When it comes time to sell a house, one of the most important rooms is the kitchen (obviously). It's also often one of the more expensive rooms to renovate. If you do a whole kitchen remodel, it generally will NOT pay for itself (the average Return on Investment is usually only in the 60-70% range). So most sellers (and stagers) recommend doing a few quick improvements that are less expensive and will give you a positive or at least neutral ROI (e.g. update the counter top with Granite/Quartz, paint, upgrade the appliances and/or replace floors...pending on what the kitchen needs (each home is different).
The challenge with the flooring is that it's often more expensive than what people think, especially if you have cracked tiles or vinyl that's peeling up. I see these all the time in my market (NYC metro area) and I'm guessing this is a pretty universal need. Ripping up tile can be costly, and same with vinyl.
So then the question is how can you upgrade the flooring without spending an arm and a leg. How can you elimiate the eye sore, do it on the cheap and avoid looking cheap?
The good news is that there's now a great solution. It's affordable and if the homeowner is handy (and constrained on budget), they can even do it themselves. This new type of flooring is called Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring (or LVP for short). Sometimes it's called Engineered Vinyl Flooring. This flooring looks like hardwood, but it's waterproof. Yes, waterproof...so it's great for kitchens and other areas that may get wet (or have moisture) such as a basment.
It really looks real, and it's so much nicer looking than laminate, as the boards are individual planks. Laminate flooring is not waterproof, but Luxury Vinyl Plank is. And, it comes with a cork underlayment for a bit of cushioning, sound absorption and insulation.
It's a floating floor, so it snaps together. And, importantly, it can go directly on top of tile, concrete or vinyl without the need to rip it up. So, it saves a lot of money and it looks great.
This flooring was introduced 5 or 6 years ago, but most people have just been learning about it over the last year or two. Coretec Plus (made by US Floors) is the inventor of the category. They now have several different lines and tons of colors, including light and dark hardwoods, grays and white washes, as well as tile looks. You can read my full review on Coretec Plus here.
