Arlington, VA · Member since 2013 · 5 posts · 0 votes
I just recently purchased a home for 150,000 and needed some feedback on what type of flooring to get for the main level . The house is going to be flipped and I want to save a little cash on the flooring if it doesn't make the house look bad. Between the family room the hallway and the 3 bedrooms the total sq footage is about 850 sq feet. I was going to go with Hardwood but its a little pricey. Can I get away with installing laminate floors to save a little on total rehab . The After Repair Value of the Place is 250 K .
Any type of help with what Floor to use or where to get it the cheapest would be of help .
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
13y
You need to find out what type of finishes and flooring your competition has, and then ensure that your house has either the same or better. When buyers walk through, they'll note the differences between your offering and their other options, and if what you're offering is a lower level of finish, they're not going to be willing to pay the same price as they'd pay for the competing product (or may not even consider buying your house).
Investor · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2008 · 18k+ posts · 17k+ votes
13y
You need to find out what type of finishes and flooring your competition has, and then ensure that your house has either the same or better. When buyers walk through, they'll note the differences between your offering and their other options, and if what you're offering is a lower level of finish, they're not going to be willing to pay the same price as they'd pay for the competing product (or may not even consider buying your house).
Flooring Contractor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 36 posts · 19 votes
13y
Ditto what J Scott said.
What does your ARV at $250K assume for flooring? Certainly it's not independent of your flooring choice.
Some quick numbers... 850sf of hardwood at $3.50/sf materials and $2/sf labor, that's $4,675. For laminate you're looking at $2/sf for materials and $1.25/sf for labor, roughly $2,750. You can get laminate cheaper, but it'll look like what you paid for it.
In a market like Arlington you should have some good wholesale flooring suppliers. Find them, and tell them you are an investor. You should have no problem getting a floor that retails around $4.50 for $3.25. Make them compete against each other on price. Let them make their profit, but go back and forth a time or two to get the price down.
Perhaps carpet in the bedrooms and hardwood in the living areas? Again, depends on what people expect in a home selling for your target ARV.
Investor · Canton-Akron, OH · Member since 2012 · 917 posts · 477 votes
13y
We recently started using solid bamboo flooring in houses 150,000 and above.
My realtor (top agent in the county with three buyers agents) approved it, and seem to be getting positive reviews from clients.
Lowes sells two different colors for 1.99 sq ft, if you have access to 10% coupons, or a good contact at the pro desk, you can get it for 1.79 or less. Hard to beat for solid wood flooring. May be worth checking out.
Investor · Lucas, TX · Member since 2010 · 620 posts · 352 votes
13y
I have to agree with J Scott here also. I'd just like to add that you can get some pretty nice looking higher quality "hand scraped" laminate these days.
Investor · Riverside, CA · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
13y
I just sold a $300K house and used Pergo in the common areas. What does that mean to you? Nothing if you don't know values in my market. $300K is entry level. Pergo is great for that type of house.
What is a $250K house in Arlington? Is the average buyer moving out of an apartment? Is this an upgrade home being sold to a current home owner? If the house is on the nicer end, you may consider tile, possibly triangular pattern, or hardwood. 850 Sq/Ft isn't that big of an area and you have $100K spread. I imagine your rehab budget can go as high as $50K and you'll still make about $25K on the deal. Hopefully, it is around $30-$40K so you make a lot more!
Ultimately, the moral of the story is; Know your market AND, know your product.
Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 37 posts · 2 votes
13y
Ray- I'm currently working on my first flip- $250k ARV, replacing floors in the first floor- living room, dining, and kitchen. We're currently looking at engineered or hardwood. Most of my comps have a hand-scraped style engineered floor.
Mechanicsburg, PA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
13y
Ray Martzloff
Working on a flip, myself. For the first floor, including LR, DR, hall & 2 BR, I'm refinishing the existing solid hardwood floors, natural poly. For the 2nd floor 2 br, hall & stairs I'm reluctantly using new wall to wall carpet as the existing wood floors were too bad to refinish.
For mid to higher priced spread I like solid hardwood, refinish existing, install new both pre-finished or site finished. For lower priced props I'll use laminates.