Should I redo a kitchen floor or save the money

Question

Hey everyone, trying to get some input here. Kind of a long story but I’ll try to give the short of it. I bought and had delivered a new refrigerator from Lowe’s for one of my rentalstHATS Currently occupied. Lowe’s delivery team scratched the floor in the kitchen when bringing it in. So Lowe’s went through they’re insurance claim. I submitted my quote to redo the floor bc I explained to them I can’t just take up one piece due to the floor being older and a new piece wouldn’t match color wise. So I got them to pay me out for a total new floor plus labor ! ill be doing it myself My first intention was to do just do the floor. But I did think hey, maybe I can and should just pocket this money and leave it in my reserves. It’s literally a 9 inch scratch. The tenant isn’t complaining. One part of me wants to make it nice and new bc I like to have pride in my properties. Any suggestions on which way to go ? Ps going to upgrade to a better flooring if i go that route

Mike McCarthy · Answer

I imagine theres something on the market you could use to fill and color the gouge. I don’t really know what, but you can’t be the first person with this problem. I’d stop by a hardware store with a picture and ask. I’m sure you’ll be able to find a nice $4 solution!!

Jerimy Justice · Answer

I actually got in to a disagreement about this with my mentor recently. He did not want me to renovate the kitchen or any of the floors in the house. But my thing was I got such a great deal on the house and I knew that Renters would pay a premium. He thought that I'd only be able to rent the place out for $1000 a month and because of putting in the new wood looking tile floors I'm getting an additional $400 a month. I was able to get the floors done at an hourly rate.. it worked out to be like $2.15 a sqft. Also, if I decide to sell it in a year or so its going to demand $$$$$$ Do what you think is right for your situation! Good luck my friend!

Nicholas Weckstein · Answer

@Mike McCarthy that was also recommended to me. And probably the route I will go. Guess I’m putting the money in my reserves !

Nicholas Weckstein · Answer

@Jill F. Hey that’s actually a great idea !! So they appear to be vinyl glue down tiles. That’s kinda how I got Lowe’s to accept paying me for a whole new floor lol. I said hey well the problem is even with the same exact product, the color would be off. They agreed. But switching out the tiles is a very good idea.

Nicholas Weckstein · Answer

@Jerimy Justice well that makes great sense at that point to do the renovation. If this tenant was moving I would wait. Do the floor, cabinets and paint, and maybe a few other upgrades and instead of $600.00 plus electric I would get $650.00 plus water and electric. (Water bill is roughly $60.00 per month). So we’re not talking a huge rental increase from renovation but still my preference to upgrade and update. I was paid out quite well for the scratch in what could be a 10-15 year old floor. Guess it doesn’t pay to rush into the renovation. She did just get a new refrigerator after all

Nicholas Weckstein · Answer

@Michael Badin if I knew how to upload a picture on the mobile app I’d show everyone. It’s what I believe to be vinyl glue down tiles. The 9 inch scratch is a bit more of a gouge. It spans over 3 tiles right by the front door. I’ll try to get on the actual site here and upload a picture

Nicholas Weckstein · Answer

@Michael Badin I do plan on redoing the unit when the tenant moves out. Most likely looking at paint, cabinets, some minor upgrades and now probably the kitchen floor. Which will help me get higher rent but not much. It’s a 2 bedroom 1 bath she pays $600.00 plus electric. She’s been here since I bought the place and is my best tenant. Not sure when she will move. I probably won’t raise the rent on her for a while. It’s a separate meter for water also so maybe I’ll have her pay that soon. But I suppose your rift theirs no sense in rushing to redo the whole kitchen floor. She’s not complaining.

Jill F. · Answer

What kind of flooring is it? a 9" scratch is pretty small. You couldn't take up/cut out a piece from under the fridge or stove or closet and then do a repair and replace the hidden hole with something that doesn't quite match?

Michael Badin · Answer

Do you plan on renovating the kitchen when that tenant moves on or is it in good shape? If you plan on renovating the kitchen when the tenant eventually moves on and the tenant is not complaining I would place the funds in your cap ex reserve till the time comes. If however, you have recently redone the kitchen I would probably go ahead and do the floor. With all that said it's hard to judge without seeing.