Floorin’ It

Hey there all you tenants, landlords, property owners and managers. We all love lil Jon, but here at the Hometown rant, we feel as though he’s got things a little backwards when he says to the window, to the wall, to the sweat drops down on the floor! We also hope he mops up the sweat drops before they stain the finish. This week we’re covering floors and coverings for floors of all types, in all types of houses, condos, lofts and duplexes.

If you’re a property owner, property manager, or landlord, one of the things you should absolutely pay attention to is the condition of the floors in your rental properties. It’s one of the first things savvy renters will look at when deciding whether or not to rent your house, apartment, duplex or condo. Not only that, but replacing the flooring or even the carpeting is an expensive endeavor.

Different types of floors obviously have different properties and different means and ease of maintenance, so choose wisely, both as a property owner putting in a floor, and as a tenant looking to rent a property. Tile is easy to clean and looks nice but can be expensive to put in or repair. Hardwood is always nice, but it can get scratched by furniture or pets and needs to be re-finished every now and then to prevent stains and such. Carpet is nice on the bare feet, but it soaks up all the dirt that comes into the house, and can get so bad that it has to be ripped up and replaced. Figure out which types of floor are right for you.

Tenants, you’re the ones who are going to be living, walking, sitting, jumping, squatting and/or breakdancing on the floor, so it’s mostly your job to keep them clean and in good condition. This means being careful about shoes on carpet, about dragging furniture across wood, and about cleaning up spills promptly and thoroughly. Invest in a decent vacuum and a mop, especially if you have pets who you’re going to be cleaning up after. The cost for both is probably only a fraction of the security deposit you put down on the place, so think of it like insurance.

Also, while you’re at it, pick up some of this stuff. When I was in college, my roommate came back from a shopping trip with a bottle and I asked him what he was thinking since we didn’t have any pets. His logic was infallible: if it’ll take out piss, he said, it’ll take out anything. He was right. Later that night we used it to get half a glass of red wine out of the carpet.

 Do you have rental questions of your own? Comments? Concerns? Love letters? Hate mail? We can get down:  Hometownrant@hometownrent.com

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