paneling go or no?

Question

Im working on a rehab right now with a pretty tight budget.  Lots of paneling that is in pretty good shape.  Its already been painted over and would look fine if I just painted it again.  I know for a higher end home that I would be expected to tear it out and put in sheet rock.

My question is where is the price cut-off?  This house after rehab will sell for about $80K maybe a little more.  Would you stick with the paneling or replace?

Just FYI, other work I am doing is all new flooring, doors, trim, full gut on kitchen and bath and paint exterior.

What do ya think?

J Scott · Answer

I would tear it out and replace with sheetrock if it were in any main living spaces (living room, dining room, bedrooms, etc).

But, that said, I'm often told that I do more than necessary, and I have a feeling that if you asked my wife, she'd say that in an $80K house, as long as it was nicer than the competition at an equal or lesser price, just leave it.

The question is, based on your competition, will removing the paneling significantly help you sell your property?  Will it add $$$ to your bottom line?

Without knowing the specifics of the home, the specifics of the competition and your market, it's hard to give you a good answer to this question, but in my business, there would likely be a disagreement between my wife and myself...

(Btw, I'd win the argument, but she'd ultimately end up being right :)

Bill Gulley · Answer

Your rehabs should be completed to the expectations of the market. If other properties in that target price range have painted panneling, paint it! If you are bumping up to the next price range and they have sheet rock, then rock it. You could carefully pull some lose and see what the condition of the walls are, if they appear to be in good shape, filing a few holes and painting might be a better option. But my experience is that somewhere in that room, is the reason they put that stuff up in the first place! Good luck.

Gene Hacker · Answer

I used to just paint over paneling but lately I have been texturing over it.

We quickly mud any grooves in the paneling and fix any blemishes.  Then we spray it with a hopper and flatten it with a wide blade.  One guy can do a room in an couple hours (over 2 days).  We use a cheap hooper from harbor freight and its held up for a lot of jobs.

I do this for my rentals because repairs look better than strait panneling

Des Shei · Answer

I removed paneling all over the house in my previous rehab and i've got to tell you in retrospect i probably wouldn't have. it's one of those things; i slightly pulled paneling in a few places and saw the sheetrock was in good shape (needing minor patching). Now upon ripping out most of the paneling, i found out the REAL reason why it was installed in the first place...there were huge holes in multiple places ALL OVER the house. I ended up spending a bit more money ripping/replacing the old sheetock. Like i said in retrospect i probably would have just painted it, as alot of the other houses in the area also have paneling. The ARV of the property was 100K...what really sucked in my situation was that it was a buy/hold property so what would have ended up as a patch job turned out to be a couple thousand in new sheetrock/tape/paint and all the labor associated with that. In your case i'd recommend you do a bit more due diligence on why the paneling is there and if it's common in the surrounding area before you rip it out.
Happy investing,

Des.

Account Closed · Answer

for rentals, i'd keep the panelling...but for a flip, i'd replace...it's not that much of an expense on a smaller starter home (which are the homes you'd usually find panelling)

Des Shei · Answer

One thing to mention as well for the OP is that paneling is applied in various ways. The ones in my last rehab were nailed in (which is common up here). With these i don't think applying mud would work too well, especially with our cold weathers. In addition the nails tend to lose their grip over time and start to buckle/bubble. In this case i recommend painting if you don't want to go through with a full rehab. I decided to remove mine anyway because they were dark panels and being that the house wasn't that big, the darkness made the rooms seem smaller than they actually were. once i applied new sheetrock and painted in bright colors the house came to life. Totally different character.
happy investing.
Des

Gene Hacker · Answer

This isn't want I would generally do on a rehab...only places I am renting.  The rehabs I have done were too high dollar for this.

One place I own has had mud on the paneling for 9 years.  I actually sold the place in 2005 with owner financing and got it back in 2008.  It was a commercial building with a apartment in the back that we rented.  When we got it back there was other damage...but the walls looked great.

I have never had a problem with it not holding up.

We just use common dry wall joint compound and add a bit more water.

One of my handymen who is good at drywall is the one that suggested we try it.

Bill Gulley · Answer

Des, that's exactly what I was saying, LOL.

Gene, what kind of mud do you use and how are you curing it. Mud usually will not stay on panneling long, maybe long enough to sell it, but not really the way to do it on the shinny stuff. May get some calls.

Dave Charron · Answer

I'll have to talk to my agent as to what the comparable homes in this neighborhood have.  He is also doing a cma tonight to give me an idea where we will be when done, and that will also weigh in on whether I can afford the extra for sheetrock.  Values of homes in this neighborhood are all over the place from $70k all the way up to $105k but the higher ones ($90k and up) are newer than mine.

This is a neighborhood I am not real familiar with yet (next town over) so I am relying on my agent for values as he lives and sells in the area.

Thank you guys for your input.

paneling go or no?

Most Popular Reply