Carpet; keep it or pull it?

Question

We bought a used carpet cleaner and my wife spends a lot of time going over and over the carpets that are already in the rental house we bought.  She eventually gets them looking pretty clean except for the most recent house that has an irritating orange and pink stain.

Many of you have said you do not keep carpets, and rip them out.  I can see putting linoleum in the kitchen and living room, but do you all put it in the bedrooms too?  I really do not want to spend the money on Allure for this house.

In this market I think linoleum is acceptable, but I would think tenants would prefer warm fluffy carpet to cold linoleum even though there are a few stains.  Thoughts?

Ben Skove · Answer

It also depends on the nature of the subfloor. You may find it more affordable to carpet over (stable) subfloor problems than to correct them.

Rob K. · Answer

Steve Might I have a guy that cleans carpet for me and does a great job. Those do it yourself carpet cleaners are not that great. The van mounted ones heat up to 130 degrees and lift most stains out. If you want his info, PM me.

What is under the carpet now? If it's hardwood, you might want to refinish it. If you do replace the carpet, I would recommend going with a darker brown. If you're over $700 per month, I doubt too many tenants are going to want linoleum in the bedrooms.

Tim G. · Answer

Newbie landlord here. With two units that had to be gutted.

I am putting in a commercial grade vinyl tile throughout both units. If they want they can buy rugs.

I'll let you know how it goes. I had to put in something new so it was an easier choice.

Account Closed · Answer

I don't think you need to spend the money on ripping out the carpet and putting something else in, as long as the carpet is in good shape. Then if it gets stained by tenants, the security deposit is used to pay a professional carpet cleaning company to clean it when they move out.

Mark Forest · Answer

My wife has patiently tried all that.  She has some highly rated carpet stain remover that has worked well for us in the past, but it is not doing it here.  The rest of the carpet is quite nice so I hate to rip it out.

Marc Ramsay · Answer

I have laid out the following rules to my maintenance guy with regards to flooring in my buildings:
1. If the carpet is badly stained (can't be cleaned), torn, burned, or in generally poor condition, replace it (Bedrooms, hallways, and living rooms)
2. Bathrooms - if the lino/vinyl is damaged and needs to be replaced, then install ceramic tile and I'll not have to worry about it for a very long time. It costs a little more to put in, but it ups the value of the unit and tenants prefer tile over lino/vinyl.
3. Kitchen and dining room - same as bathroom.

I have found that the ceramic tile is not that much more to install than new vinyl, and it lasts forever. It is easy to repair as long as you keep a couple of tiles in storage. I have also been able to get $25 to $50 more per month by installing the tile and a few other changes.

I hope this helps.

Marc

Anthony Farmer · Answer

I have tile floors in the upstairs of one unit from the 1940's.  Don't know what the tiles are made of, but don't have to worry about that unless you disturb them.  I put carpet over them.  The installer glues the tack strips so as to not disturb the tiles.  Make sure they don't glue carpet, but glue tack strips.  Tacked carpet can be depreciated over 5 years like an appliance but if it is glued down it is over 27.5 years.

Depreciate the carpet and it is pretty cheap too.  Make sure you include installation as part of your cost basis.

I agree with brown, but a mid-color since darker brown can also show.  We use what we call 'renter brown' which is close to the brown you find in the local dirt.

Victor Belman · Answer

To remove a stain, simply blot the spot and dry working from the outside in, rinse thoroughly with clean water, then blot again. Never scrub the carpet, or you risk ruining the carpet fibers or letting the spill soak through to the carpet pad.

Russell Norgren · Answer

Steve,

I am not sure if you have a higher, middle, or lower income property but I can tell you what I am looking at doing.

I have a middle income property (3/2.5 that rents for $1000 p/m) and have to replace the carpet in the living room and hallways. What I am looking at using is a good quality vinyl self stick floor that looks similar to wood flooring. I have spoken with a local flooring shop that sells "wholesale" to the public. The thickness and quality seems to be something that will hold up to wear and tear and I can replace each tile as needed rather than the entire floor covering. I am also going to buy a carpet remnant and have the edging put on it. I will show the house without the carpet remnant but also have a sample of the carpet that can be "installed" if they prefer carpet instead of the vinyl flooring. Talk with the manager/owner of your local discount flooring shops and a lot of them will tell you about materials they have that you can be purchased for pretty deep discounts and what other investors are using locally.

The remnant will be low cost and if it gets stained or destroyed then I can buy another one at a discount and "install" it. If they do not want to use it then I will use it in another property or store it somewhere for future use. This will allow me to get a much nicer "designer" style carpet to put in the home at a significantly discounted price but also have the flexability of not having to put carpet in. This should work for living rooms, bedrooms, etc.

If you decide carpet is what you want to stay with then look for a discount builder supply store. We have one here that runs sales on a cheap carpet that is very similar to what is popular here locally. Sometime the prices are as low as $.74 per square foot. They also sell discount carpet pad. In addition to the low prices, they have a landlord/contractor/frequent buyer program where you get an additional 5% discount when you purchase from them.

I hope this helps.

Scott McClelland · Answer

I would stick with carpet in the bedrooms.  My experience is tenants would rather have carpet with a few stains than linoleum in bedrooms.  Just use your best judgement with regards to cleaning versus replacing.  I just put myself in the tenants shoes and ask myself if I would be comfortable with the condition the carpet is in.  Carpet isn't terribly expensive since you aren't picky about quality since it is a rental.  I build in the cost of replacing carpet every few years into my calculations.  Best of luck to you!

Carpet; keep it or pull it?

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