Mini blinds

[Uwe K.]

I couldn't find too much conclusive on the topic here:

I was wondering what kind of blinds you use in your rentals for the windows.
I am supplying and installing the blinds for a few reasons.
So far I have always put in the cheapo vinyl mini blinds, and usually it takes max. a day after move-in until some blades are cracked, broken, missing, you name it. All lower-end low-income rental market.

While they are easy and quick to replace, I am wondering now if it's worth investing some more money in other types, like aluminum (at 5-10 times the cost) or, what I've read here, faux-wood.

If you use vinyl, do you replace every damaged one for a new tenant or do you leave some minor damages in there?

[Chris Clothier]

We install a 1" vinyl blind on every window and pay less than $10 per blind at Lowes. We leave the orange and white tag on the pull string to show tenants that they are new blinds. May seem trivial, but when other rental properties have no blinds at all - it sends a message on the type of management company or landlord that you want to be. We haven't had any trouble with the blinds themselves and the cost to replace at some point in the future is minimal - less than $250 for the full house including paying someone $50 to spend a couple of hours hanging them.