Should You Start Remodeling a Rental Apartment?

Last Updated: 2021-08-12By Steven H.

Renting apartments or parts of the house is widely spread for variety of reasons. Some people cannot afford to currently purchase their own place while others do it when relocating for work or education. The market is full of options, but sometimes the interior of apartments is not in great condition. This article is for people who wonder if they should remodel apartment space while renting.

For obvious reasons we all want to enhance the looks of where we live and spend most of our time. Remodel On Point wants to break down benefits and complications upgrading rental places as the person who rents it.

Renovations can be extensive or partial solely to make it slightly appealing. The endless debate of upgrading rented apartment goes down to costs, benefits and losing money you have invested.

We divided this article into pros and cons of remodeling apartment and explain what situations may work for you specifically.

When Remodeling a Rental Apartment Makes Sense

The whole procedure of remodeling anything requires money to be spent and personal time either to plan the work or to do it yourself. Because apartment is not yours there is a risk of spending it all for nothing. After all there are many things that can happen and you can be asked to move out. Here we listed several situations when remodeling a rental apartment can be a good idea.

Staying in this apartment for years ahead

If somehow you are ensured that you will stay in current apartment for years ahead it makes sense to do some sort of renovation inside. Normally this does not happen and landlords do not promise to keep renters in their building forever. Government control rent increase for current occupiers. Therefore it is profitable for landlords to have new lessee with increased rent amount.

On other hand people live in renal spaces for decades and have no issues. For those who are comfortable with that scenario it could be worthwhile performing some sort of renovation throughout the years.

Not spending tons of money on remodeling

If we are talking about tiny home upgrades that do not cost much, it makes sense to complete them even if you rent the place. Small changes can go the long way and just changing backsplash tiles or refinishing cabinets completely changes the look.

Landlords are very hard to convince to remodel apartments. If something is not broken than it is not needed to be replaced. Their process of though is to make money. Therefore renovating the place on your own could be the only way to upgrade it without moving.

When owner of apartment is family member

Rules completely change if the building is owned by your family member. First of all family should provide the best apartment they have and compensate for upgrades you do. Do not expect to get free everything from relatives all the time. Overall renters should feel comfortable remodeling apartment while renting from family member and not worry about being kicked out as long as they pay rent.

We all want to live in better places and it doesn’t take much money sometimes to upgrade the apartment. Having relative as a building owner is always a plus and it lowers risk of losing invested time and money.

When you have agreement or contract

To protect yourself from being left on the street after investing money in remodeling of rented apartment you can have an agreement with landlord. And we remind everyone that agreements better be on paper signed by both parties.

We have heard of stories when renters were contractors and remodeled parts of apartments and did not have to pay several monthly rental fees. Another agreement can be in a way of longer occupancy. Signed a paper, which protects you from being asked to move out for several years, if you spend money or do renovation of apartment unit by yourself.

Why Avoid Remodeling Rented Apartment

certain things in apartment should not be renovated

Having second thoughts on spending thousands of dollars for upgrades to place you do not own? Here we listed problems with remodeling rented apartments. Think twice about your situation to decide whether to start reno or simply live in the place as is.

You may change mind or relocate again

Staying in rental apartment could be result of temporary work or study. Some companies even pay for the rented place for entire duration. Planning and executing remodeling process takes time. If your stay is short and the plan from beginning is to move within several month it is not worth doing the work inside.

Obviously paint touch ups can completely change the place without much costs involved and time spent. For anything extensive you won’t simply have time. Remodel On Point team suggest redecorating short term rental apartments versus trying to change finishing materials for your taste.

Rent is over and invested money lost

If the place is yours, partial and complete remodeling a rental apartment has return on investment. Some of it is greater than money spent and some is much less. All renovations inside apartment you rent have zero return and all the costs for material and labor will never be given back.

Imagine spending ten or even twenty times more than monthly rental fees only to find out one day that it was for nothing. There are many reasons for which landlord may ask you to vacate apartment. After all you may just do a free renovation for landlord and leave the place.

Apartment building can be sold

Owner of the property with apartment building could potentially have plans to sell it all. When this happens, buyer can do absolutely anything to the structure or land it sits on. It includes complete renovation of the building with completely renewing all tenants with higher rent, demolishing and starting new development or even converting it for commercial use.

During the sale of the property renters lose almost all their rights and can be asked to vacate the premises within few months. This is one of the reasons why occupants do not wish to remodel apartment while renting it.

Damaged by others will not be covered

Situation with damages of the property and insurance claims is very difficult. Normally through companies home renters can insure their personal belongings for damage or theft, but will decline any means of physical attachment to home if property is not yours. Meaning the place is not yours – owner pays for damage.

Our best example that does happen in real quite often is flood. Neighbors from above could damage remodeled room of rental apartment with flood and not a single insurance company will cover your costs.

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:

Asphalt
Concrete
Paver Stone
Crushed stone
Brick
Seashell
Gravel

To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway

Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
Patches and small holes can be fixed fast

Cons of Asphalt Driveway

Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
Almost everyone else has same surface
Oily surface and chemicals used in mix

Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway

Durable material for large weights
Long lifespan if installed properly
Winter and summer friendly

Cons of Concrete Driveway

Has marks and stains over time
Hard to repair without replacement
Super hard to DIY

To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway

Creative designs can be done
Personal looks, can match the house
Can replace single stone in minutes

Cons of Paver Stone Driveway

Weeds growing through
Stone can move over time
Most expensive material

There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway

Low maintenance required
Fits rural area style
Can be reused for other purposes

Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway

Gets very hot during summer
Can be messy after many drives
Hard to remove snow and ice

Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway

Variety of selections in shapes and shades
Bricks are recyclable
Slip resistant with rough top part

Cons of Brick Driveway

Needs regular maintenance
Change color over time
Old fashion looking

Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway

Environmentally friendly
Has natural drainage
Creates worm vibe of beach house

Cons of Seashell Driveway

Break and crack under light weight
Sharp and very hard to walk on
Gets stuck in shoes and tires

To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway

Cheapest of them all
Easy DIY Job
Can install another material on top

Cons of Gravel Driveway

Needs to be graded very often
Will mix with dirt and leaves
Washes up with heavy rains

It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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