wouldn't pay any more than $20-$25 sq ft and Quartz would be just a little more than that at $30-$40 sq ft installed.
Rental Property Investor · Chappaqua, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 947 votes
9y
Matt Gragg thats a great price. Good for you.
Im going to bet we're using different products.
I use Ceasar stone most of the time. I can usually get a deal on leftovers from someone slabs on the vanities but that's 12sf. Think he charges 30 a sf for leftovers depending on the color.
My last kitchen was 2 slabs those prices aren't available in my market for the popular quartz colors.
I can get quartz at the prices you quoted but they are off brand stuff. I tested one in the fall last year with olive oil, red wine, and a boiling pot of hot water.
They had some beautiful Chinese quartz at great prices but the white stuff which is popular here showed rings where we put the pot down. That happens with Ceasar stone I call my guy and he brings out a new slab.
I offer a year guarantee on products and labor when I flip and most my stuff is buy and hold. I pay the extra gladly.
Real Estate Agent · Tulsa, OK · Member since 2016 · 408 posts · 242 votes
9y
I have not used them before, but you could try Ready to Assemble kitchen Cabinets. RTA for short. Maybe someone who has used them chime in and let us know if they are a good option.
Flipper/Rehabber · WASHINGTON State · Member since 2015 · 179 posts · 67 votes
9y
I personally like the 3 cm white quartz, looks clean and modern.
We have a couple different suppliers we use, not sure if one is ceasar stone. All quartz will stain and burn as it is a synthetic product
The RTA cabinets are more expensive then big box stores. I used Ikea cabinets a few different times and don't care for them much. If you do have a problem with the product a couple years or sometimes less, the product you used will usually be discontinued and not able to match. Also it should be noted the ikea cabinets never get delivered when they say they will, atleast not on any projects we have completed with them. They also do not come with a riser or toe kick so the cabinet is not all the way against the floor. The risers / toe kicks are additional charges.
For a rental I would use a higher quality cabinet that is built with plywood boxes not particle board as renters are hard on things. I would also have all soft close doors and drawers as some people like to slam cupboards and drawers and the soft close will help to reduce damage if, or more like, when done by the tenants.
Here are a couple pictures of kitchens and bathrooms we have done with quartz and granite.
Rental Property Investor · Chappaqua, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 947 votes
9y
Matt Gragg there is tremendous diversity. Within an hour south I can be in Brooklyn which is so hot everyone I talk to says there are no deals. They are there but you need to dig and be standing ready with cash. Turning multi families into single families and MF into condos are two strategies I see working. I'm more of a buy and hold investor.
For flippers my neighborhood is awesome. I wonder why more guys aren't doing it around me. I play around with flipping but it's not my thing. The buyers around here are really not DIY types. So I see houses all the time that need refinishing but sit on the market for 6 months or more and sell at sometimes hundreds of thousands below ARV. My lawyer was dangling a house in front of me that went into contract yesterday at 320. ARV was 575 and the house needed refinishing. But I'm staying away from flipping
Up north in the Hudson valley everywhere I look I see people from manhattan/Brooklyn/queens buying second homes or relocating entirely. Towns like beacon, Hudson, Kingston used to tough places to stay away from. Now they are popular destinations for day trippers for at least 5 years. That crowd likes to "discover" towns. So when the my see older folks and people like me with a bunch of kids, they move on. So they've been branching out. Some of the towns I've seen hipsters in lately have deals on MLS for less than 50k. Houses made of brick, beautiful Victorians and colonials.
I signed a contract yesterday on a 2 family with one family occupying the whole house. They are a bad tenant junk everywhere, roof Leaks etc.
But for my crew of guys it's 2-3 weeks work at 5-7k and it will be rented at 2k plus a month.
It's in an area that's called a war zone, but so was the house I bought in Bed stuy ten years ago.
I'm sure if you go on the forums in my area there just like anywhere else there are folks saying "no deals!!"
How about you? Your town is on the ocean?
How are you getting l leads? I've always just walked and talked out cards in laundry mats bodegas etc.
I'm thinking about investor carrot.
Here's some of that Ikea stuff....think the counters are both ceasarstone blizzard but hard to remember been a while. That bathroom(vanity is ikea) was about 5 years ago(can ya tell? tile is dated already...lesson learned I go subways and marble octagons so maybe they'll come back around) The one below is my more recent bathroom labor and materials is 4200 for that bath and I'm doing two of them right now if you want a list of the products PM me its all good stuff(low maintenance) nothing crazy expensive except for the vanity I go heavy on those.
