House for sale and replacing carpet....what's your opinion?

[hmschoolmom22]

we are about to put our house on the market (AGAIN!! UGH!) and our upstairs carpet is the original carpet, the house was built in '91 and two bedrooms and the bonus room have blue carpet (the rest in dark tan). Our realtor has asked that we install new carpet before putting the house on the market. She says that clients would much prefer to see new carpet and feel the house is move in ready than to have to imagine new carpet (a carpet allowance is what we would like to do and then have them put in carpet on their own before they move in OR we could put in new carpet AFTER we move out).

 

We really do not want to go through the process of new carpet - moving the furniture, taking down two bunkbeds (which we just put together and put in their rooms at Christmas) and the whole hassle that new carpet entails.

 

What's your opinion? new carpet? carpet allowance?

 

We also have to have our foyer hardwood floors redone and replace our back french doors that lead to the backdeck and our master bathroom needs to be updated badly...so, needless to say, we have plenty to do and no money to do it, nor the time!

 

:banghead:

[Rebecca VA]

I would much, much rather choose my own carpet. An allowance would be a wonderful incentive!

[xxxxxxxx]

I would much, much rather choose my own carpet. An allowance would be a wonderful incentive!

:iagree::iagree:

[Mommee & Baba]

I agree with PP.

 

I wish we would've been offered a carpet allowance when we purchased.:glare:

[The Girls' Mom]

When we house shop, new carpet is not even on our priority list. The only time it would be a factor is if the house was at the high end of what we wanted to spend, and we were footing the bill for replacement. And there are SO many people that would probably just rip all the carpet out anyway and put down wood or something.

 

I would just invest in a good cleaning and call it done.

[ProudGrandma]

I would much, much rather choose my own carpet. An allowance would be a wonderful incentive!

 

 

I also agree whole heartedly with this.

 

Kathy

[mlktwins]

DH and I have a contract on a house and it needs new carpet. We prefer this since we want to install hardwood instead of carpet in most of the rooms. Of course, the price reflects that the house needs new flooring.

 

Mendy

[Perry]

I much prefer wood floors, and If I were moving into a house with old carpet, I'd install wood or bamboo. I would much rather have the new flooring allowance.

[hmschoolmom22]

love you guys! and can't wait to show this thread to dh when he gets home tonight!! thanks for your replies!

[TrixieB]

As a buyer, I would rather have the carpet allowance. I would rather choose my own color/type of carpet, and I might prefer hardwood or bamboo flooring to carpet.

[KnitWit]

I vote carpet allowance here too.

 

I think HGTV and DIY network have had a ridiculous effect on the buying/selling of homes in this country! LOL!

Edited March 1, 2010 by MSPolly

[MaMa2005]

Carpet allowance for sure.

 

So many people have allergies and would much rather choose their own flooring. For us, it has to be hardwoods or ceramic tile. So if I saw new carpet in a house, I would be just be saying to the Realtor - "What a waste if money!"

[jujsky]

I would do what you suggested and do a flooring allowance. Tastes and styles are different, and many people prefer wood floors. I know if I was going to buy a house I would rip the carpets out -- even if they were brand new -- to put in wood floors.

[fivetails]

I much prefer wood floors, and If I were moving into a house with old carpet, I'd install wood or bamboo. I would much rather have the new flooring allowance.

 

:iagree:

 

 

[if we ever get to buy a house someday, one of my biggest requests is NO CARPET. None. Nada.]

[Prudent]

Flooring allowance.

[Dobela]

Carpet/flooring allowance here too. We are currently house hunting and wold rather make our own choices. Honestly. We just went to one home where the owner was so proud of the new carpet - and it was a terrible purplish wine color. But if you make an allowance, make it a 'real' one. Another home we looked at had pretty worn floors and they offered a $500 whole house flooring allowance.

 

We also have to have our foyer hardwood floors redone and replace our back french doors that lead to the backdeck and our master bathroom needs to be updated badly...so, needless to say, we have plenty to do and no money to do it, nor the time!

