Removing ugly wall paneling vs. painting over

[Orlando Paz]

While looking at the fixer upper homes that are in the market, often times I see rooms that are wall to wall 1970’s style paneling. I was wondering how some of the rehabbers out there, are handling this common type of outdated eyesore (sorry if I’m offending anyone). Removing it, appears to be expensive. I could be wrong on this. Would painting over the paneling be recommended? any thoughts and experiences are appreciated.

[Carl C.]

We did a rehab on our buy and hold with a house that had every single room covered in that paneling. Original plan was to remove until we saw what was under it. We ended up paint it all and it turned out looking really good. it has a bit of a "country chic" look to it. It takes a little time to paint it right because of the grooves but it doesn't look bad at all. That said, it may not be the right look for your market. You better know who your target audience is. Good luck!