Saving Money On Renovations

Thinking about buying a property in Pittsburgh? Do you have plans to renovate it for a long term rental? If that is the case, you will need to think about your budget. Most new investors over pay not just for the property, but also the renovations. They feel everything needs to be completely new. Gut it to the studs, all new plumbing, electrical, totally refinish the bathroom. While this can be great and add tons of value, for a rental it's really not necessary.

Properties do not need to be completely decked out with the highest end finishes, and totally remodeled bathrooms to gain attention from potential tenants. You can save a ton of money salvaging a lot of the items that are already there. Assuming the property isn't completely destroyed and in need of a gut job, here are some tricks to save a few bucks.

1. Cabinets

If you have nice wood cabinets that work properly and aren't damaged, you can easily refinish these. Instead of buying new cabinets for thousands of dollars, take the time to sand, paint and polly the cabinets. Put on some nice new fixtures, and there you have a it! A brand new kitchen! This can cost literally a couple hundred bucks for everything.

2. Bathroom Tile

While nobody likes the grandma pink and green tile surrounds in old bathrooms, you don't need to demo the whole place. Demo alone will cost around $500! A trick we use is to reglaze and polish the tub and tile surround. Instead of grout lines or re tiling the whole bathroom, you'll have a nice clean durable shower setup. Then just add some new fixtures that are more modern and your bathroom will look like it's been completely remodeled! Oh and this can be done for probably the price of just the demo!

3. Light Fixtures

Instead of buying $300 extravagant light fixtures and chandeliers go for a common pack of flush mount lights. You can get a whole house replaced for under $40! They look great and come in different tones to match the paint style you have in the rental property. No reason to spend thousands on something that will maybe return a few extra dollars in rent.

Remember the investing is all about putting out a great product to the public at the lowest cost possible. That doesn't mean lowest quality, but the goal is to save wherever you can. Remodeling properties in Pittsburgh doesn't have to be that expensive if you know what you're doing!