Curiousity killed the landord?

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

Hello all,

I have a question, an informal poll of sorts.

I'm at the beginning stages of remodeling my mother's house (she's not living there anymore). It's a two family home. The downstairs apt right now is a one bedroom.

Here's where your sage wisdom/expertise comes in:

I have the ability of making this space a nice, big, one bedroom apartment with a huge eat-in kitchen, large living room and bedroom; or I can take that "extra" room (the kitchen, believe it or not) and turn it into a second bedroom, and make a smaller galley-like kitchen, open to a common room/living room area, which, overall, would not be that big.

I know that it's difficult to visualize, and ultimately, it's my decision, but I"m just looking for what YOU ALL would be looking for in an apartment as a single renter, or with one other roommate.

As a single renter, is the kitchen important to you? The bigger the better? I know that kitchens in homes are massive these days, but do you all look for that in apartments too? Do you young'uns spend time in the kitchen like us old folk?

And, if you were to move in with someone else (have a roomate), how important is a larger kitchen for you? Do you consider the size of the living room/common space or are the bedrooms more important when sharing an apartment (these two bedrooms would be a good size).

Ok, I'm being redundant on both questions, just humor me.....


Also, in general, how important are laundry facilities on-site (ok, I think I know the answer to this one, but I'm throwing it out there as well...)??

Thanks in advance!

:D

~@~@~@~

ADDENDUM-DUM

Er... I know I should be asking a realtor this question, and I have fair idea, but what's the going rate these days for a large one bedroom apt close (VERY CLOSE) to Davis sq?????

Comments

[m00n.livejournal.com]

I really appreciate that you are thinking about this as a landlord because it is definitely something that, as an apartment hunter, I've had some pretty strong feelings about. The whole country seems to be extremely lacking in landlords who give two thoughts to kitchen construction.

First off, let me just say that it is NOT the *size* or "fanciness" of the kitchen that matters, it's the intelligence of its design. A tiny kitchen with maximal counter and cabinet space is ALWAYS better than a huge kitchen with one tiny granite counter top with a stainless steel fridge, and yet it almost always seems as if landlords renting apartments believe the opposite to be true based on what I see in the listings.

One thing that is often overlooked but makes a *huge* difference is lighting that points directly at the counter tops. I find it very difficult to cook in the dark or, as is the case in most apartment kitchens, in my own shadow (because there is one feeble light in the center of the kitchen). It's especially important that that light be pointed directly at the counter in a way that is never obstructed. If you Google "restaurant kitchen" you will see, in the very first picture that comes up, an example of a kitchen that has lights directly over the counter top. To put it bluntly, there is almost no such thing as "too much light" in a kitchen. It is very important (can you tell this is a sore spot? :-)).

Two other kitchen-related things that, when taken together and with good kitchen-counter lighting, are important enough so as to make me consider an otherwise unimpressive apartment even if it is very expensive: Lots of outlets above the counter (at least one per counter "section"), a gas stove, a dish washer (the kind with TWO rotors so that the dishes on the top ACTUALLY GET CLEAN), a garbage disposal, and a stove vent that actually vents to the outside.

Sometimes it seems like a lot of landlords regard these things as unreasonable capital expenses when refurbishing an otherwise modest apartment but, as a renter who cooks, I can tell you for sure that a) Apartments that have all of these things without being otherwise extremely "high-end" are extremely rare and way out of my price range and b) Because such apartments are so rare, they almost always make me re-think my original price cap. When I was hunting for my current apartment, I gave the realtor a limit of $1400 a month. I was shown several larger apartments for that price (with kitchens that were large, but severely lacking) before being shown my current place (for $1500) with a much nicer kitchen. Given the space difference, I think it's safe to assume that I paid about $150/month more for the nicer kitchen. Since it was such a rare find, I've stayed here for 3 years so far. That's an extra $5400 for my landlord over 3 years for amenities that almost certainly cost him less than half that amount.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

As for the laundry, the only reason I was willing to live in a place that had none was that I live across the street from a laundromat. It always seemed kind of "cheap" to me for landlords not to be willing to provide on-site laundry, even if it is coin-op, since it ends up being so much cheaper than a laundromat for all involved if spread out over the length of the life-cycle of your average washer-dryer set (or even, for that matter, your average lessor's stay in the place).

