Congrats to your son on this investment! If it were me...I would first order the appliances - these days they take anywhere from 1 month to 1 year to get certain appliances. I would also reconsider the over the range microwave. The recirculation on those OTR microwaves are not good - they barely work and replacing the hood is a much better idea. Can you replace the last cabinet with an open area to place a microwave - basically take out the doors and have something like the image shown below?

After those big decisions, next I would paint the cabinets a neutral paint color and install concealed hidden hinges/hardware. This will be an amazing update that will really make the kitchen feel very updated! Lastly, new tops, fixtures and undermount sink are all great ideas! Just keep the countertop very neutral also and Id go with brushed nickel fixtures - they arent going anywhere trendwise and they are the least $ right now.

yes - to painting the shower door! there are lots of online tutorials on this - just lots of elbow grease (you have to sand the frame down really good) and Rustoleum.

good luck and post when its done!

Photo?

When you say investment property? Is he renting it? Doing and AirBNB? The reason I ask is, if things are in good working order and clean - there is no need to update. Sure , you can paint the cabinets if they are getting worn ( it looks like they have been pointed before ) but you will need to keep repainting unless you really strip these down.

A large single bowl sink and laminate cabinets are perfectly fine. Laminate is actually quite durable and looks good these days.

I don't think you can change those hinges - the doors appear to be partial inset - that typically has an exposed hinge. If you are painting the cabinets white , then buy white hinges.

I you are hiring someone to paint the cabinets, sometimes you can get brand new cabinets for the same price - then you could change the configuration.

The shower door may be dated - I do not know how hard or how durable a painted finish would be on that. I would just scrub it clean and then see.

Congrats on the new place! That's very exciting!

He will be renting it out. It’s a 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath. The tenant was in there for six years and was paying $950/month, in a pretty good area. My son, with smart updates, would like to increase that.

get something like one of these. theres no place to sit or perch and people do that with their phone in hand etc. the other things are not needed. 2 1/2 baths..are you kidding...he can raise the rent probably get offers over and start right away. all those things you listed take a bit of time and that will delay .

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If we did those updates though, I wasn’t sure in what order to do them. Paint first, counters second, maybe appliances last. 🤷🏻‍♀️

if you are going to pull the trigger on appliances...with the existing openings?? start looking for specials at Lowes and Best buy etc. you have space requirements and you sound like you desire matchymatchy...sometimes they will offer a trio like that. I'd try to avoid ordering at full price. you could get a black stove to go w existing dishwasher. and a stainless fridge goes just fine w black..or leave the white fridge till it needs replacing.

If he really wants more money for the place, he should consider really dealing with the kitchen issues. What is the bump out over the kitchen window/sink? Why is the dishwasher so far from the sink? You see the kitchen right at the entry of the house. It is not huge — 2 walls is all we see and half of that is appliances. A wow! when you walk in the door is what would get more money. A microwave over the range hits short people right in the forehead — ugh. Maybe you need an apartment 24” range, 18” dishwasher and 28” refrigerator — and a small built in microwave. https://www.compactappliance.com/apartment-refrigerators/.

I can't speak for the rental prices. The Kitchen is a total rip out , and not worth more changes until it happens. Better location for dishwasher as well, as part of new cabinetry......and a hood over the range. Perhaps a drawer microwave next to the range.

Comes a point when you can't patch, you need the rip.

except that a renter for 6 yrs implies its perfectly adequate . Jan is right if you really want an up to date kitchen there are numerous things when you look close. but rental kitchens run the gamut and there is nothing right now stopping from getting the rent coming in. I would look at your list a little more closely and pare back the expenditures and time for all this. Just get a new stove...there may be one ready to purchase and get delivered. the counter microwave is better off to the side as the range /fridge wall is a little crowded.

The first thing to consider (even before making any changes) is whether the financial investment for any updates is worth it. Since this is a rental, the kitchen does not need to be at the standard that would be in many Houzzers' homes. It does not need to be what you would have in your home. It does not need to be what your son would like in his own home. The financial cost of the reno needs to have a reasonable payback.

