Floor painters- please advise

[Angie B.]

So we just moved our first tenant out of our first rental. (We have three rentals now.) After removing all of the carpet and pad due to odor and stains from smoking and cat pee- I refuse to put carpets back in. I discovered hardwoods underneath, but a larger corner of the living room (where you first step into the house) is covered in floor leveler, which was needed at some point in the past where the floor had sunk. There is also a lot of paint on the floors, and the hallway has a lot of glue on it from old peel and stick tiles. I have decided to sand and paint all the hardwood, including where the floor leveler is (I will put a rug by the front door anyway to wipe feet on). So here are my questions for those of you who have painted the flooring of your rentals before.

QUESTION 1: OIL BASED or LATEX BASED? We already bought some latex based Valspar porch and floor paint (satin finish), but it won't be as shiny as if we go with oil based (glossy), and I'm not sure how it will hold up. However, from what I've read the oil based paint takes so long to cure- I don't want to wait too long to get this rented.

QUESTION 2: Best color? We tried Valspar's Fired Earth, which is a nice dark dark brown. (Inspired by this post: http://www.todayshomeowner.com/painting-wood-floors/ )

Not sure if it would show dirt from shoes more easily though.

QUESTION 3: What do you tell your tenants to use to clean it? Just a normal wood floor cleaner?

[Erica R.]

We painted our floor in our NYC apartment and I absolutely loved it! We had white floors, but we lived there ourselves, so not suggesting you do this for a tenant as they would almost definitely ruin white floors :) I did a lot of research on floor paint, and after speaking with a ton of painters, reading posts online, and based on our personal experience of living at the property for 5 years: we decided to use Floor/Porch paint! There are specific paints formulated for hardwood floors, and they are much more durable, long wearing, and way easier to clean. No primer is needed and no top coat is needed...everything is included in the actual paint. I used and loved Benjamin Moore, and would recommend two coats. Even with floor paint, however, you will likely need to repaint after a couple of years, however, I still think it will be way easier to maintain than carpet. Here is what our white floor looked like: http://www.houseofbrinson.com/home/2011/8/25/home-profile-greg-erica-and-oliver.html#.U2XBo61dVDo

I love the look of painted floors, so good luck!