Rehabbing a Rental Home

Rehabbing & House Flipping
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Rehabbing a Rental Home

Joseph Sangimino
Investor · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2015 · 42 posts · 13 votes

All, 

I recently began rehabbing a SFH that I plan to rent. I have a bare bones rehab plan in progress, basically just to fix everything to the point where it will be a good solid rental. However, I'm trying to decide if I want to go a step further and go ahead with some the modifications I think need made to sell at full retail. The full retail rehab plan would include knocking down a few walls to open up the kitchen to the living room, which is currently way too walled off considering how people like open floor plans nowadays. Taking into consideration that I hope to put long term tenants in, my questions are:

1) Should I go ahead and knock down the walls now, or wait until a vacancy or I'm ready to sell to do it? 

2) There are pine floors underneath old carpetting. They seem to be in good condition. Does anyone have recommendations as to whether I should finish the hardwood for this rental, or just lay something like vinyl on top? I'm not 100% sure of the cost to refinish the floors, but am considering it strongly because of the durability and aesthetics of hardwood. 

3) Recommendations on flooring for the kitchen? I've been leaning towards vinyl. My main goal is to have the most durable tenant proof flooring, but also have it look nice. 

Thanks,

Joe

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Ben Lauer
Residential Real Estate Broker · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 2 votes
9y

A lot of these questions are going to depend on the relative condition of the neighborhood.  Make sure you aren't over upgrading and if you're planning on reworking the floorplan a little, it might give you more rent but obviously cosmetic refinements take a beating with most tenants.  

I also like tile in kitchens over vinyl, it's a bit of an upgrade and it's tough for the tenant to screw up the tile.  

Unless you're getting a little more cost effective deal and more rent doing more upgrades now, I would say hold off.  Tenants are generally going to give you enough reason to remodel after a few good years of rental anyways.

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  • Ben Lauer
    Residential Real Estate Broker · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 7 posts · 2 votes
    9y

    A lot of these questions are going to depend on the relative condition of the neighborhood.  Make sure you aren't over upgrading and if you're planning on reworking the floorplan a little, it might give you more rent but obviously cosmetic refinements take a beating with most tenants.  

    I also like tile in kitchens over vinyl, it's a bit of an upgrade and it's tough for the tenant to screw up the tile.  

    Unless you're getting a little more cost effective deal and more rent doing more upgrades now, I would say hold off.  Tenants are generally going to give you enough reason to remodel after a few good years of rental anyways.

    2Reply
  • Alex Saleeby
    Rental Property Investor · Beaumont, TX · Member since 2015 · 161 posts · 77 votes
    9y

    Hello @Joseph Sangimino

    To answer your questions,

    1) Knocking down walls: do it if cost effective, can fix and blend-in the new exposed flooring. Make sure its not a load-bearing wall. Might as well get this done now if you are able to rather than wait until later. Might might the property more attractive and easier to rent. If you decide to sell, it's ready to go and you don't have to embark on another remodeling project.

    2) If pine flooring is in decent shape, refinish and put down extra layers of polyurethane to make it longer-lasting.

    3) Tile is preferred in kitchens, but LVT might work well also, depending somewhat on the sub-flooring material.

    Good luck.

    0Reply
  • Erin K.
    Professional · Loudonville, OH · Member since 2015 · 125 posts · 37 votes
    9y
    In my experience, tenant can be pretty rough on sheet vinyl - one dumb move and you have a virtually unrepairable tear in the center of the room. We have started putting the snap together vinyl plank in rentals, including kitchens and baths. It is easy to install, easy to repair, inexpensive, and waterproof. If they damage a plank, you can replace just that plank, but, that said, I haven't yet had to do that. I get it marked down at Home Depot or Lowes for under $1.50/ sq foot. Good luck!
    0Reply
  • Joseph Sangimino
    OP
    Investor · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2015 · 42 posts · 13 votes
    9y

    Thanks everyone! That's all good advice. I think I'm going to do a cost comparison of tile vs vinyl in the kitchen and if they are relatively close, go with tile for the durability. 

    How can I confirm whether a wall is a load bearing wall or not? Using common sense, I think one of the walls is so I was probably just going to do a square cutout instead of removing the whole wall. Do I need to contact an architect or residential construction engineer to confirm whether it's load bearing?

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Rental Property Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2016 · 463 posts · 220 votes
    9y

    Going though the same thought process right now with a SFR in a B neighborhood which I bought on a whim (my plan is to invest in small multis- but this may come in handy as collateral). So now I am trying to decide how much to update it. Just enough to make it a nice rental? Or, like you, update a little more in hopes of getting higher rents or better tenants, and sell down the road... Personally I decided to update throughout. Nothing super fancy, but nice enough that a young family of professionals would buy it as their starter home. That means taking down two walls around the tiny kitchen to open it up to the dining room and living room, tile the floor, put in an island, and redo the bathroom completely (tile for floor and walls). All in all I expect to spend about 10K, and if I can get good tenants who stay for several years, or am able to sell in a few years for a good profit, I consider it a good investment. Good luck!

