spend money on remodel? How much?

[Guizmo]

Hi folks,

I'm finishing paying off the loan on my condo this year. My tenant told me that he will move once his lease is over in February. I haven't decided if I will move into the condo after the tenant leaves and finally leave my parents' house or if I will continue to rent. I do know that I will put some money into it no matter what.

Currently, there is an ugly orange paint through out the condo. The bathroom is antiquated and so is the kitchen. I will likely put in new light fixtures throughout the place, new sink + vanity, toilet, refinish the kitchen cabinets, put tile in the kitchen countertop and a new faucet, new paint and perhaps newer appliances. I'm budgeting around $2k with a lot of the work done myself. I might go the extra mile and get tile flooring in the kitchen and bathroom as well.

My question is, do y'all think it is worth it? Will it make the condo go up in value by that $2k or will it just be so that it looks nicer? I'm currently renting it for $650 but I might be able to get $700 if it looks nice.

[totoro]

When I buy I have a timeframe of at least ten years because most of the profit is in selling when prices are high. 

Some renos help get slightly higher rent and better tenants.  They may increase value if they bring the property up to the neighbourhood standard - which it seems might be the case here.  If you are going to live there it is quality of life as well.

Given that it appears that you are putting your time and energy into this practical upgrades this increases the likelihood that you would get the actual out of pocket costs back imo.

Your renos all sound good except for the tiling of the counter.   I don't enjoy tile counters myself because of the grout and feeling that they collect grime.

Good used appliances can be found online for very little money where I live.  I actually have someone installing an over the stove microwave hood fan I bought online right now.  It was brand new and still in the packaging.  They didn't need it - it just came with the stove they purchased.  We got it for 1/3 the price of a new one at the store.

[TrulyStashin]

Your renos all sound good except for the tiling of the counter.   I don't enjoy tile counters myself because of the grout and feeling that they collect grime.

+1

 I love to cook and despise tile countertops because they feel awful and collect dirt.  They're hard.

If I walked into a unit with tile counters, I'd walk back out.   Irrational perhaps, but there you have it.   I plan on doing this:  http://karapaslaydesigns.com/diy-ardex-concrete-countertops/ and will post about it once I've done it.