What Upgrades Do Renters Like?

[sunburned_in_seattle]

If you can't do hardwood floors, I had lino (I know! cheap lino..) that looked like hardwood floors. This was in a kitchen of recent rental.

I would never want granite because I personally do not care for it. Can I start a Ihategranite website? It's so overdone...

I would agree on the two-tone paint, white baseboards, beige walls idea.

Maybe a few light fixtures that are something nice - not extravagant, but not the cheapest ones at the Home Depot Ugly light fixtures from the 1980's are a turn-off for me.

If you could go to one of those stores that sells the *slightly damaged but still functional (I've seen them on home improvement shows) stainless steel fridge, hey all the better! I recently walked in to a rental with one -minor cosmetic damage on the fridge - but hey, it's stainless steel!

Or even black fridge/appliances.

Kitchen cabinets are a big one for me, too. I rented an apartment once because it had nice quality cabinets. Feels homey.

[sunburned_in_seattle]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Growing up my Dad said why would I get a dishwasher... I have kids.

Always kind of stuck with me... the most demanding tenants, in my experience, are those with subsidized housing and those renting high end places...

The middle just looks for a place to call home...

Um, yeah. I grew up in house with a broken dishwasher. My Entire Childhood. clearly , they could have afforded to fix dishwasher.

But my mother would always say, "I have four dishwashers," meaning her four kids...And yes we were.

Funny...when we all moved out, it finally got repaired...

[Ultrarunner]

Let me expand... we moved when I was 9 and the home had a dishwasher and disposer.

My parents used the dishwasher once... found it noisy and at first Dad could not figure out why we were out of dishes!

So going forward for as long as I lived there the dishwasher became extra storage for can goods...

They did splurge for a built-in GE oven stove Microwave in 1978... I did the install and it still works great... think it cost about $500 back then which was a lot of money... well, at least it lasted!

[Ohiogirl81]

It's been a long time since I rented, and I don't expect a rental to suit my every single need (not even owning a home does that). But what I'd look for in a rental is:

• Storage, storage, storage, and lots of it. Closets, cupboards, cabinets, dedicated and secure storage spaces, sheds, whatever.
• Ample parking, where appropriate for the area.
• Washer dryer hookups if possible. Cable hookup.
• If I'm renting an apartment, I'd expect the kitchen appliances, minus a dishwasher depending on the apartment itself, are included and would look elsewhere if I had to supply a fridge or stove. If I'm renting a house, I'd expect all appliances to be included, including laundry.
• If there's no carpeting in multi-level apartments, I'd expect some kind of area rug requirement built into the lease for all tenants to minimize noise.
• Fresh paint and a clean carpet when I move in.

I'm assuming that every place would have necessary health and safety requirements, such as adequate heat and cooling, windows that don't leak, adequate lighting in common and outdoor areas, evidence of upkeep in common and outdoor areas, etc.

[ground_pounder]

stainless steel appliances green fixtures such as LED lighting and DC powered ceiling fans. tile floors since it's easier to clean and you won't have the headaches of trying to get the cool aid stains out. and space LOL