Hardwood or Luxury Vinyl Plank

[Vince Nguyen]

Hello everyone,

I just purchased a property that needs some rehab in a good area where they have hardwood floors in alot of the properties.  I am planning to rent it out and was trying to decide on whether to install lvp or hardwood floors.  the more exp lvp runs around 4.79 sqft which I feel I could purchase a decent wood floor to boost the property arv in the long run.  I know lvp is waterproof and easy to install or replace but the ones I've seen didn't really look nice or had bad experience where they don't feel good walking on them.  Will this hurt the value of the property and will renters still pay a premium for lvp.  Thanks in advance. 

Vince N

[Kevin Sobilo]

@Vince Nguyen, will a wood floor boost the value in the long run?

Example, tenant's dog repeatedly pees in a room. With a LVP floor, no damage. With wood floor it could be damaged badly enough that it can't be refinished to hide it. So expensive a fix that the deposit may not cover it and unlikely you will recover that from the tenant later.

LVP has options for underlayments if you are concerned about how it feels to walk on. I've never had an issue with how it felt to walk on.

I tend to use a mid-grade LVP in my B class rentals in the public spaces like living rooms and refinish existing VERY old wood floors in other areas like bedrooms and hallways.

My experience is that most tenants think LVP floors are wood floors! They are not usually very discerning with regard to finishes. They just appreciate that it looks nice.