1021 Hickory St, Lansing, MI 48912

This is an upstairs/downstairs duplex. Since the likely buyer is a landlord, we'll skip the fluff and cut straight to the things a landlord would want to know. This property was bought by three friends as an investment, and it's made a fine investment. But tracking expenses and doing taxes on a property owned by three unrelated individuals has proved a hassle, and all three of us are ready to cash out and do something different. Both units turned over around the same time, and the property is due for its city inspection, so it's a good time to get out. Since purchasing this property in 2019 we have pulled two mechanical permits & two plumbing permits, and just before we bought it the previous owners pulled a roofing permit and an electrical permit. All 6 permits were inspected and passed. This house has passed two rental safety inspections since we've owned it, and been deemed completely up to code. It is now due for reinspection in 2026, but we don't want to deal with that hassle when we can just sell it. Other major things we have done to add value: the sewer line was collapsed when we bought it, we excavated and fixed that, and installed an outdoors cleanout to make future sewer cleanings easier. The basement had been wet and the galvanized steel gas lines were rusty and corroded, so we had them all replaced and also added a new gas line to the laundry since most commercial coin operated dryers use gas. We mitigated the wet basement by installing proper downspouts that go into drainage tile underground and flow into a rain garden in the front yard, then out to the street. If you don't want to deal with the occasional weeding of the rain gardens (they're mostly filled with native wildflowers but need weeding once a year) you can daylight the tile and fill the rain gardens in. Your call. When we bought the property, none of the utilities were split, so the landlord paid all the utilities. We have since had the water split into two separate meters, so tenants now pay for their own water and sewer. We were going to split the electrical next, but didn't quite get to that. That's something you can do to add value. We did install a brand new, 96% efficient furnace, so the heating bills in the winter are surprisingly low. So here's what sucks about the house and where you can add value. The gutters are sagging and need to be redone, and there is some facia missing. Might be some loose soffit too. Tenants don't really care about that stuff, but it should get fixed. And most of all, we have never updated the cosmetics of the house, except for repairing and painting walls and ceilings. It has the same dated floors and the same dated kitchen/bathroom cabinetry and countertops that we bought it with. Upgrading the kitchens in particular would be a great way to generate more monthly income, though even as is, we last rented the units for $810 each (so, $1620 total), so it cash flows positively.