Replacing the flooring in my rental.

[Gilbert Lugo]

hello everyone,

So I got my first rental property and one of the many things that I’ve thought to replace was the flooring. The place came with very old fashioned laminate square which are not very appealing. 

I was wonder from your experience what do y’all think would be the best option such as tiles, laminate, or vinyl flooring? Considering low cost/durability/tenant proof 

[Paul Caputo]

After selling flooring for 3 years I'd highly recommend vinyl plank as many others have stated. All in all it'll hold up the best to whatever the tenants throw at it. it's basically waterproof, isn't going to fade from sunlight like hardwood, and the good ones look great almost like real wood. Some laminates look better, but the durability isn't comparable. It takes a lot of abuse to mess it up, and if you have a good installer they'll be able to replace individual planks if they get damaged (you'll need some extra planks for that so find one you like and use it everywhere.) It'll last longer than laminate and you don't have to worry about it expanding/contracting which could make gaps over time in laminate or wood. 

Carpet is for sure the cheapest, but it'll get destroyed by tenants pretty quickly. Replacing carpet after tenants moved out was something I dealt with in sales almost weekly. I'd rather pay a little more for something that'll last for many years than have to replace the carpet every time a tenant leaves. 

Vinyl tile (the hardy stuff that looks like real stone/ceramic tile and gets grouted in, not the multicolor squares you'd find at the gym) are great for areas where you don't want a wood look. Basically the same strength and durability as the planks and they won't crack like ceramic tile can under stress, be it the subfloor shifting or dropping something heavy. 

Some vinyl planks and other kinds of flooring have a "lifetime warranty" or a "20-50 year warranty" but that's just a marketing gimmick. Warranty only applies to an owner occupied personal residence, you need to have it professionally installed and professionally maintained, and just about anything that you do will void the warranty. 

Now that I work with accelerated depreciation on commercial and rental property I know another good thing about the vinyl planks is you can depreciate it over 5 years as long as it's a floating installation and not glued down. Flooring that's considered permanent and structural like solid hardwood and ceramic tile have to use the 27.5 year schedule, so if it's a big project thats a pretty significant tax benefit. Another thing on that is if you install it yourself you can only write off the material costs while if you pay someone to install it you can write off the material and labor costs. 

Shop around a bit and get a good deal, but remember you get what you pay for. Find a good independent installer with fair pricing, purchase the materials yourself unless the installer can get a better discount and will pass those savings onto you. You'll likely pay half the installation charge that way rather than getting a "package deal" from a bigger company or a "free installation" Note: I worked for a bigger company and the install charge and product markup were ridiculous.