 

Look carefully at how much you are spending. I know, as a looking person, that new, updated, move in ready is nice. But we have also been looking at some nice fixer-uppers too. If the price is right, I would willingly update that bathroom myself instead of paying you a premium to do it. I would suggest that the foyer hardwoods be refinished since that is likely the first thing a buyer will see, and if the doors are not so nice, those too though. Replacing a set of doors isn't bad, but I would rather put my money into that bathroom as a buyer :)

[JoyfulMama]

Are the carpets that bad that they would be a HUGE negative when showing the house? Of course you live with them, I know. So I'm assuming someone else would also be able to live with them while trying to decided what they wanted. So I would also vote for an allowance, and allow the new buyer a dream of new flooring right up front!

[Brilliant]

I will be the only nay-sayer, I guess.

 

In this market, I would do what the realtor suggests. She apparently thinks it looks bad enough to turn off buyers.

 

I know I've looked at house pictures on-line that have acres of rose-colored carpet from '91...and I think, "yuk." It makes me not want to even look at the house.

 

Just sayin'.

[Brigitte]

I am going to be a dissenting voice here. While I can see past ugly carpet when I look at houses, many people cannot. In fact, in today's market, people are looking for everything to be already done to a house. If your realtor thought that prospective buyers could see past the carpet and that a carpet allowance would entice them, she would not make the suggestion to change it. She is a professional and knows what people are looking for (you are paying her for her knowledge afterall).

 

You don't have to put down carpeting that you would love or high quality for that matter. Buy the cheapest, but okay looking carpet. People like to see "new."

[Jann in TX]

When we put our last home on the market we had some 'blue' carpet in a few rooms (to us it looked great with the creamy while walls and light wood furniture). We also had a tiny bit of wallpaper in the kitchen area that was 'blue'... again--it went with what WE had decorated with...

 

Our realtor demanded that we change the carpet (almost NEW condition) AND the wallpaper... we resisted and offered a very BIG carpet/wallpaper allowance--more than enough for 'good stuff'.)

 

After 3 months of showings the comments were NEGATIVE--because 'blue' was now considered an outdated color....

 

We ripped up the old carpet (and re-used it in our current new house!!!) and re-wallpapered the kitchen in a more contemporary print--the house sold 3 days after the remodel!

 

We could have sold it sooner had we listened to our realtor--she WAS EXPERIENCED in how houses were selling in our area...

 

Personally I would prefer the allowance (we've been stuck in a house where they put in TERRIBLY CHEAP and UGLY carpet before we bought it...).

 

Jann

[Mommyof4ks]

Another vote for flooring allowance. The people who sold us this house wasted their money by putting in new carpet, because we offered them less because we were going to have to rip it up anyway. We put in hardwood, because of allergies.

[The Governess]

I would much rather have the allowance. Our house was a "flip," a realtor had purchased it and done some extensive remodeling on it before we bought it. They put in a light colored carpet, which would have been fine for many people but not for a family with a toddler and baby. :glare: I wish we could have chosen our own carpet, it only took us a couple years to wreck it.

 

I would get a carpet cleaner and clean your upstairs carpets as well as you can, and then offer an allowance for the new carpet.

[Pippen]

Flooring allowance for me also.

[Melinda in VT]

It depends.

 

As a buyer, could I find other houses in the same price range with all the positives of your house AND nice, new, neutral carpet?

 

As you said, replacing carpet is a pain, and if I could avoid it and still get a great house . . .

[RoughCollie]

I would vastly prefer a flooring allowance.

[May]

I guess it would depend on what price you are asking for your home. Is it on the higher end in your neighborhood? If people were already at the max of what they could afford and the carpet allowance isn't that much, it could be a turn off. Frankly, I would spruce up the bathrooms before I would put in new carpet.

[celticmom]

Another thought to consider is that new carpet literally stinks. If the smell gives a potential buyer with allergies/sensitivities a headache they may not wish to take the chance that it was only the carpet. I would definitely prefer a flooring allowance. Also I would take steps to aiir the house out very thoroughly after any painting/refinishing. A compromise position might be to do everything else first and then replace the carpet if potential buyers comment negatively when they see the house.

