Today, we are talking about whether you should remodel your San Francisco property prior to renting it out. The answer is: it depends. If the house is looking tired and you have a really old kitchen and really old bathrooms and you can afford to remodel, then yes, you absolutely should remodel it.
Today’s tenants in San Francisco are different from what they were many years ago. They are young, they are affluent and they want nice things. The hippie days in San Francisco are over and people today want modern and sleek spaces with top of the line appliances. This is important for you to keep in mind as you consider whether or not to remodel. The best tenants in San Francisco are going to want nice things, so if your house is dumpy and tired and you keep it that way, you are more likely to get dumpy tenants who will not take good care of the place. If you have a home that you decide to put on the rental market, do you want five or six college kids living there? If you decide not to remodel, those kids might be the only tenants you are able to attract.
You also have to consider how long your plan to rent out your property. If the home is a long term investment, and you are planning to rent it out for 10 years or more, then you should definitely remodel as much as you can because you want to benefit from those investment dollars right away. Don’t wait for three or four years to remodel, do it now so it can have an impact on the income that you will collect for the full ten years.
If you think you’ll sell in a few years, talk to your sales agent and get some advice. Some of the upgrades and remodels you need to do to attract a good tenant will also be what you will need to do to attract a homebuyer. Therefore, it might make sense to remodel now, even if you are planning to sell in the near future.
It looks like the short answer is yes. Yes, you should fix up your property as much as you can. This will help you to attract the highest rent that you can, and it will also help you find the best tenant to live in that property.
