Updating kitchen in rental - is it worth it?

I've been going on a bit of a rollercoaster of hold or sell our IP. Decided to hold and keep renting, but maybe do some improvements to spruce it up a bit.

We've just painted the main living areas/dining which gives the place a bit of a lift.

Next, I'm thinking of replacing carpets in lounge and 3 bedrooms, hoping to get some cheap and durable quotes for under $1000. The PM says they should come up with a clean but I think they're quite old.
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Also thinking of replacing the venetian blinds as they're quite old, some of them don't open too well etc. Maybe $500-$600?

Lastly I'm wondering whether its worth doing a bit of reno on the kitchen? Get some new doors, new benchtop, maybe even a cheap secondhand stainless steel cooktop/oven?
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With this last one, I'm not so sure. I feel like maybe it's something to do prior to selling?

Thoughts? What would your priorities be?
 
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Firstly,

Why are you doing the upgrades,Do you think you will get more rent?

You could paint the cupboards and add new handles for a cheap and quick lift.

Prime and then top coat with laminate paint.

Buy the handles in a bulk pack for ultimate cheapness.

If you wanted to you could also change the colour of the kitchen wall.

The carpets might come up with a clean,if it just for rental i would try getting them cleaned,unless there are tears and fraying in places.

What is on the floor tile or Lino?
 
Its not that offensive. I would just repaint the walls and install a range hood, new tap handles and a new blind
 
$20 PVC venetian blind from Spotlight, might only last a few years but cheap enough and easy to hang. We've got 'em in all our IP's and PPOR.

paint the walls a nice light colour and some basic slim silver handles on the cupboards will do the trick.

Should get out of all that for about $100 or so.

easy.

Unless you think you can get another $60-100/week then it might be worth looking at more.
 
I would just change the carpet as it's looking frayed and stained. At least then you can write-off/scrap any residual value on the existing carpet (if any) on your tax return.

I would leave the kitchen, it looks clean, good condition and useable incl. the appliances.

The blind also looks fine, unless you think you can get something nicer for low cost.

Do the major reno if you think it will give you extra rent. Personally I would leave until when you are ready to sell or if it were falling apart, which it doesn't look to be.

Cheers
 
Maybe add another overhead cupboard unit - plain white will suffice, handles on the existing cupboard doors,change the blind to a slimline venetian, and repaint the walls is all that is required.
 
I agree - the kitchen looks fine. Perhaps new paint on walls/pantry if it really needs it but from the pics the kitchen looks ok.

Would only redo carpet as it looks damaged. Unless you can get significant extra rent I would leave the rest as is.
 
Thanks for the input, appreciate it.

Doing the reno to improve the look of the property, hope to attract better quality tenants. Wont get more rent for doing reno. But not sure if it will work out, the area seems to attract the same kind of tenants, so ......

Don't really have the time to do the improvements ourselves (rental is 30m away) plus I have baby/toddler to look after and work part-time. Can only do a few hours on the weekend here and there.

Been wanting to add some overhead cabinets to kitchen, but then thought I should do it in one lot so that they then match anything I do to existing cabinets.

Do venetians look better? I dont mind the roller blind too much .... and I meant to say the rest of the house has verticals, which are all a bit old and some don't work very well.

What do you think of the curtains in the master bedroom?
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I'm not sure if they actually do anything, pretty sure you can't draw them. Would it be a cleaner look to take them down?
 
Agree with Wylie. Curtains don't look that great and eyelets are cheap. Also is that wallpaper or sponged on paint? New paint in that room would work wonders.
 
Agree with Wylie. Curtains don't look that great and eyelets are cheap. Also is that wallpaper or sponged on paint? New paint in that room would work wonders.

I also think a fresh coat of paint would be great, but it sounds like you have enough on your hands, and it is not close to home. If you can manage to remove that wallpaper (or sponged finish) it would lose the dated look, but if the whole house has a similar finish, you might be taking on a big job for not much extra rent (depending on where it is, how easy to rent etc).
 
Appreciate the advice! It's sponged on paint with a strip of wallpaper border. We can paint it over easy but I'm not too sure about removing the border.

Will look around for eyelet curtains, just need to probably pop down again and check what curtain rods are in place .....

Opinions on blinds ....? Verticals throughout. What are pros and cons of mini-venetians?

Thank you :)
 
Firstly what area is it in and what socio-demographic are the tenants? It looks like a 90's project build to me (seen so much of that same decor throughout the houses I've been looking at :p) Let that be your guide on spending any sizable chunk of money on a kitchen upgrade especially if you won't get much more rent or any better class of tenant.

IMO, the kitchen looks fine but do increase storage if you can rather than go for flash appliances.

In regards to blinds, I always like timber venetians (Bunnings) as they look more modern than vertical blinds.
 
Some great advice, thanks all :D

With the lounge repainted, I hope to at least get the master bedroom done. All in a heavy cream colour. Do you think I should then go for similar curtains - cream, linen, beige .... will that show dirt too easily you reckon? Or grey? Or can I go bold - like burgandy, chocolate, for a splash of colour??

Quite cheap and lots of choice on ebay .... I reckon I make decision easier on my own home than I'm doing on this rental!!! :p
 
Wallpaper border should steam off easy enough with one of those wallpaper removers from Bunnings and sugar soap.

Blinds - have a search here for Venetians vs Hollands vs Verticals, you'll find heaps of discussions.

I hated verticals from being a tenant but they were those awful long chained ones which were always breaking and a nightmare to clean around as you'd get tangled up. But I get chainless versions now because they are cheap, easy to wash as they unclip, easy to replace if broken, they can be pulled back to allow the window to be opened for breeze but don't bang and clank all night like venetians do with an opened window and still provide some privacy. I get them cut to size to fit inside the window frame though like yours seem to be which I think looks better, and also provide a curtain rail. So I'd leave your verticals as is and just clean if necessary.

Last lot of curtains were coffee coloured eyelets from Aldi. (Kmart also sell cheap blockout eyelet curtains too). I chose the colour because it went ok with the walls (antique white USA) and was neutral and would hopefully hide stains. I reckon the tenants can always put their own curtains up if they wish and find the colour too boring :D.
 
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