[Mabelen]

It really depends on buyers' expectations and your local real estate market. Is it an area in high demand despite the current recession? If the norm in your area is for houses to be in move in ready condition or if it is not a high demand area or if your house has anything that remotely could put buyers off other than the carpet I would definitely change the carpet. It might make the difference between having an offer quickly and the house languishing in the market...

 

When we put our house for sale last spring we did change carpets and the house was in top condition. There were three other houses in our street that went on sale around the same time. Out of these four, only the two that were move in ready, decluttered and showed great received an offer within a matter of weeks, ours was under contract within 10 days, out of the other two, one was pulled off the market after 3 months and the remaining one was sold sometime in the late summer...

 

I just noticed you are in Virginia. Are in you in the DC metro area? We were in the Maryland DC metro area, and if your area is anything like ours, I would definitely change the carpets! If you are in the more rural parts of Virginia this might not apply.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Mabelen

[Suzanne in ABQ]

We were a military family, and have moved way too many times. Every time we've moved, it was essential to have the house in move-in condition. I was also on a buying blitz every time (ie. "Okay Realtor, I'm here for a week. Show me everything in two days. I'll narrow them down and see the favorites on the third day. Then, I'll make an offer on the fourth. It needs to be move-in ready because we're moving her from 500 miles away, and we want to do a door-to-door move.")

 

I looked at between 8 and 13 houses a day. If I walked into a house and saw old crusty carpet, I turned around and walked out. I didn't have time to try to imagine what the house *could be*. I needed it to have all the things on my checklist (or as many as possible). Having to select, buy, and install new carpet long distance would have been a deal breaker for me. New carpet makes the house show better, and sell higher. I believe it would be worth your investment to put in some cheap carpet in a neutral color (if you're really motivated to sell). You need to pack to move anyway, just start early. Decluttering and staging will also help your house sell faster, and for a higher price.

[Mabelen]

We were a military family, and have moved way too many times. Every time we've moved, it was essential to have the house in move-in condition. I was also on a buying blitz every time (ie. "Okay Realtor, I'm here for a week. Show me everything in two days. I'll narrow them down and see the favorites on the third day. Then, I'll make an offer on the fourth. It needs to be move-in ready because we're moving her from 500 miles away, and we want to do a door-to-door move.")

 

I looked at between 8 and 13 houses a day. If I walked into a house and saw old crusty carpet, I turned around and walked out. I didn't have time to try to imagine what the house *could be*. I needed it to have all the things on my checklist (or as many as possible). Having to select, buy, and install new carpet long distance would have been a deal breaker for me. New carpet makes the house show better, and sell higher. I believe it would be worth your investment to put in some cheap carpet in a neutral color (if you're really motivated to sell). You need to pack to move anyway, just start early. Decluttering and staging will also help your house sell faster, and for a higher price.

 

I think this definitely reflect the problem with not having the house move in ready. You are narrowing down your potential buyers. In a seller's market, this is not a problem, but in the current market it possibly is.

[5KidzRUs]

Another thought to consider is that new carpet literally stinks.

 

:iagree: The carpet (hypothetically) being nasty is a deal breaker - you need to put something new in because as much as *I* would rather have the allowance - a funky carpet will leave a very bad impression on others - especially those with allergies.

 

Our carpet was put installed in 1989 and replacing it was essential. Ew!

[Laurie4b]

I will be the only nay-sayer, I guess.

 

In this market, I would do what the realtor suggests. She apparently thinks it looks bad enough to turn off buyers.

 

I know I've looked at house pictures on-line that have acres of rose-colored carpet from '91...and I think, "yuk." It makes me not want to even look at the house.

 

Just sayin'.

 

I agree. What you have to get around with the old carpet is people's subconscious perceptions of your home. I would put in whatever is cheaper--new neutral colored carpet (like a beige or taupe) or new laminate flooring.

[Susan in KY]

I much prefer wood floors, and If I were moving into a house with old carpet, I'd install wood or bamboo. I would much rather have the new flooring allowance.

 

:iagree:

 

 

[if we ever get to buy a house someday, one of my biggest requests is NO CARPET. None. Nada.]

