"It's only a rental"

[Adria]

Is what DH keeps saying to me.
He thinks i need to lower my standard while renavating the IP

He thinks spak filling little indents, redoing the previous spak fillings ( which are bulging from the hole) repainting the ceiling (that isn't that bad, but just not a proper job done the first time) is a waste of time and "it's only a rental"

After we sanded the floors he wasn't going to worry about the corners.

i want to repaint the garage as it it 3 colours (2 main colours, with a bad painted green stripe, it has not been taped for a clean line.Then another, left over colour, i think, they might have been going to repaint the whole door)

I want to get all the old manky marks of the window frames and doors where there are tape marks ect and getting looking newer and clean.

Am i going over board?
Do i need to lower my standard ?
Am i gaining any value or enough value to make it worth our while?

 

[handyandy]

Personally I share your attitude. We regularly renovate/rejuvenate our properties and will always try and achieve the highest standard possible.

My view is that if you give it to a tenant lower than perfect ("your perfect") state then when it comes time to claim their bond you do not have much of a comparison to judge the vacated property.

It is rare that we don't claim some if not all of the bond so I see the start point for the standard as crucial.

Cheers

 

[Cartoon]

im the same, do it right and do a good job at it.
no point in spending the time n money of doing a bad/half hearted job.
my whole place is band new in side and i have learnt how things are suppose to be done right and seen the bad work previously done.

 

[Rob Williams]

I share your attitide, too. It's not just about the money and quick turnaround (within reason).
Sometimes it's nice just to do a little more than other peoples expectations. It all comes back to you in some way or another, even if it doesn't translate into immediate higher returns on the project in question.
My forst big reno I went overboard and it cost me a lot of extra time. I now get much the same result in less time by workign a lot smarter. I've also learned what things are really important to tenants as opposed to things that are important to me. I now spend the time and money on the former not the latter.
The only person you have to please and face at the end of the day is you!

 

[BoatBoy]

Dont fall into the perfection trap.

Dont fall into the perfection trap.

In boatbuilding, when it comes to the final fairing, painting and trim, it may take 6 mths to get it to an 80% finish which will fool 99% of the public.

To get that last 20% may take another 18 mths of work and many many dollars, overcapitalising a project considerably and then, only the skilled eye will pick up the difference.

Saying that, I doubt I have seen any house that has fitted into even a 40% standard compared to a boatbuilders 80%.

Dave

 

[Dazz]

I'd agree with your husband Adria. In fact, I reckon he's too much your way. I'd be to the left of him.

Being a slum-lord allows a certain amount of creative latitude when it comes to fixtures.

 

[travelbug]

I've also learned what things are really important to tenants as opposed to things that are important to me. I now spend the time and money on the former not the latter.

List please.

What things do you consider are most important to the tenant?

It can be overwhelming when there is a lot to do. I want to prioritise. What to do now. What to leave for when the tenants leave before new ones come in.
thanks.

 

[yadreamin]

The next time you hear
"its only a rental"
come back with

"Its actually an investment" that l want to preform like a market leader!

cheer
yadreamin

 

[Sheryn]

Adria


My standard is my standard - would I be happy renting this property?


My son lived in a substandard rental property because he knew it was a) cheap and b) he only had to do it for 18 months till he got his own new PPOR.


Regards
Sheryn

 

[Adria]

And intro the Husband....

and looking to add some perspective.

We purchased this place at a good price knowing we had a stack to do. and a month down the track we still have a lot of stuff that cannot be left undone. painting the garage door when there is still no bathroom does not seem to be a high priority, the little stuff to me would be looked at if and when we have time left over before renting it.

eg: the back landing/steps has the typical old metal railing on it. Mrs wants to pull it down and replace with decent timber railings etc. my thought: we can rent it with the existing railing without a major effect to the rent recieved. we cannot however rent it with no bathroom. lets finish the important stuff and if we can still afford to have no tennants for another couple of weeks then we might look at the that. same for the garage door, the paint job is crappy and it will make it look better in the long run but hey I would rent a place with an uneven painted door over a place with half a bathroom....

My thought is not that it is "only a rental" and not in that frame of mind. My thought is simply to prioitise the important stuff now and assess the smaller stuff that is not crucial. I don't want to turn this place into a palace if it is going to turn us broke in the meantime. If I was living there I wouldn't be bothered by an average repair job on the ceiling just because it is not smooth.

on the flip side it is good that she is doing the painting because I probably would have painted the rooms that needed it and not the whole house just because the colour choice was average. this is probably a good move.

I work 7am-7pm weekdays and often 1/2 Saturdays, Mrs is juggling 2 Kids and working some nights, this leaves us with 2/3 weekends to complete a fairly major project. so far we (and I do mean both of us) strip/sand/polish the enitire house floorboards (done) demolish/replace/tile toilet (done) and Bathroom (2/3 done) demolish/replace/tile entire kitchen (99% done) clean and paint entire house (Mrs so-far on her own, partially done) repair and concrete some small areas down stairs (not even started)

 

[Adria]

I have not read the top reply but feel im about to get into a fight with myself here

 

[rugrat]

LOL - I see both points of view. Hope you have fun sorting it out.

