With Planning, Renters Can Enjoy Benefits of Fixer-Upper Too
When you’re looking for a bargain in an overheated urban rental market, try a fixer-upper. Long the dream of first-time home buyers, a fixer-upper apartment just might be the solution to your apartment searching woes.
If you’re hoping to fix up a shabby apartment, you’ll need to make sure your landlord’s on board. While home buyers only have to worry about money for materials and time for sweat equity, renters have to get their landlords’ approval before opening that first can of paint.
I know it’s hard to believe, but not all landlords are going to be overjoyed by your home improvement efforts. It’s hard to imagine why a landlord wouldn’t appreciate your ripping out the old carpet and refinishing the hardwood floors. Surely your work will increase the value of the unit. But it comes down to two things: your taste and ability.
First, you and your landlord may have very different tastes. One tenant spent a huge amount of money and time tiling the entire bathroom and couldn’t fathom why her landlord didn’t appreciate the new decor. It was simple. The tenant loved brilliant orange and purple; her landlord didn’t.
Second, your landlord may not trust your handy-person abilities.
Once your landlord has experienced a tenant’s shoddy workmanship, no other tenant, no matter how experienced, can be trusted. Your landlord has confidence only in the paid workers who frequently repair and improve the property.
Due to these issues, most leases prohibit tenants from making any alterations without the landlord’s permission. This includes painting the walls, replacing the rug or even installing a dishwasher.
Not all landlords are the same, however. While some will be quite skeptical about any improvement proposal you make, others might be overjoyed when you offer to help fix up the apartment. If the apartment is in sad shape, your sweat will surely improve the value of the apartment.
Before you rent a fixer-upper that you want to improve, make a proposal to the landlord. Tell the landlord you won’t rent the apartment unless you can fix it up. Discuss each improvement in detail and see if the landlord is willing to help pay for materials or let you take a rent reduction in a month’s rent in exchange for your work.
Some landlords prefer to do the work themselves to ensure that it meets their high standards. In this case, you might pay for the materials and ask your landlord to cover the labor costs.
If you come to an agreement, be sure to write it down and add it as an addendum to your lease. Be very clear about the work you are willing to do along with the colors and materials selections to avoid future conflicts. Then when you move out, if your landlord doesn’t like your work and tries to keep your security deposit, you’ll have the signed addendum to back you up in court.
Some improvements require attaching something (a fixture) to the physical structure of the apartment. For example, if you install a new hanging lamp, you are attaching it to the ceiling. Anything that’s attached to the building, even something like a bookcase, can be considered the landlord’s property.
In other words, if you nail it in or hook it up (to the plumbing or electrical system), it’s no longer yours. This means you can’t just take it with you when you leave.
Many landlords don’t want something like a bookcase and probably won’t squabble over it as long as you don’t leave gaping holes in your walls. But a dishwasher may be another story.
So before you offer to make a home improvement that requires installation of a product you bought, consider whether you plan to take it with you when you move. If you do, make sure--before you purchase and install it--that you get your landlord’s written permission to remove it later. Most landlords require returning the apartment to its original state when removing a fixture.
As long as you plan and get your landlord’s permission for each improvement in writing, a fixer-upper apartment can be the answer to your homemaking dreams.
*
Distributed by Inman News Features.
