Hardwoods Or Carpeting?
I'm in the process of renovating one of my rentals and can't decide whether I should refinish the hardwood floors or put down carpeting. Its a decent amount of work to refinish the floors and I've already done one room that looks beautiful. The problem is that its pine and very soft so may get damaged by tenants. Anyone have any rentals with hardwood floors? Do you think they are easier or more difficult to rent? Do you think they are easier or more difficult to maintain?
Hardwood is gorgeous. That said, save it for your upscale tenants. Carpet over it if you are renting to anyone other than upscale tenants.
I tend to prefer to take up the carpet and leave hardwood floors in my apartments.
I would think that you could get more rent with hardwood floors than carpet also. Another alternative is to install floating laminate on top of the existing hardwood. I have seen some wholesale place on ine where you can get it for as little as 1.75 sq', but you have to buy a whole pallet ~1200sq' I think.
I would do the hardwood and put a good coat of lacquer on top. Yes the hardwood will never be perfect again, but imperfect tile and hardwood is acceptable. It is part of owning tile or hardwood. But imperfect carpet is considered disguisting.
Brenda
Hey,
It depends on the market and the price range of the rental.
For me, a house has to be upper middle class to do anything other than carpet.
I wasted a HUGE amount of money refinishing floors on my first rental. They looked great. The tenants all said what pretty floors. Then they put down rugs, because wood floors are cold. After two years the floors looked terrible. I put down carpet and have never looked back.
All things being equal, I doubt you would get more rent for hardwood floors then with carpet.
I think Bruce is spot on.
Also consider how quickly you can get the place sorted after the next tenant moves out. A carpet cleaner can be in and out pretty quick for a low price.
Hardwood is a big plus when people are looking at a place. It is not a great thing after they move in. That is unless they are paying more in rent for hardwood vs. what they would have paid for carpet. I have never seen a price difference. I do see people preferring hardwood and therefore more interest in applying for a place.
Definitely factor in the down time if you are going with hardwood and expect to refinish. The lost days of rent are another cost.
Hardwood when you go to resell is a big plus and can be worth more. If you put down carpets over the floors see if there is a way to do so without leaving damage around the edges from the nails.
John
[addsig]
Anything is better than carpet. I like the painted concrete idea. I just wish we could utilize that in some of our rentals. We've had every kind of stain imaginable, and some stains that we couldn't figure out, such as the blood in one unit (lots of it) and two other tenants who apparently refinished their furniture where they placed it- right in the middle of their living room www.floor.Tenants treat their carpets -like dirt. Or at least our tenants do.
Cordially,
Alice
I love hardwood floors. Now that i've said that, I'm not sure pine qualifies as hardwood, it's soft. We have pine floors in our cottage up north and it requires special care, they not only scratch easier, they will gouge as well. I think personally, i'd go with the wood floor but depending on your clients, i'd think twice about leaving it in a rental.
I know it's discouraging to see a chunk of floor gone because someone slid a chair accross the width of a board.
becki
Depends on a whole lot of factors.
#1 What kind of deposit are you getting?
#2. Can you afford to replace the carpet after every tenant?
#3. Are you laying the carpet yourself, or contracting.
#4 What is your timeframe. Carpet takes a day to lay in a normal size house.
Basically, because I don't yet know how to lay carpet by myself, it is expensive to get done. I do know how to lay tile however. It is expensive to buy, but if you lay it yourself, it's cheaper than carpet installed (and lasts 30 years). I avoid carpet whenever I can. It holds stains and smells forever!
[addsig]
As others have said, it really depends on your market and the quality of the property/tenants you are (or expect to be) dealing with. I have never had a shred of carpet in _any_ rental unit I have held, and I have taken carpet out many times. However, I am also very careful about who I rent to and all the properties I handle are upscale. I won't get into renting a low-income unit because it's typically MUCH harder to find a decent tenant that will care for the property.
Yes, hardwoods can be damaged, but it's not all that hard to stain carpeting either. Plus, carpets hold smells, and have to be cleaned.
Basically, I never have carpeting in our apartments because I would never live in an apartment with carpeting in it, so why would I rent one?
Finally, the tenant has more flexibility w/ hardwoods, if nothing else. (The drapes may not match the carpet, but everything looks good w/ a wood floor.) Plus, if they want that "homey" feeling, they can always get a throw rug.
Personall, I think hardwood is gorgeous.
everyone has good points. I just wanted to add that I was talking to an investor once and he has hardwoods in his rentals. He said its worth it if you intend to keep your rentals for a while, carpet gets expensive to replace all the time and the hardwoods end up paying for themselves. Guess bottom line, its what you can afford to do and what works for you and your area.
Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm leaning towards the hardwood because I like the looks...and because I've already spent a decent amount of time working on them. My main concern is what Becki noted. I guess they arent technically hardwood. They are soft and I'v already found out the hardway that they damage easily. My friend had his dogs in the finished room and there are big gouges from their nails. I may look at having a professional come and put on a specialty coating that is extra hard. I used polyurethane but I believe there are superhard coatings that can be put on. they have to be put on professionally because it involves mixing chemicals. I'm thinking this may be expensive. However may be more cost effective than replacing the carpet every few years or recoating the wood with poly .
Quote:some stains that we couldn't figure out, such as the blood in one unit (lots of it)
Here's a little story that might relate: A cop friend of mine got dispatched on a call because someone heard a woman screaming. He arrived and heard more screaming, and entered a suburban backyard weapon drawn, only to find that goats were being sacrificed, and the goats were making noises that sounded like a woman screaming. It turns out that his town has a large group of immigrants from some little country we'd never heard of, with some religion we'd both never heard of, and they like to sacrifice goats periodically. Well, the town ended up telling them that they couldn't do that in their backyards anymore, so several times since the police have been called by landlords who have found blood in their units, and they've determined that it was a member of this group who sacrificed a goat indoors, usually in their bathtub. Maybe this was what happened in your rental?