 

[Above Average]

What you have done sounds great.

We are very new to this IP game.

We have owned our IP unit for 1 week & have replaced the lino in the bathroom, laundry & kitchen: painted 2 bedrooms, wardrobe & linen cupboard; replaced & stained an internal door; changed all locks; replace shower screen this week; fit a split system aor con next week; fixed security door; replaced back gate; pruned all plants as well as washing all windows, sugar soaping all walls & getting carpets steam cleaned. We also replaced window coverings in kitchen & bathroom. All up done on weekends so 4 days of work in total.

I am keen to lease out our unit at an acceptable standard to if we lived there. ie. we do not need to install a split system but if I lived there, I would need one to feel comfortable. This is my sleep at night factor!

Above Average

 

[Dazz]

I work 7am-7pm weekdays and often 1/2 Saturdays, Mrs is juggling 2 Kids and working some nights, this leaves us with 2/3 weekends to complete a fairly major project.

Inspirational stuff guys. That's exactly how most of the elderly folks on here started out. It's the hard yards you are putting in now that will pull you above the dross. You only need to do it for a few years until you become established.....then the path gets smoother.


I wish you both well.

 

[marg4000]

eg: the back landing/steps has the typical old metal railing on it. Mrs wants to pull it down and replace with decent timber railings etc. my thought: we can rent it with the existing railing

That old railing is a death trap for kids falling through. I agree it has to be replaced or at least modified to prevent an accident, unless the landing is around a meter or so above the ground, at which height it probably would not matter.
Marg

 

[Sheryn]

the Husband....

lets finish the important stuff and if we can still afford to have no tenants for another couple of weeks then we might look at the that.

My thought is not that it is "only a rental" and not in that frame of mind. My thought is simply to prioitise the important stuff now and assess the smaller stuff that is not crucial.

I would have to agree that you must priotise - no write out your plan of what you are doing over the next few weeks and discuss and agree.


Sheryn

 

[Adria]

Thank you to everyone here who contributed and also Rob! Great stuff!

The next time you hear
"its only a rental"
come back with

"Its actually an investment" that l want to preform like a market leader!

cheer
yadreamin

Yes that is the thing a few extra $$ is a few extra $$ that i don't have to pay and few $$ closer to financial freedom

Inspirational stuff guys. That's exactly how most of the elderly folks on here started out. It's the hard yards you are putting in now that will pull you above the dross. You only need to do it for a few years until you become established.....then the path gets smoother.
I wish you both well.

Thanks mate i have now up the anti
The place probably only needs another week of solid work to be completed.
I have decided to get up a couple of hours early (it's 5 minutes from our place) put in some hard yards, then when little Mister wants a nap, ill join him.
I can get far more done in two hours without him than with him..(sorry little buddy) Also going over after i finish work at midnight to do an 1-2 hrs of quite work ie painting.
I figure 1 week of hard yakka aint going to kill me.

That old railing is a death trap for kids falling through. I agree it has to be replaced or at least modified to prevent an accident, unless the landing is around a meter or so above the ground, at which height it probably would not matter.
Marg

This is my next plan, to work out how to be done, it is definately going! I wont let our 20 month old out there near it.
Hubby said that no everyone potentialtenent has a family, made me wonder, what percentage are family's and how many people has they taken of the potential list

For the general rest of the posts....
When buying i told hubby it needed more than a new kitchen, bathroom and paint job, guess i have learnt that we need to communicate clearer with each other.
Might also add that i really didn't think we had the time to put into it, but since were getting a great deal hubby said he didn't mind if it took longer.

Of course i wont rent it out with out half a bathroom, of course that is top of the list to complete, it's only really tiling and connecting of taps to be done and painting.
I have dropped my standards a little, guess i don't want people going through thinking...."wow they did a pretty half a$$ed job" and go looking else where to rent.

Sorry if there a spelling and grammar mistakes, im not going back to fix it up, i'm not the worlds best speller.
Mr Adria, as they "you don't need to spell to be financially free"

 

[stumunro]

I completely understands Mrs Adria view but agree with Mr Adria that right now prioritising is the most important and concentrate on the big jobs that matter before you tie the little ones over. Perhaps if you can do all the inside work and give the new tenants a bit of a discount for the first couple of weeks if you need to come back and tidy some things up.

 

[sparky23]

Its funny to hear the story from the other halfs point of view!

 

[Les]

G'day Mr and Mrs Adria,

Good work, guys - I'm a firm believer that if two people always agree, only one brain is working. So, stick with it, work it out to your mutual satisfactions, and turn this little sucker into a "goer".

First one for us, I took 2 weeks off work (Annual Leave) and we hired a painter for a week. It was "ready to rock'n'roll" in 2 weeks, and gave us a kick along into this property investing caper. A lot of work, but it helped to shape our future.

Good luck, you two - appreciate each others' input, and differences, work it out, and make it work for you too,

Regards,