Corporate Housing: Rental Property Upgrades.
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Published Date: 2014-06-05
Yes you need to upgrade your rental property!
Business Travelers and the Corporate Housing Tenants you are looking for expect your rental property to be upgraded and in keeping with their professional standards. If you choose the right property upgrades you will increase the value of the property, increase the rental rates you can charge and make you tenants happier and stay longer because they are comfortable in the corporate rental you provide - KimberlyHome Depot and Rheney Williams have some ideas for you:
Considerations for Fixing Up Your Fixer-Upper Kitchen
Our first home was far from our dream home when we bought it nearly a year ago, but after months of dedicated DIY sweat equity, it is no longer the stuff of nightmares. My husband and I remodeled every room in our 3-bed, 2 ½-bath property, and now it is something that we - and future tenants - can be proud to call "home."
Because that's why we bought this particular house: To live in it for a few years while we updated it and paid down the mortgage, at which time we would convert it into a rental. Indeed, knowing that we would eventually turn it over to renters was a major guiding force in all of our updating choices.
And let's not forget that the main point of an investment property is to make money, so we made sure that everything we did added value to the home at a reasonable price. Since one of the best places to add value to any property is the kitchen, let me show you how I updated mine and share some rental-specific renovation tips so that you can do the same with yours!
Materials Matter
I spend about 90 percent of my "free" time in the kitchen, and since this will be mine for a few years, we needed to update it with features that we would be happy living with. At the same time, the rental listing is still a few years away, so we had to consider the long-term aesthetic appeal of our selections. The last thing you want to do when you're investing that kind of time and money is update with taste-specific trends that will: a) not appeal to the vast majority of potential tenants, and b) look dated in a few short years.
Finally, all of our materials needed to be extremely durable to withstand the wear and tear of being in a rental.
When factoring all of these requirements together, we settled on a classically contemporary color scheme of white and shades of silvery gray with rich cherry oak hardwood floors.
*Tip: By adding pops of temporary color with my accent pieces that will be vacating with me, renters will still have an updated, neutral palette to personalize when they move in.
Cabinets
Cabinets are often the largest expense in a kitchen remodel. If the custom cabinets of your dreams are simply out of reach, opt for cabinets that appear custom but come with a standard price tag. We found these fantastic bright white laminate cabinets from Martha Stewart with a gorgeous raised panel detail. White never goes out of style and the slick laminate surface is easy to clean.
*Tip: Because our kitchen ceiling is only eight feet high, we needed to go with 39-inch cabinets (rather than the 42-inch I originally wanted), but by attaching them directly to the crown molding and taking them all the way to the ceiling, the casual observer sees custom cabinets that measure 42 inches overall.
And by saving on the cabinets, we were able to spend a little more on gorgeous chrome hardware that completes the custom look.
Countertops & Backsplash
The countertop and backsplash combination is where you have some stylistic freedom. For me, I have always wanted an entire kitchen covered in Carrera marble, but that's just not a practical choice for a rental due to marble's tendency to
stain, show water spots and attract dents and scratches like nobody's business.
My solution:
Move the Carrera look to the backsplash with elegant Grecian white marble subway tiles that I installed with silver gray grout coupled with the champ of all heavy-duty countertops, Silestone's quartz. Our gorgeous gray and silver quartz looks amazing next to the complementary Grecian white marble but will withstand high heat abuse next to the range like no other natural stone countertop available.Appliances
We selected an assortment of great quality stainless steel appliances that will maintain their modern appeal for years to come. We didn't purchase top-of-the-line models, but because we purchased from top of the line manufacturers, we were still able to get exactly what we needed and most of what we wanted.
*Tip: If you are buying from different manufacturers, make sure that the stainless steel styles coordinate with each other. I ensured this by purchasing appliances with similar-looking handles. Also, avoid mixing colors (black with white) and mixing finishes (shiny with matte) to maintain consistency throughout your remodeled kitchen.
What fresh ideas do you have for your next rental renovation?
Rheney Williams writes about her DIY kitchen projects and appliances for Home Depot. Rheney recently remodeled the kitchen in her Charleston, S.C., home, and designed it to accommodate new appliances that included a range, refrigerator and dishwasher.
Click to view Home Depot's complete selection of dishwashers and other appliances, including the ones in Rheney's kitchen. 
