Buying a Foreclosure in Sumter Part 10 - Being Floored

Buying a Foreclosed Home in Sumter, SC Part 10

Flooring Decisions

During the purchasing process and the determination of why you are purchasing a foreclosure, flooring is a consideration  What type of flooring is currently in the home?  Is there a different type of flooring under the carpeting?  And then what type of flooring do you want in the house after the rehab? 

Depending on the age of the home, there may be hardwood flooring under the carpets in the house.  This was the case in the property that we purchased.  Underneath the carpet in the three bedrooms there was hardwood flooring that needed to be refinished, but otherwise was in good shape.  So for us the decision was easy, pull up the carpet and the padding and remove the tack strip around the perimeter of the room and refinish the floors.  Hardwood floors are very desired by both home buyers and renters so it was a plus.  The down side as a landlord of hardwoods is that they can become scratched and may require some repairs after a tenant moves out. 

Carpet is common in foreclosures and depending on the property may or may not need to be replaced.  I have seen carpets that look brand new and others that personally, I didn’t want to even walk on!  My one recommendation is if you decide to replace carpet, replace the padding also.  It will give the carpet longer life if you are planning to rent the property and it will also feel bouncier under the feet.  And you don’t know what odors may be lurking in that padding and how long the padding has been there.  Carpet is a good economical choice if there is no hardwoods.

Another flooring that is common is sheet vinyl.  This is a very economic choice for kitchen, bathroom and utility room areas.  The installation is quick and the flooring is reasonable.  The cons of vinyl is that it can wear over time and does need to be replaced and it can be torn when moving appliances or other heavy objects across it.  It can be patched if extra materials are available.

A step up from vinyl is ceramic tile.  Ceramic tile requires more up front investment in labor and costs, but it can last indefinitely making a good choice for long term use in rentals and highly desirable by home buyers.  The down side is the time to install as well as a tile can break, but can be replaced if extras are kept. 

Laminate flooring is also commonly seen.  Laminate flooring does require more labor to install than carpet or vinyl.  My personal opinion of laminate, is save your money and do carpet or spend the extra and do hardwoods.  I have seen laminate floors after a few years in many houses in different price ranges and many just flat out don’t look that great.  Unless the up front investment was made to purchase top of the line materials, after a few years the small scratches can be seen in the top finish of laminates.  Also the enemy of laminates is water.  If water seeps between the pieces of laminate, the materials under the finish absorb them and swell and can cause the finish to come off leaving a not so beautiful view of the base material.  Therefore, if I had a property that was going to be a rental, I would not put laminate in it.  (Not saying that if the laminate was there all ready and looked ok I wouldn’t leave it, but I wouldn’t purchase it and install it.)  As for rehabbing for a buyer, I have only seen a few buyers that would chose laminate over the real hardwoods. 

Yes there are more choices when it comes to flooring, but I am just covering the most common in this post.  If you have more questions, I would love to discuss them with you or suggest you seek out professional advice from a flooring professional.

Buying a Foreclosed Home in Sumter, SC is an ongoing series of posts, where I am purchasing a foreclosed property to turn into a rental income property.  Follow the posts below to experience the entire process with me. 

Buying a Foreclosed Home in Sumter, SC Part 1 – The Offer

Buying a Foreclosed Home In Sumter, SC Part 2 – The Counter Offer

Buying a Foreclosed Home in Sumter, SC Part 3 – The Inspections

Buying a Foreclosed Home in Sumter, SC Part 4 – Inspections with Electrical Power… Please Connect the Utilities

Buying a Foreclosed Home in Sumter, SC Part 5 – The Reason for Buying a Foreclosure

Buying a Foreclosed Home in Sumter, SC Part 6 – Breaking Even, Making Money or Having Instant Equity

Buying a Foreclosed Home in Sumter, SC Part 7 – What Kind of Windows are These?

Buying a Foreclosed Home in Sumter, SC Part 8 – What a Mess and I’m Not Talking About The House!

Buying a Foreclosed Home in Sumter, SC Part 9 – The Closing

Buying a Foreclosed Home in Sumter, SC Part 10 – Flooring Decisions