[ceo]

Yes, yes and yes. Even with the smaller kitchen, a range hood that vents to the outside is a necessity, as is a dishwasher if you remotely have room for it. A range hood that doesn't vent to the outside is not a range hood; it's a fan that redistributes the greasy smoke evenly throughout the kitchen.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

I wish more landlords understood how this is actually hurting their OWN investment by permanently coating all surfaces in the kitchen with a thin layer of oil.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

Our home inspector led us to believe that "lots of outlets" in the kitchen is actually required by the electrical code; you don't see it in older places that have been grandfathered in (*cough* our kitchen *cough*), but I expect any substantial renovations would require this condition to be met anyway. (I am not a housing inspector, et cetera.)

Also, you can renovate my kitchen any day.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

I suspected as much but hadn't bothered to look it up until now, and your inspector seems to be right. The code dictates:

- No more than 4 feet between GFCI kitchen receptacles
- Countertop sections more than 12 inches wide are considered a "wall" and need a GFCI receptacle.

Source (http://homerenovations.about.com/od/electrical/a/artkiteleccode.htm)

My current kitchen is the first one I've lived in that hasn't been grandfathered in as it was substantially renovated just before I moved in. One caveat, however, is that there is one wall of significant width that they didn't bother to put a countertop on, so I went out and bought a substitute from Ikea but, of course, it does not come with electrical outlets, so I still have at least one permanent plug strip + extension cord arrangement in here.

[dial-zero.livejournal.com]

I would add, if you're not going to have a dishwasher (which is something I personally don't mind sacrificing as a renter) PLEASE have one of those two-section sinks, with a disposal, and enough counter space for a dish strainer.

[m00n.livejournal.com]

No kidding. Or at least enough space in the second sink to put the dish drainer in that. Oh, also, a sprayer and a faucet with a mix valve so that it can be operated with one hand (you know, because you're probably holding a sponge or a dish with the other).

[junesrose.livejournal.com]

I appreciate your feedback, I have some answers. Maybe.

Remodeling a kitchen is HUGE expense. I'm sure your aware of that. My mom's house was built at the turn of the century, and the kitchen is probably half that age. Sometimes, in these older homes, you just can't do what would be "better design" because the structure of the house doesn't allow for it without spending $$$.

[For example, the old chimney in my mom's house runs through the middle of house, and takes up a lot of space in the kitchen. The current stove is gas and is vented through the chimney. The chimney and stove stick out a bit and are in the way, and really impossible to work with in re-designing the kitchen without removing the chimney all together. That's a huge expense and a ton of work. Not everyone sees the need or has the finances to do that. With the help of a ginaormous loan, I am going to try to make this kitchen livable, but it's a one shot deal; I'm not doing this again. My kids can remodel if they like. :/]

However, when my mom lived there, she refused to put any money into the house unless it was absolutely necessary to keep it from falling down. So, remodeling the kitchen was not something she would even consider.

She was alone in the house, and had help from neighbors when she needed it, but was very independent in making decisions about work needed (i.e., she wouldn't listen to me...). And, I'm assuming that most older people who own the homes around the area feel the same way. They're going to do what is necessary, and no more. Spending $10K on updating a kitchen is not worth it if you're not going to get that back in rent. Especially if the rest of the apartment is in OK condition. Besides, this would mean having a vacant apartment for the duration of the renovation. And if the landlord lives there as well, they maybe cannot afford to lose that monthly check. You may see it as an investment, they may see it barely making ends meet that the end of the month. That extra "$5400" that you mention may be going to higher water rates, and taxes, things that a lot of tenants don't think about, but are incorporated into the rent. And if you've paid the same rent for 3 years, I think that's a pretty good deal.