Carpeting Or Tile In Rental Houses
Here's something for people who own rental properties to
give some serious thought to. A few years ago, our home burned down in
the San Diego fires, October 2007. October 22, to be exact. I imagine I
will never forget that day, but I did get some valuable information,
that I can pass on to landlords, property management professionals and
people who own apartments, condominiums or houses that they rent or
lease.
I was looking for an apartment to live in and a friend of our suggested
and eight unit apartment complex that a friend of theirs had owned. I
met with the property manager early the next morning and noticed that
the entire apartment floor was tiled with 12 inch ceramic tile. I
personally do not like that much tile in a home, because it's hard on my
feet and cold. The cold tiles will keep me cold and the home cold as
well. Carpeting seems to keep the house a little warmer than tile.
Curious, I asked the property manager why they had tiled the entire
apartment. I assumed, for some reason that this was the only apartment
that was like this in the complex. He replied with," it's quite simple,
as you see, we're located next to a college and a large amount of our
tenants are college students, these students rarely take care of
anything, including these apartments. We don't have to clean the carpets
when they move out and it only takes a few tenants to completely destroy
your carpeting sometimes. We have owned the property for eight years and
it's working out great"
I had never thought of this, and I would imagine it has never occurred
to most property managers or owners of rental property. I thought, that
it was time for me to share what I have learned. It seems like a pretty
good idea and I would suggest, that if you own a few properties, what
would it hurt to tile the entire floor in one of them, just to see what
your expenses would be like over the next decade.
I don't know if tile laying these floors over time is better than
carpeting, but it's worth looking into, especially if you have a rental
that seems to get turned over often, by that I mean people moving out in
less than a year.
PS. Avoid using glossy tile, because it is slick and with a little
moisture can become a safety hazard. Use a rough or textured tile that
is preferably light brown, the color of dirt. This will cut cleaning
costs down even more.