Laminate vs Hardwood flooring for Flips

[Sean Salandy]

I am looking to flip a home and would like to run laminate flooring throughout (except in the bathrooms and utility rooms). The home should sell around $170k in the Cecil County, MD area. Should I consider using hardwood floors instead or would a nice laminate be adequate? This would not be considered a high priced home at 170k by local standards.

Also, if I go with laminate flooring, should I stick to 10-12 mm thick or can I use an 8 mm without any issues? I saw a good price/design on a 8mm that I am leaning towards.

Thanks for your time.

[Mike Makkar]

@Sean Salandy, How much floor space are we talking about? and what the price differential? If you have to spend 1% over (ie. $1700 additional for a $170k house) just to get a better appeal, I'd spend the money. Hardwood has a wow-factor and can usually fetch a better deal quicker if not justfor a premium upgrade. 

For rentals under $1500/mo, I use laminate and for flips (over $200k) or rentals over $1500/mo I use hardwood. I made the mistake of using apartment-grade laminate on my last rehab and most of the cost was the labor, I should've forked an extra $1 sq-ft for the 1500 sq-footage home and I could've more than made up for it in higher rent across 6 months.