When you purchase a rental home with carpet already installed, it may have a great surprise hidden inside. There are homes with carpets that have a beautiful hardwood floor underneath them. The decision you need to consider is whether you should remove the carpet or leave it in place. For some property owners, the economical and efficient choice would be to continue with the carpeted floors. But for others, the decision to reveal those hardwood floors may just be what they need to achieve higher rental income and better tenants. In the end, you have to weigh the pros and cons of exposing your rental property’s hardwood floors.
When choosing between carpet and hardwood flooring in your Spring rental property, take these things into account. Hardwood floors can be an attractive feature in a rental home. Only a few carpets can match their beauty and durability. Even so, hardwood may not be the best option to go with. Not all rental homes would gain from it. So, do 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. Choosing to permanently remove your rental’s carpeting should not be done carelessly.
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 many tenants who are conscientious and may appreciate the beauty of a hardwood floor, and willing to take on the responsibility to keep 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 aesthetic beauty. For allergy sufferers, a hard floor surface is preferred since they are a lot easier to clean and keep free of dust than carpet. But if that tenant doesn’t know how to properly care for hardwood, they could easily damage it with harsh cleaning products or hard scrubbing.
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 prudent to find out what the other homes in the neighborhood have— whether they feature hardwood or carpet floors. If most of the homes in the area have carpet, then, maybe, you should think twice before removing yours. There are exceptions, however. For example, if the neighborhood is undergoing a renewal, offering upgrades like a hardwood floor could be what makes your rental house more attractive than the competition.
Finally, consider the costs when thinking about permanently removing your rental home’s carpet. You may save on the cost of replacing the carpet every five years, but there are additional expenses when you remove the carpet and prepare the floor for your tenant. For one, newer hardwood finishes are more durable than those in the past, 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. So, exposing a hardwood floor will most likely require refinishing, and then it would need regular maintenance to ensure that the condition is maintained. Now, all these steps would involve costs, and knowing how much you’d have to invest would be a tremendous help. It would help you make a well-informed 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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