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  • Ashley OwensPro Member
    Architect | Developer · Ayer, MA · Member since 2015 · 47 posts · 21 votes
    9y

    @Joseph Sangimino

    I hope someone has answered your question before now, but in case not, I thought I'd offer up some advice. A contractor is also capable of giving you an idea of what is load bearing, just to give you another option. An important thing to note when you're looking at this yourself is the direction of the floor joists are the roof rafters. Load bearing walls will be perpendicular to these. Some cities and towns will require a drawing from a structural engineer even for these simple items so just make sure you know what's needed where you're working. Most structural engineers can do this for a few hundred dollars. 

    Hope this was somewhat helpful.

    0Reply
  • Adam Abdel-Hafez
    Contractor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2015 · 236 posts · 91 votes
    9y
    1) do not alter the floor plan for a rental. Worry about that when you sell the home retail. You will not get your money back on that. 2)A neighborhood - refinish the hardwoods (in Atlanta this costs about $1.50 or $2 /sqft typically) B neighborhood - up to you if you want to refinish the hardwoods on this. Kind of in the middle. You could add vinyl plank flooring with a rubber membrane in between that and the hardwood floors so it doesn't damage the hardwoods. C neighborhood-I would just replace the carpet with new carpet, but you could do the vinyl as previously stated 3) a or high b neighborhood probably tile, mid b or lower vinyl plank flooring. Vinyl plank will cost about $2.50-$3/sqft and tile will run much higher, anywhere from $6-$8/sqft
    0Reply
  • Kurt F.
    Investor · Rocktown, IL · Member since 2012 · 238 posts · 69 votes
    9y

    Also have someone determine the wood flooring species that you have in place.  I would not refinish soft pine -- too soft...it's not considered a hardwood, and everything dents it.   If it is, say, Southern Yellow Pine, that would likely work OK, since its relative hardness is closer to oak.

    1Reply
  • Ronald Wentz
    Investor · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2014 · 32 posts · 12 votes
    9y

    I'm in the process of finishing a rehabbed home in a c class neighborhood, I removed all the carpeting, because it was to dirty to be cleaned. My wood floors need refinishing to remove several stains, I don't think potential renters will appreciate having beautiful wood floors. What would be the best cost effective route for me to go in. Refinish with heavy Polyurethane or carpeting or interlocking floors. 3 bed and living room and dining room and stairs. Any advice is helpful.  

    0Reply
  • Michael Herr
    Peoria, IL · Member since 2011 · 365 posts · 182 votes
    9y

    Knocking down a wall: If you are going to do it eventually, do it now. Opening up a wall is one of the biggest bang for the buck jobs there is. (as long as you aren't being charged by the job) 
    Do your homework on load bearing vs non, header spans, carrying load to foundation, etc and you can save thousands. 
    If you know what you are doing opening up a wall in a single-story home is a one day job that a contractor would charge 1k for.

    Refinish Hardwood whenever possible. 
    For the old pine. In my area at least, it has a mat finish, and doesn't even require sanding refinishing. Just use a "floor restore" product. 
    It end up being a really durable floor. 
    Steal some boards from a closet to patch in where you opened up the wall. 
    I generally refinish hardwood myself and almost never do any sanding. 

    Most durable floor covering for kitchens/bath is porcelain tile. Home Depot  always has a few varieties cheap. 

    1Reply
  • Joseph Sangimino
    OP
    Investor · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2015 · 42 posts · 13 votes
    9y

    Everyone...sorry for the late response, but I've been working on the house like a dog. 

    Thanks so much for all the great advice! I'm going to verify that the pine is not a soft pine, then plan to refinish it. If I'm lucky, I won't even have to sand it (thanks Michael), but we will see. I'm also going to plan to do the porcelain tile in the bathroom, because I'd rather pay more now to maximize durability and the longevity of the rental. As for knocking down the kitchen walls, I think I'm going to hold off until down the road or I'm ready to sell. I'll likely do a full kitchen remodel at that time anyway. 

    Ronald, I agree that some tenants may not appreciate beautiful hardwood floors, BUT if the wood under your carpet is in good enough condition to be refinished, I would think strongly about doing so. Like Michael said, as long as it's not soft pine, hardwood floors are a very durable option for tenant-proofing if coated in a couple layers of polyurethane. Also, some nice looking rugs can help protect it and still allow the hardwood floor look to impress tenants - possibly increasing the rent potential. Carpeting in my opinion is a cheap short-term solution (in some cases) that will need replaced after just a few years of renting. 

    0Reply
  • Shawn Pottschmidt
    Rental Property Investor · South Bend, IN · Member since 2016 · 73 posts · 29 votes
    9y
    How do you refinish wood floor without sanding? By just going over with a coat of poly?
    0Reply
  • Joseph Sangimino
    OP
    Investor · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2015 · 42 posts · 13 votes
    9y

    I'm not aware of a way to refinish hardwood without sanding Shawn. Once it is sanded and refinished though, I'm under the impression you can continue to recoat it every so often and it will be a durable, long lifespan floor. 

    0Reply
  • Adam Abdel-Hafez
    Contractor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2015 · 236 posts · 91 votes
    9y
    Shawn Pottschmidt you are referring to what is called re screen the hardwood floors. Basically they just buff, clean, and add a coat of poly on the floors.
    0Reply
  • Frank Eimiller
    Rental Property Investor · Fond Du Lac, WI · Member since 2015 · 261 posts · 78 votes
    9y
    Are your competition all offering open kitchen concepts and is it absolutely critical? Hardwoods are definitely the way to go! I love vinyl plank but hardwood is the best solution imo
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