nevermind

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Message edited 7/3/2006 2:40:32 PM.

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

I personally not want to live in conditions "only good enough for tenants" when its currently MY home that I pay for.
Even when I was a renter, I made improvements(with permission) out of my own pocket to make my standard of living better while I was there.
I say you should fix it to whatever point will make you comfy for 5 years. Its still your house & not all tenants destroy everything.

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

We also are only planning on being in our home 5 years. We have done some work but I will not do any major work. Most of our rooms were already redone when we moved in (kitchen and bathrooms were new). However, if after 5 years I am going to stay, I would dormer the house. This is not an investment that I would make now even though it will bring up the value and make us a bit more comfortable, because it's sooo much money to invest. I think making some changes though is worthwhile, especially kitchens and bathroom improvements because they increase the value.

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

I am tending on leaning towards your husband being right on this one but let me explain...

I would renovate but I would see how much I could stretch the dollar. For example, you might want to concentrate on areas that have the most visual impact with the basic structure that you already have. I definitely would not be spending money expanding, knocking down walls, putting in real hardwood floors, expensive tile in the bathroom, top of the line appliances.

Don't get me wrong, you do want quality for such things as the boiler (you will save money in the long run), good windows and exterior doors but if you are planning on renting it out in a few years, and based upon what type of rent you could expect, I would try to buy a lot of the materials at a discount. When we knew we would eventually move, we redid the kitchen but we were lucky enough to be able to take my SIL's 5 year old appliances (she was doing a kitchen redo as well) and put them in our kitchen. We also did a basic tile from Home Depot, a formica counter, and an inexpensive light.

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

Also remember the nicer the apartment, the more money you can rent it for.
5 years is a long time to be living someplace that needs some updating.
WHy dont you start with one thing at a time ( to appease him)

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

I say fix up the house they way you want to live NOW! You NEVER know what is going to happen. I have friends that bought "starter" homes, with the intention of living there no longer than a few years and 10 years later...they are still in the same house.

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

I can go either way on this- while I agree with you- and personally would want to update everything you want- I can also agree with you DH-

our DH sound alot alike- mine would tell me that I couldn't do anything - then we would met in the middle on the things that mattered to me the most- esp since you are going to rent it and not try to up the resale value

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

Posted by Lisa

I say fix up the house they way you want to live NOW! You NEVER know what is going to happen. I have friends that bought "starter" homes, with the intention of living there no longer than a few years and 10 years later...they are still in the same house.

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

Posted by Lisa

I say fix up the house they way you want to live NOW! You NEVER know what is going to happen. I have friends that bought "starter" homes, with the intention of living there no longer than a few years and 10 years later...they are still in the same house.

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

What Tah-wee-ZAH said....

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

What about doing some things cosmetically(paint, decorative treatments) Hey even if you want to put hardwood in-check out lumber liquidators-they now have a =n actual wharehouse in CI off Wheeler rd. Right by Exit 56 on LIE

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

JMO, but I would definitely want to make the house mine, even for a short time.

I try not to plan too far into the future because things and situations often change and I hate to be disappointed.

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

I hate to say it-- but I kinda agree with your DH. Small fix-ups which improve and update on a budget are what makes the most sense if you are not planning on selling. I would want everything brand new in the place I was living in too, but I don't think your will get a return on your investment. I would talk to some real estate agents who are familiar with renting houses, etc. and get their opinion.

If you can end up charging a substantial amount more in rent as a result of the fix-ups, then maybe it's something you should do, BUT I would do it like in your last year of living in the house. Since you will not be using the sale of this house towards the purchase of a new one, I would think you would need all the $$ you can save. It would probably make more sense financially to keep that money in the bank or elsewhere and earn interest on it over the next couple of years, rather than putting into a house, where you won't start reaping any benefits until you start renting.

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

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Message edited 7/3/2006 2:40:50 PM.

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

My feeling on the flooring that is already in bad shape is you should replace it with something that is more durable anyway. In my opinion you need to consider using better quality building materials in a future rental, unless you plan on changing things in between tentants when they break or get crappy.
As for the mural in your DS's room, he's going to have 5 years of great memories with a nice room, I would not even think twice about that. Maybe you'll find a tenant w/a child or maybe you'll paint over it. Like so many have said though, its nice to have a plan but sometimes plans change.

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

We own some rentals - so with that in mind, I'd say update it moderately with future tenants in mind. When we renovated one of our houses (that DH lived in at the time), we used commercial grade products - kitchen tile, bathroom tile, carpeting, etc. It doesn't have to look commercial, but it will be durable for you and thus a good investment.....and it can look nice too!

Re: WHO'S RIGHT?

We have a tenant in our house. Honestly, while I agree with you to make it clean and decent for any tenant, I have to agree with your DH. I would not want to do any major renovations. Nobody is going to care about the house, wall, cleanup like you would on your house. We plan to keep the tenant for another 2 of 3 years.

I will give you an example. The bathroom upstairs started leaking into my hallway downstairs. Enough to fill a glass everytime he was taking a shower. When I had the contractor come and check stuff out... dishes were everywhere. It was dirty! I was shocked. We were talking with the contractor about redoing the bathroom upstair but then, I was thinking I did not want to spend $7000 for a bathroom and it is ruined because the tenant does not clean. We did a less expensive fix. We will gut it when the upstairs is free.