 

:iagree: Absolutely!

[Leola]

I would much, much rather choose my own carpet. An allowance would be a wonderful incentive!

I agree!!

[charlotteb]

We've had our house on the market for nearly 6 months. The whole time we've had a carpet allowance. Our current carpet is 8 years old and worn. We really hoped that the carpeting allowance would be tempting and someone would snatch our house up and put in the carpet themselves. But that just didn't work out. We kept hearing from buyers that they want move-in ready. So we begrudgingly just put in new carpet. It went in last week and I'm expecting a sale very soon now!

So I think your realtor may be right.

[kathkath]

I think you should replace it wiht something inexpensive and neutral. Esp in a buyer's market, you need to do everything you can to make ppl imagine living there, and remove anything that might detract. Old carpet, no matter how much allowance factors in, still has an *ick* factor that could dissuade a potential buyer. IMO you should do what you can to remove the ick, not think about a buyer's wants. Moving the furniture is inconvenient, but so is adding on a month or more of extra showings.

[hornblower]

Another thought to consider is that new carpet literally stinks.

 

LOL. OTOH, this is the smell of NEW. Most buyers around here have been to many different types of homes because for the price of an older house in the burbs you can buy a brand new smaller townhouse or condo closer to the city. Many shoppers have been in display suites & new carpet smell - while it can vary from annoying to downright headache inducing - is also powerfully associated with thoughts of new, new, new!

 

It's like new car smell.

 

I would change the carpets. Here, one of the big box stores has a constant carpet sale - they keep switching which it is, one month it's saxony, the next it's a berber but there's always something very inexpensive, installation included. Go for a neutral creamy beige.

 

Unless houses are being snapped up like hot cakes, I'd do it.

 

I guess it does depend on how badly you want to sell this house and what your options are if it doesn't. But there are risks to trying to sell and then having to do the changes anyway & re-listing etc. or dropping prices.

 

I can tell you that we were shopping around for a long time & we saw houses come on & off the market. Anyone shopping with a realtor (as we did) can get access to the house's 'sales history' too. So if a house was listed 5 months ago for 50K more and was pulled off the market etc, or has had its price adjusted down a whole bunch of times - all that info is available. A house which has lingered on the market, or which has been on & off several times with different realtors etc will just not look very appealing because the potential buyer's first thought is "I wonder what's wrong with it?"

[StephanieZ]

Although it sounds like a great idea to do a carpet allowance. . . and one would imagine that folks would be happy to choose their own. . .

 

In reality, people will pay more for your house, and be faster to make an offer, if it looks clean and ready for them. Your realtor is right. You should put in new carpet. It can be cheap -- but should be neutral (tan or beige) and clean and new. It'll be best for you in the end. . .

 

Sorry. :(

[Parrothead]

Flooring/carpet allowance. I'd also rather have the same to redo the bathroom myself. Everyone's taste are different. What you think is wonderful for the bathroom, I may think is hideous.

[1bassoon]

Listen to your realtor.

 

We, too, had old old carpets - in good condition, but blue and old.

 

We just had new carpets installed last week, and are ready to relist after a year of no sales. We offered a HUGE flooring allowance - buyers could not see past the old carpets.

 

It stinks, and it's not what I'd prefer (I'd MUCH prefer a flooring allowance), but buyers can't see past it.

 

OH, and fyi - we had a big box install our carpet. They did a good job, but be sure to set parameters - as in, the guys who did our house decided it could be done in one day, and it was - but they left at 10:40 at night. Not. Cool.

[Laurie4b]

One of the problems with making your decision based on the responses here vs. what your realtor is advising is this: people are not as good at predicting what we would do in a given situation as we think we are. Marketers found this out a long time ago. It seems like you could ask on a message board which people would prefer and count up the responses and go with that--but you could be seriously misled. If you don't think your realtor knows what she's talking about, you should probably sell it on your own or hire a new one.

[LizzyBee]

We would prefer a carpet allowance, which we'd use towards hardwood flooring. That's what we did when we bought our current home. I hate carpet!

