Buying a rental home with a carpet already installed may give you a great surprise. Some homes have beautiful hardwood floors covered by the carpet. The question now becomes: Should you remove the carpet or keep it? There would be property owners that would benefit best with retaining the carpeted floors. It would be a more economical and efficient choice for them. Yet, there are others that would get higher rental income and better tenants if they decide to reveal those hardwood floors. So, do not rush to a decision. Instead, study the pros and cons of exposing your rental property’s hardwood floors.
When choosing between carpet and hardwood flooring in your Sauk Centre rental property, it’s important to consider a few things. Hardwood floors can be an attractive feature in a rental home. It is beautiful and durable— traits that few carpets can match. But that doesn’t mean that all rental homes should go for hardwood. You will need to consider the type of tenant you have, the resale value of the property, the neighborhood, and the cost of preparing and maintaining each flooring type. These things need to be determined before choosing to permanently remove your rental’s carpeting.
Not all tenants would look at an upgrade of a hardwood floor the same way. They may not share the same view on the matter. There are conscientious tenants who may appreciate the beauty of a hardwood floor and do not mind the additional responsibility of keeping the floor clean and dry. However, there are also tenants that may only damage the floor, making it look ugly. For instance, if they own pets and heavy furniture, they can easily scratch or gouge a wood floor. Some tenants may prefer hardwood floors for other reasons aside from its beauty. For people who suffer from allergies, carpets make life more difficult. Hard floor surfaces are very much preferred since they are easier to keep clean and free of dust. However, if a tenant doesn’t know how to properly care for hardwood, they could easily damage it with harsh cleaning products or hard scrubbing.
Beyond appearance, rental property owners should use the property’s current value and future value as a basis (at least partly) for their flooring choices. Because value is often influenced by a property’s location and nearby homes, it would be prudent to find out what the other homes in the neighborhood have— whether they feature hardwood or carpet floors. If most of the homes have carpet, then it may be safe to assume that removing yours may not be the best option to take. There are exceptions, though. If your neighborhood is undergoing a renewal, offering upgrades like a hardwood floor may be just the thing your rental house needs to stand out from the other homes.
Finally, consider the costs when thinking about permanently removing 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, modern hardwood finishes are a lot more durable than the older ones, but the floor under your rental’s carpet may not exactly be new.
Lurking beneath a layer of carpet for a long time hasn’t done anything to help the hardwood 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 each step of this process, and knowing how much this would cost can help you make the right decision.
After careful consideration and after taking a look at how your tenants, neighborhood, and rental home will be affected, you will be more confident in deciding whether or not you should expose your rental property’s hardwood floors.
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