For example, if the reno costs $1,000 takes one month and would increase the rental value of the apartment by $100/month, your son would recoup his initial investment in little less than two years ($950 lost rent during reno plus $1,000 in cost = $1,950 divided by $100/month = 19.5 months)

However, if the reno costs $10,000, takes 3 months, and increases the rental value by $25/month, then the payback period is more like 42 years ($2,850 lost rent during reno plus $10,000 in cost = $12,850 divided by $25/month = 514 months or 42 years).

Of course, it’s adequate at $950/mo except her son would like to increase the rent on a 2 bed, 2.5 bath in a pretty good area. We don’t know the comps — the best thing to do would be to go see rentals in the size and price range desired and then work towards that.

MO older home renovation start with the bones like electric, plumbing and heating . Those should all be brought up to snuff then start making it pretty . The lastt hing you want as a landlord it to be pestered with band aid solutions to major issues. Since I have no idea what the rents are like in the area I can't really comment on thta. I have rented out homes and honestly a good tenant that pays on time is worth everything since that eliminates painting and cleanng everytime a tenant leaves. The best is for your son to check out what the rents are in that area before going to a huge expense for no gain.

Just my 2 cents as someone who has more than 30 years in the rental property game. I am going to do this in two posts, one with some words of caution and the other with specific advice.

First, what is the cap rate on the property? You should not make decisions on rental property without understanding the cap rate and how it will change. I constantly see people improve property only to actually lower their cap rate.

Next, the more expensive the renovation, the more expensive the maintenance. Renters care for things differently, which is not to say that renters don't care for things, they just care differently. We tend to maintain and handle things with some deference to their cost, a renter will care and maintain things with some deference to their utility but be indifferent to the cost. This means that expensive affixed upgrades like floors and cabinets need to be durable or easily repairable.

Also, I would be hesitant to do anything to remove a tenant who had been there six years. The biggest expense in rental properties is the time between tenants, I will typically lose 2 months rent and have lost as much as 2 years rent when changing from one tenant to the next. Here are a couple of before and after pics of a property in one of the best neighborhoods in the city, great school district, and rents in the top quintile for the area, and tenants that checked out fine.

So be cautious about increasing rents to attract better renters. A six year tenant is worth their weight in gold in the non-corporate rental business.

Finally, neighborhoods determine your rental income range and the condition of your property moves you up or down inside that range. It is difficult to give meaningful advice on the specific order of improvements without knowing more about the range of rents of other rental properties and their condition. There are areas where the rental range just doesn't match the condition, these tend to be neighborhoods that are either really convenient or really inconvenient.

As an owner of rental properties, I would do nothing as long as everything works properly, and looks clean and maintained.  

I need a lot more information about the local real estate area, your son's financial resources, and the potential  upside of any renovations. 

Currently, most properties are overpriced and rents won't cover the  mortgages, taxes, and expenses of newly purchased properties.

Now for some specific advice...

Appliances matter a bit less to tenants than others. The appliances are not theirs and so good appliances really aren't the home run for renters as they are for buyers.

The house should have some identity and improvements should be commiserate with that identity. If it is a family home, it needs a good yard, appliances that are conducive to cooking a family meal, good bedrooms, good storage space, good durable bathrooms, etc. If it is an entertainment home, the public spaces, (living room, guest bathroom, kitchen, exterior, etc.) all need to be tastefully finished so your tenants feel good about having people over. If it is a home in an area with a lot of social activities, you should focus on the private spaces.

Specifically, I wouldn't do a lot of work on the kitchen unless the other spaces were great. Renters are not typically wowed by great kitchens in average properties the way homeowners are. An over the range microwave is just moving from an appliance that is their problem to an appliance that is your problem. I have to replace OTR microwaves more than any other appliance.

I would personally, put in a tile backsplash, change the pulls/knobs, add under cabinet lighting and a soffit and leave the cabinets alone. If you really want to take it up a notch, get shaker doors and paint the cabinets and the new doors. You can get doors for about $40 each and they will make a bigger difference than anything you can do to the current cabinets. If, and only if, I was updating the entire home would I put in stone counters.

For the bath, replace the gold shower door. The toilet paper tower makes the bathroom looked cramped, so consider something like this..

You want as much floor space clear in the bathroom as you can get so that it seems more spacious. Use nicer towel racks or towel hooks so that it appears everything has its own space.