All Forum Posts by: Steven Maduro

thats very intriguing mixing concrete and wood textures.

i think you bring up a good point about possibly looking dated ten years from now.

my hope is to keep this floor down for some time. so i do want as timeless a look as possible.

sigh

hmmm i sort of feel you on that. 

the weathered looking ones are great for traction as well.   greyish beige  spot on with that 

Thanks for your thoughts.  i think i needed a mental nudge.

I am doing a basement apartment and have settled on this porcelain wood look tile.  

I am choosing it for the durability and for the fact that I got a great labor rate on the job.

the apartment is pretty small with the kitchen and living room sharing the same 15x15 space

there is a laundryroom/ foyer and an open hallway to keep the place from looking too claustrophobic  but i wanted one flooring type throughout the whole apartment. 

so my choice was either tile, or vinyl plank because of the water from the kitchen and bath

my current concern even though I am going to continue with this project

is that after seeing it installed in a hotel room in Pheonix i was surprised that it looked more like vinyl  plank than tile or wood.

sort of a let down if you ask me.  it almost makes me think I should just go with a nice traditional tile 

anyone else had personal experience with the porcelain wood look tile are there some brands types or colors that are superior to others?

i am sure this super 8 motel didnt get the top of the line tile.

oh yeah i did check there is a company licensed to do private curbside pick up they will get back to me with a quote thanks 

I dont think that would have ever occurred to me. 

it is definitely a bill and then some

i wasnt charging my tenants this extra amount.

but i realize i am not doing my self a favor by covering this cost on my own. 

so i am certainly going to start to add this to rent 

i am just not sure how to do it.

as an added line item amount.  or just raise the rent. 

with the explanation that it is covering their solidwaste expense.

I have sat down and looked over my past year. 

And I notice that my taxes in one particular county are pretty high.

the reality is that its not just the taxes it is the solid waste bill.

which is really a garbage or sanitation tax.

it breaks down to approximately 100.00 a month for the house 

since it is a duplex.  it is about 50 per apartment

i have been paying this cost.

do you consider this bill your responsibility or the tenants responsibility.

and if you do consider it the tenants responsibility how do you pass on this cost. 

did you advertise a base rent without the solid waste then informed them when they showed up to sign the lease agreement

or did you factor in the sanitation tax and increase your rent accordingly?

i am realizing that I must increase my rent. because I am losing quite a bit due to this extra tax.

just looking for how others have handled this. bill.

Hello 

I am sure this has been asked and answered 

but each new year brings new products and therefore different considerations on an old question.

I am renovating the lower level of my house to feature an in-law suite

it is a ground floor apartment with adequate runoff so flooding is not a big concern

The problem i am having is coming up with the best flooring choice which will give me all my wants.

ultimately the place is a one bedroom apt 

where the living room and kitchen will share the same 14.5x14.5 space

small yes but the bedroom is 9.5x21 so it makes up for the crampiness of the living roomkitchen

I would like the whole place to feature the same flooring which is why I am leaning to vinyl plank but the good stuff which is pretty pricey. 

but it will allow me to cover the kitchen and bath area along with all the other spaces foyer, bedroom. laundry and living room. 

laminate will allow me to do the place much cheaper as I can find phenomenal deals on laminate, but I would need to go with tile in the bathroom at least which is not a deal breaker 

it just makes the place lose that cohesive look.

porcelain tile is about the same cost and more labor intensive but I only have about 600 sqft to cover

The sub floor is cement. so 

i will have to factor in underlayment for my laminate.

just wondering what some of you would do if you were in this same scenario and why

I know only I can ultimately make the best decision for me 

but it would be helpful to hear others thoughts and experiences.

I never get tired of reading this thread and I am always 

Anxious to read the latest thoughts 

I am about to renovate a basement next month 

And the flooring decision is next on the agenda

I have had success with laminate

But if I can get a good price on allure 

I may just pull the trigger if for nothing else to compare outcomes 

And gauge impressions 

I will install next month if I go that route and will be sure to share my thoughts 

Thanks everyone for their comments

I agree and disagree

if you dont know your market or you are just trying to gauge how much you need to invest to be competitive I would say you are one hundred percent correct.

However, I know my market and I know what I am after.

I have come up with a vision of what sort of tenant I am looking to attract. 

I want a tenant a little savvier than the neighborhood usually attracts. 

By offering more than the competition 

I can attract those types of tenants

Since I am the person they deal with regularly. 

I want to be able to have people I can relate to 

since many times there are situations where reaching a compromise or an understanding will surface. 

Remember my neighborhood is a C neighborhood at best 

but I have managed to put A minus quality items in the place.

I have managed to have a great group of tenants right now. 

not perfect but certainly people who love their space and work hard to maintain the quality of the residence.

One more thing

since the first posting 

I have raised the rent by 50 per month 

which is about on par via the sq ft rate the neighborhood supports

my apartments offer slightly more amenities then most of the properties in the area.

one of my units has a dishwasher while the other does not. 

I am not sure I would have a dishwasher in future units.

simply because I find it is not a necessity to have a dishwasher. 

for the expense versus what I feel it offers in terms of desirability.

@ k. Marie Poe

I just wanted to say to you 

that out of all the colleagues I have met here you have had the most impact.

your hard line opinions and in my opinion concern for my direction

translated like a sisterly concern for a brother

I want to thank you for your thoughts concerns advice and challenges

I think I am not where I can ultimately be as an investor

but you have definitely created growth in me.