KITCHEN BACKSPLASH IDEAS UBA TUBA GRANITE
[♪ music ♪] [brian spitz]hi, i'm brian spitz with big state home buyers,and today we're going to talk a little bit about to rehaba rental property. you bought a rental property,let's say in a neighborhood like katy or spring or cypress, and it's been built sometimein the last thirty years or so. and you're ready to rent it out. hopefully it's at leasta three bedroom, two bathroom property, and you're readyto figure out what you're going
to do to this property to getthe most rental money possible. it's really temptingto go overboard when you're renovatinga rental property. it's real tempting to pick outthe really unique backsplash and the great granitesand stainless appliances. sometimes those thingsare really necessary to get market rent dependingon the area. but if you're in one of thesesweet spot rental areas like katy, cypress, any of those,
you really wantto stick to the basics because going an extra$10,000 in upgrades is not going to get youenough rent to justify it. and it's really importantto think about when you're going to sellthe property because that's when you really want to putthat extra money in. so what are the basics? in my opinion,you always want to take care of the structural integrityof the house no matter what
you pay for it,no matter when you buy it. and so that includes,of course, the foundation, the roof, the air conditioning system, the water heater, pest control, plumbing. this is number onebecause in houston and the surrounding areas,there's foundation
and soil problems everywhere. and if your foundation isn'tlevel, none of the rest matters. you'll get cracksin the sheetrock, you'll get plumbing breaks, you'll getgranite breaks in the kitchen. so the first thing you alwayshave to check for is the foundation and makesure you check it between each renterto make sure it stays level. you want to usea reputable foundation company, one that warranties the peersand just make sure
that it's always level,that the grading is right, that the foundation isnot getting too wet or too dry. next is the roof;thirty-year roofs in texas only last about eighteen years. the weather here isvery extreme; the heat is really hard on composite shingles. and so it's very importantto check your roof, make sure that it's not leaking,make sure that the ridge ventsare working properly,
and just make sure the houseis protected with a good roof. you want to make surethe plumbing is in good condition, thatthe water heater is on a stand, that it meets codebecause that will keep— if it bursts or floods, it will keep the house from flooding. you want to make sure thatthe air conditioning system is serviced,that it has enough freon if it runs on that, that it isin good working order,
that the furnace isin good working order, that there's no electrical problemsgoing on with that, which is the one i left off,electrical panel. you want to make sure thatthe electric panel on your property is properlyserviced and in good condition. all of these things,no matter what, have to be maintained. from there,you want to look at carpet. use basic mediumto darker carpets
because they show less wear.they'll last longer. you want to usevery basic paint colors like kilim beige or some sort of comfortable grayor one of those. you want to use tilein your common areas if possible to reducethe number of times you have to replace flooring. make sure that the appliancesare in good order. granite is not expensive,so if it's time to replace
counter tops in the kitchen,we will usually use in expensive granite likeuba tuba or baltic brown, and cabinetsin good working order and the siding is all good,and all of that. but keep in mind, again,every time you were at the property, you're likelyto have to do touch up paint, new flooring,new landscaping work. so just keep that in mindas you continue to spend on the property,and also when it's time
to renegotiatere-leasing the property. it's always cheaper to keepthe same tenant in there. if you can make thema better deal even if you have to reduce the rent a little bitin order to keep them in place, it's always worth consideringkeeping your current tenants so you don't haveto redo the house again. and again, save yourbig dollars for when it's time to put the property; that'sthe time to put on new siding put on the good granite, replace
all the appliances—do itwhen you're getting ready to sell. if you want more informationon how to acquire new rental properties or howto find good houses in houston, you can cometo bigstatehousedeals.com, contact one of our agents,and we'd be more than happy to find the next investmentfor you. [www.bigstatehousedeals.com][♪ music ♪]