[Ritsumei]

I'm with the allowance camp - in fact, when we bought the house we're in there was Kitchen Carpet (!) and one of the bedrooms' had a HUGE hole in the carpet. Both of those came out right away - and I doubt that the previous owners would have chosen anything like we did: we put in a grass-green carpet in that bedroom, to go with the mural I was painting in there. Everything in the house was beige and brown when we bought it. Ugh.

 

Definitely, go with the allowance/price reduction. Your realtor is crazy. How can you possibly know what the next owners want?? Maybe the new owner won't mind what's there, but a price reduction will be very tempting!

 

 

However. I would guess that this message board, full of do-it-yourself educators, has a high ratio of do-it-yourself remodelers. You may wish to take that into consideration before throwing out the realtor's advice entirely.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Ritsumei

[MotherMayI]

I agree with your realtor. Although many people go into buying a house with the intentions of updating it- you can only make one first impression. Most buyers want a move-in-ready home, and even if the buyer does not want to keep the carpet you just installed- they will be more attracted to your home because of its appearance. I have to admit that I watch far too much HGTV and shows like "Sell This House", and they always slap on a fresh coat of paint, minimize their furniture and "stuff", and if needed update the flooring. While I am sure there may be a buyer who would prefer the carpet allowance- I think your better odds are with new carpet.

 

 

Best wishes!

[Crimson Wife]

We just bought a house at the end of December and in this weak market, there's a lot of inventory. Folks who want fixers are typically going for bank-owned properties. There were a bunch of homes I glanced at online and ruled out because they weren't move in ready. Remodeling always costs more and takes longer than originally anticipated so we didn't want to deal with that hassle.

 

We did accept a credit for roof replacement on the house we bought because there was no way the seller could do that during the rainy season.

 

I'd listen to your realtor on this one...

[cjzimmer1]

When we were house hunting 13 years ago, I rejected MANY houses solely because they all had brand new neutral toned carpet. I hate neutral colors. I like blues and greens and reds. Since they all had brand new carpeting, I couldn't justifying replacing it but knew I would never be happy looking at beige, tan or light brown for more than an hour or so. I certainly wouldn't feel like it was my house with those colors. I much prefer picking my own stuff. We ended up building a new house so I could pick my own colors for not just the floors but also the counters, the walls, the siding etc.

[hmschoolmom22]

wow!!!! I haven't been on since this morning, I come back and have 5 pages of responses!! thank you so much for your opinions, I am reading every reponse and I'm going to get dh to read them after dinner.

 

As far as the condition of our existing carpet - it's not great - torn up in some corners due to our cats and on top of that, our floors creak like crazy!!! so, if we tore the old carpet up, we could fix the creaks...which is something our realtor talked about too.

 

things that make you go hmmmm.....

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

Do you know what is under the carpet? Can you lift a corner? If it is hardwood, then you may be able to easily rip it,sand, and varnish the floor with water-based varnish which is easy to apply. Yes, it would take work, but it may be a lot cheaper and something you could do yourselves versus installing carpeting.

 

 

How bad is the carpet? If it is really ugly, then I would do something with it since a prospective buyer may have a hard time getting past it IMHO especially if it detracts from the looks of the house in a big way.

[Brigitte]

Given that condition and the creaking floors, I would recarpet in a heart beat. I realize that a lot of people here said that they would prefer the allowance, but I really don't think that is how it plays out in reality. You are selling a house based on a first impression. If the carpet is bad and the floors creak, people start to wonder what other parts of the house have been "neglected" - not that I think you have neglected things in your house, but that is where people's mind go. I would look at the houses that are your competition in terms of price and see what they look like. That will give you an idea of what you need to do.

 

Now, if your house is a fixer-upper, I might change my tune....

[Scuff]

However. I would guess that this message board, full of do-it-yourself educators, has a high ratio of do-it-yourself remodelers. You may wish to take that into consideration before throwing out the realtor's advice entirely.

 

This is what I was thinking. I'd definitely want an allowance instead. But many, many buyers can't see past ugly. You narrow your market by not having it move in ready.