One of the common questions we get here at Blue Oak is what type of flooring is best for a rental. Given that one of your largest expenses as a landlord is the replacement of flooring, I figure we take a closer look at your options, specifically the ones we've had experience with. Your goal as a rental owner is to maximize the life of your flooring so that you have to replace it as few times as possible.
Carpet: the most popular option and found in almost any house. Carpet is soft, quiet and warm underfoot. It is one of the easiest and most cost-effective floor coverings to replace. But you do have to replace it and the turnover rate is much higher than other flooring. Unfortunately carpet depreciates very quickly in a rental, we usually see a life between 3 to 5 years and sometimes less depending on how well it is cared for. We recommend carpet in the bedrooms but in as few other areas as possible. With Blue Oak, carpets are professionally cleaned with each new tenant to help extend the life of the carpet. If you do have carpet in your rental remember to budget for replacing it every 3-5 years.
Vinyl: another popular option. Vinyl is durable, water resistant, easy to clean and inexpensive. Vinyl flooring can be difficult to repair and large or sharp items can scratch it. Vinyl can be installed as sheets (one solid piece) or planks (either floating or glued). We have had very good experience with vinyl in both the sheet and plank form. Vinyl is great for a rental because it is water resistant and lasts considerably longer than carpet. You can even find the plank vinyl textured like real wood that looks great too.
Laminate: laminate wood flooring is another durable option that can be relatively inexpensive and is easy to clean and maintain. Laminate is generally hard to scratch and can look really good in place of carpet or vinyl. The only real downside of having laminate in a rental is that it does not handle moisture well. Any water left sitting on the floor can cause the laminate to warp. Make sure your residents know the proper care of laminate before they move in.
Tile: tile is a great long lasting flooring option for your rental. While generally more expensive than the options above, tile floor can last you a very long time. Some downsides to tile are that the grout lines can get discolored quickly and are difficult to clean - we recommend darker grout and thinner grout lines. Another downside is that if the tile cracks it can be difficult to repair if you do not have any matching tile remaining (always remember to purchase an extra box of tile to have on hand).
Wood: wood flooring is wear-resisitant and long lasting and looks great. It is one of the most expensive options on this list. Wood is a great option for flooring but due to the cost is probably better suited for your personal residence (somewhere you know it will be taken care of). We have seen wood do very well in a rental.
There are quite a few choices out there and each has their pros and cons. Personally I've always been on the search for the perfect rental flooring and have yet to find it. I have certainly drifted aways from carpets but have installed tile, laminate, wood and vinyl (sheets). So far all four have worked out well in place of carpet and have saved money in the long run. Feel free to give us a call if you'd like some more advice on which floor to choose. Best of luck choosing that new floor for your rental!
Chris
Blue Oak Property Management