said by fartness:My kitchen is likely the original... it's terrible.
Having the kitchen done can probably let me raise the rent another $100 a month since the whole house will look uniform and well done. Being able to get another $100 a month for spending $4000 on a kitchen re-model would pay for itself in about 3.5 years. Plus, I'd get to use the brand new kitchen for the time I'm still here. I got my house for about $20k less than other houses in this neighborhood when I bought it. It needed work. I haven't put nearly 20k into it, and even another 4 or 5 grand for the kitchen would only be near 10k or so. If I wanted to sell it with everything re-modeled, I could easily get 10 to 15k more than I bought it for without trying.
Painting $1000 or so
Flooring $3000 or so
Bathroom $3000 or so
Kitchen est. $4000 to $5000
Misc items or repairs $1000 or so
Forgot I got the 10% first time homebuyer tax credit, so I'd do even better. I was paying $75/month less for a 1 bedroom apartment, so for these 3 years here, I'd still make out in the deal if I did the kitchen and used it for a few years, then rented this out.
If you can redo a kitchen for $4-5k go for it. I've done 2 and neither has been under $20k. They can approach $40-50k depending on what you want. The kitchen is the most expansive room in the house.
I'd love to hear your experiences once you start renting. See if you really get $100 more for a kitchen upgrade. I could see $25-30 maybe in reality. I've seen other units like a few of mine be completely remodeled and rent went up $25/month. If I could get $100/month more I'd do it tomorrow myself.