A Cheaper Shine

With property Chi all rented out, I decided to polyurethane the upstairs apartment's floors before Gary and Ira move their stuff in. After working 12 hours at the bank yesterday, I went to Chi and polyurethaned everything. The final result came out great, even if I did it the cheap way. Even if they could tell the difference, it really wouldn't matter.

When applying polyurethane to a hardwood floor, you have to first sand the floor to make it smooth and to remove any and all scratches. For that, you have to rent or purchase a large sanding machine and the right kind of sand paper. After that, you use a shop vac to clean up all the dust and a damp cloth to get the remnants of the dust. Over the next few days, you apply 3 to 4 coats of polyurethane to protect the floor. Total cost and time? Approximately 4-5 days and about $400, depending on the amount of floors you're working on.

Now, with two full-time jobs and being at the helm of two business ventures, does it look like I have time for all that shit? Do I care so much about property Chi? Will a tenant actually get down on their hands and knees to see if there are any scratches on the floor? The answer to all these questions is no. Tenants don't care about technique and how you properly finished a floor. All they care about is seeing a pretty reflection off a shiny floor. That gets the lease signed faster, which is the whole point of tenant management and keeping vacancy rates low.

As in all forms of business, you have to know who your audience is. A tenant wants what looks nice. That's it. The cheapest way to accomplish that goal is what every good landlord aims for. So I paid $25 for 2 cans of "Fast-Drying" polyurethane, mopped the floor with water, then applied the polyurethane. Total time and cost? Approximately 45 minutes and $40 (mop handle and lambskin applicator for the polyurethane, and the cans of polyurethane). Doing it the right way is for something personal, like for a home that you live in. This is an investment property for tenants. They come in, they live, they leave, and the cycle goes on. Like I always joke, tenants are dogs. It makes no sense, both professionally and personally, to spend all that time and money for people I barely consider to be human.