Purchasing a rental home with carpet already installed may result in a great surprise: that carpet may be covering a beautiful hardwood floor. What you need to think about now is whether or not to remove the carpet. For some property owners, the economical and efficient choice would be to stick with carpeted floors, but for others, revealing those hardwood floors would open the home up to higher rental income and better tenants. The bottom line is not to rush to a decision but to consider both the pros and cons of exposing your rental property’s hardwood floors.
When choosing between carpet and hardwood flooring in your San Pedro rental property, think about these few things. Hardwood floors can be an attractive feature in a rental home. They possess beauty and durability that few carpets can match. Even so, hardwood may not be the best option to go with. Not all rental homes would gain from it. So, before choosing to permanently remove your rental’s carpeting, you’ll need to know what type of tenant you have, the resale value of the property, the neighborhood, and the cost of preparing and maintaining each flooring type.
Not all tenants have the same set of views, there would be differing opinions on the upgrade of a hardwood floor. Some tenants are conscientious and may appreciate the beauty of a hardwood floor and see that it is worth the added responsibility of keeping the floor clean and dry. However, there also tenants that wouldn’t go well with hardwood, for instance, those with pets and heavy furniture. These can easily scratch or gouge a wood floor, damaging it and ruining its beauty. Some tenants may prefer hardwood floors for more than the way it looks. For allergy sufferers, a hard floor surface is preferred since they are a lot easier to clean and keep free of dust than carpet. However, if a tenant doesn’t know how to properly care for hardwood, their harsh cleaning products or hard scrubbing may damage it.
This decision should go beyond appearance. It would be best for rental property owners to base their flooring choices, at least partly, on the property’s current and future value. Because value is often influenced by a property’s location and nearby homes, it would be smart to know what flooring the neighboring homes have— whether they feature hardwood or carpet floors. If most of the homes have carpet, then, perhaps, it wouldn’t be wise to remove yours. On the other hand, if the neighborhood is developing and undergoing a renewal, by offering an upgrade like a hardwood floor may be what your rental house needs to stand out from the rest.
Finally, think about the costs when you’re considering permanently removing your rental home’s carpet. While you may save on the cost of replacing the carpet every five years, removing the carpet and preparing the floor for your next tenant isn’t free. There are additional expenses you will have to pay. For one, modern hardwood finishes are more durable when compared to the older ones, but there’s a good chance that the floor under your rental’s carpet won’t be exactly new.
The hardwood may have also degraded from the years it spent lurking beneath a layer of the carpet. So, exposing a hardwood floor will most likely require refinishing, and then it would need regular maintenance to ensure that the condition is maintained. Of course, each step of this process would involve some amount of cost, but knowing how much you’d have to invest would allow you to make a well-informed decision.
After carefully considering how your tenants, neighborhood, and rental home factors into your specific situation, you can confidently decide whether or not you should expose your rental property’s hardwood floors.
Take the headache and hassle out of managing your rental properties. At Real Property Management California Coast, we handle the lease paperwork, renter relations, professional vendors and everything else! Contact us or phone us at 310-535-2150 to talk to a professional San Pedro property manager today.
We are pledged to the letter and spirit of U.S. policy for the achievement of equal housing opportunity throughout the Nation. See Equal Housing Opportunity Statement for more information.
