When you buy a rental home with a carpet already installed, it may hold a great surprise for you. Some homes have a beautiful hardwood floor hiding under the carpet. Now, the question is: Should you remove the carpet or leave it in place? For some property owners, staying with carpeted floors would be smarter— it would be the economical and efficient choice for them— but for others, revealing those hardwood floors may just be the thing they need to unlock higher rental income and better tenants. In the end, as is with most difficult decisions, there are pros and cons to exposing your rental property’s hardwood floors.
When choosing between carpet and hardwood flooring in your Leonardtown rental property, you should keep these things in mind. Hardwood floors can be an attractive feature in a rental home. They possess beauty and durability that few carpets can match. But that doesn’t mean that all rental homes should go for hardwood. You’ll need to look into the type of tenant you have, the resale value of the property, the neighborhood, and the cost of preparing and maintaining each flooring type. All of these things should be considered carefully before choosing to permanently remove your rental’s carpeting.
Not all tenants have the same set of views, there would be differing opinions on the upgrade of a hardwood floor. There are some tenants that may appreciate the beauty of a hardwood floor and are also conscientious enough to take on the responsibility of keeping the door clean and dry. However, there are also those who would only end up damaging the floor. For example, tenants with pets and heavy furniture can easily scratch or gouge a wood floor. Some tenants may want hardwood floors for reasons other than the way it looks. For people who suffer allergies, a hard floor surface is more forgiving. It’s easier to clean and keep free of dust than carpet. But if the tenant uses harsh cleaning products or scrubs hard, they could damage it. They need to know how to properly care for hardwood.
Beyond appearance, rental property owners should use the property’s current value and future value as the starting point when making their flooring choices. Because value is often influenced by a property’s location and nearby homes, it makes sense to find out if the other homes in the neighborhood feature hardwood floors or if they have carpet floors. If most of the homes have carpet, then it may not be a good idea to remove yours. On the other hand, if the neighborhood is improving and undergoing a renewal, offering upgrades like a hardwood floor may be the key that would make your rental house better than the competition.
Finally, count the costs before you decide to permanently remove your rental home’s carpet. While you may save on the cost of replacing the carpet every five years, you will meet additional expenses when you remove the carpet and prepare the floor for your tenant. For one, today’s hardwood finishes are more durable than older ones, but it’s likely that the floor under your rental’s carpet is not exactly new.
The hardwood lurking beneath a layer of carpet for years probably hasn’t helped either. That means exposing a hardwood floor will likely require refinishing, and then regular maintenance would need to be done to ensure that the condition doesn’t deteriorate again. There are costs involved in all these steps, and having a clear idea about how much this would cost you can help you make a more informed decision.
After careful study and with reliable information in hand, you can confidently decide whether exposing your rental property’s hardwood floors is beneficial for your rental home.
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