One thing I learned Raj when I do something now that works whatever it is stick with it till the agents say its dated. Alot easier on the mind.
Also BTW when you buy ikea now they give you 15% gift card or something like that so I get some stuff like , custom closet stuff and inserts for the cabinets. Tenants like that stuff.
Real Estate Agent · Orange County, CA · Member since 2016 · 36 posts · 19 votes
9y
Sorry, not from that area but my only advice is make sure your cabinets are a good quality. No MDF or particle board. Thick plywood only.
For sure, get 3-5 bids. If you're very hands on, you may be able to find cheaper labor and direct them on what to do. Stress free remodels where the contractor does everything tend to cost more :) Good luck!
Flipper/Rehabber · WASHINGTON State · Member since 2015 · 179 posts · 67 votes
9y
@John Hickey Pictures look great! Those are great looking rentals, I'm sure you are getting top dollar for the area. I have to say, the cabinets do look good.... I might have to get a quote for the next kitchens and baths we do in Seattle.
Rental Property Investor · Chappaqua, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 947 votes
9y
@Matt Gragg the white gloss galley was five years ago. It's in my taxes. I know the whole thing costs about 8k installed. That faucet in the gloss was my old way. I bought the faucet of eBay it's Hans grove. Got it cheap but I don't do that stuff anymore. The faucet in the peninsula is a Koehler pull down from Home Depot-240. The peninsula kitchen cabs were 2k quartz was another guys leftover slab so I paid 2200. Sinks my granite guy throws in. I don't pay for them. He also installs but not the faucet. Just cuts the hole. Appliances were 3500 but I got them over a two month period from different places. Fridge is a 32" counter Depth from pc Richards-900 scratched dishwasher 125, stove was 1100 from sears and the washer dryer I forget.
This one below is more recent the granite was 8800 lg minuet. Cabs Ikea 6100 appliances in not sure I didn't buy them. That's my house other wise I would have gotten a better deal on the quartz. It was my wife's choice. The labor to install that 54' kitchen was 1400 with wall ovens and hoods and all.
Below is an Ikea hack we did. we take kitchen bases and cut them in half to make the bench then take the backs of half the pantrys and remake the carcass. It's a bit of work but that built in would take my guys weeks to do and the price is 1200 for the cabs 45 for the oak and 750 in labor but they're doing other stuff while they do it so it's not really 750 just for that. .
Rental Property Investor · Chappaqua, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 947 votes
9y
Matt Gragg I never liked people who didn't admit when they were wrong.
You were right in the quartz.
I'm going to save about 1200 next week on the kitchen we're doing.
Thanks for he heads up!
I not using Ceasar stone anymore. I looked at it with my supplier and he said there are a ton of brands that are just as good as Ceasar stone at the prices you gave so I'm switching. We should be putting in the cabs(Ikea!) Monday or Tuesday and the quartz will be about a week after that. I'll put some pics up
Flipper/Rehabber · WASHINGTON State · Member since 2015 · 179 posts · 67 votes
9y
@John Hickey Wow that's great. Always nice to have an increase in the profit margin whenever possible.
Yeah I was dealing with a huge supplier in Seattle (don't want to mention their name) that was so over priced it wasn't funny.
I like the Carrara and Crystal White but my favorite is the Fairy White. We try to only use the 3cm for the quartz with a square edge and undermount apron front stainless steel single bowl sink.
Have you ever ran the subway tiles vertical in a shower?
Rental Property Investor · Chappaqua, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 947 votes
9y
@Matt Gragg Looks like you were able to reuse the tub? When I look at bathrooms and I can reuse tubs and toilets with no relocating I'm very happy. No I never have done the subways vertical. Looks great I'll keep it in mind.
Here's my Ikea Kitchen in its current state. They guys sent me the final measurements yesterday afternoon. Picked it up last night got there at 8pm home by 1 am. Trying to get base cabinets and vanities in tomorrow afternoon so we can call for stone template. Need to get pictures done so listing can go live. Open house 4/4.
Here's the kitchen. Just under 7k with appliances labor cabinets and backsplash. I had the faucet laying around that would have been 220. For me though it's not so much the money as the system. If you can frame on a Saturday get the cabinets that night and put them in the flowing work day for less than 5k I'd would look into other brands.