All Forum Posts by: Guevara M.

I received several estimates to renovate my small rental unit and have a contractor who plans on starting the work this weekend. I work everyday so can't be at the property to unlock the door to get in the property. Is it ok to give him a key to the unit to go in as needed? I've never worked with a contractor before.

I've been renting out the unit for $600.00 which is a little low due to the condition on the unit being outdated. Once I complete the renovations I should be able to get at least $875.00 or more a month. Given that it would probably take me between 2-3 years to recoup that money back.

Thanks for the replies. After searching online at other properties in my area I really didn't find any with granite. Most had laminate that looked like granite which I will probably go with and will be about half the price of going with granite. I'll use the other half on the bathroom to remove the 3 piece plastic old outdated tub and walls and install a new tub with tiled walls. The kitchen will be getting updated appliances and having a hard time deciding if I should go with white or black. It's a small kitchen that will have white color cabinets with a light colored countertops and light gray walls with white trim. What do you guys recommend?

Need help on what type of countertops I should use on my small 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom town home. I'm getting ready to renovate the whole thing. Total living space is about 540 sq/ft. Going to remove the popcorn ceilings, paint the entire unit from head to toe with light gray walls and white trim with white ceilings. Paint the kitchen cabinets white. Install vinyl wood plank flooring (not sure on color yet), instal recessed lighting and a few other odds and ends. Thinking of spending the extra money and going with granite countertops. Do you guys recommend granite for rentals? Had someone tell me to use 12x12 granite tiles instead due to being a lot cheaper just not sure if the look will feel outdated compared to the rest of the unit. Any help would be much appreciated.

Should I getting estimates on just labor only or labor and materials. What are some of the things I need to look for on their estimates to avoid surprises once the work starts? Once I choose a contractor how do I go about giving access to the get into the property if I can't be there to open it up?

How do you guys go about dealing with contractors? I would normally renovate my rental unit myself but just don't have the time to do it right now so I'm looking at getting some estimates from different contractors. What steps do you follow? I've never dealt with a contractor before.

My tenant of the last 12 years is finally moving out of my small rental unit. It's going to need some renovations that I plan on doing myself. I'd like to list it as soon as possible to start pre-screening but I won't have pics of it till I'm finished with it. Do I just wait till I'm close to being done with the renovations and snap some pics to list it or is there some other way I can go about it?

Planning on removing the carpet in my rental unit and installing some Vinyl Wood Flooring Planks just not sure what's the best and safest color to go with that most tenants would like. Paint color will most likely be some sort of a neutral gray on the walls with white trim and ceilings. So what color of floor would you guys recommend?

Yes it is still on the ceiling.  12 years ago I painted the ceilings and walls.  On the walls and ceilings they are kind of hard.  You can rub your hands over it and it won't flake off.  Every unit in the complex that I have seen still have the popcorn texture so I was just trying to see if I could make mine look a little better. 

After 12 years my tenant is moving out and the rental unit needs some renovations. The ceilings and walls have Popcorn Texture. Are there any options to making it look better without having to go through the hassle of completely removing them and re texturing?