Jeannie in NJ Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 if you were buying a house and everything is fine (newly painted, all repairs, etc) except for the downstairs floors need to be either refinished or replaced (they are 3/4 inch 40 year old hardwood which are pretty beat up). We really do not want to sand and refinish (for several reasons) if we were going to stay, we would just put in pergo or vinyl planking. Anyway, we got a quote to replace a little over 1200 square feet with vinyl planking for just about $10,000. Now of course costs have risen on everything post Sandy. We might could get a lower 2nd quote, not sure how much if any lower it would be. ANyway, if you were buying our house which is 2200 sq. feet but has a tiny kitchen that has a half wall seperating it from the dining room. A few people that have looked at it have remarked about if they bought the house, they would knock down the half wall and make a huge kitchen and make the downstairs year round sunroom into a dining room. So if we were to have the new floors installed and buyers wanted to rennovate the kitchen then having new floors installed before rennovations would probably not be wise. Or should we just offer any potential buyers $10,000 in cash to take care of floors themselves after settlement. The odds are that any buyers will be 2nd home owners (summer vacation home) so they would have time to do any rennovations without having to be living here at the same time. So as a buyer which would you prefer? Would you prefer the cash and then you could choose the kinds of new flooring that you want or would you rather just buy a house that already has new floors? forgot to mention that we have the $10,000 in cash that we have budgeted for new floors so getting the cash on hand for us is not an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanSue Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Maybe I'm missing something about your floors but if I were buying your house I would be livid to learn that you had sunk 10K into covering up hardwood with vinyl! I get that your ideas might be different but a lot of buyers really like hardwood and would rather have the rough stuff to deal with rather than the work of demoing out vinlyl to recover hardwood (says someone who has done it in two rooms so far). As a buyer, layout problems would be my bigger concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted February 27, 2013 Author Share Posted February 27, 2013 Wendy, to answer your questions, yes , all the houses around here are sold turn key. No fixer uppers. It is up to the buyers if they want to rennovate after they buy, but it is usually cosmetic for personal taste not needed repairs. You know, as in the buyers just want a new kitchen even tho we just redid our kitchen this past summer. As for putting the floors in ourselves, dh has a bad back and any contractors or even most handyguys are booked up for months doing Sandy repairs. I called to get an electrician to come out to do a minor repair and I was either laughed at for "such a small job" or told it would be mid April at the earliest. (realtor was able to have it taken care of) but that is the ways things are around here. All contrators or even someone that could install flooring are busy for the new few months if not years. So if we get new floors, we will have to go with having the flooring company install. THey told us that they are bringing in workers from all over to get installations done. So we are going to have to pay the $10,000 one way or another either in paying for installing the floors or giving it to potential buyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanSue Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Re-reading your last bit about it likely being a second home for the buyer . . . I'd save yourself the hassle and let the buyer choose their own priorities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um_2_4 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Wow I would want the cash so I could pick the flooring, but that is Really high! We just replaced almost 1400 sq ft for about $5000, but that included replacing all basboards in a 2400 sq ft house with decrotive 5" baseboards. And the flooring we used is some of the top of the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I wouldn't do either. I would want to have the wood floors refinished. Probably much much cheaper and way nicer than vinyl. Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 As a buyer, I rather have the cash to re-polish the wood or redo the flooring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I am thinking about the same thing as I get our house ready to be put up for sale. Should I replace or just offer $$$. On the one hand I think the cash would be attractive to someone, on the other hand as a buyer I would start to think about the hassle of having to live through replacing the floor. I think I would probably offer the cash and see how receptive realtors and people looking at your house are and then reevaluate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in Appalachia Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I would much prefer the cash. But I know it's a hard decision. A lot of buyers are turned off when they see needed repairs, but personally, I would rather have the option of doing it the way I wanted it done. I think it the realtor always stressed that there was money available to redo floors, then it would be ok. Good luck selling! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 As a buyer I would take the cash in a heartbeat. Floors could be installed or refinished before I moved in and I would prefer to chose my own. And for people like us dh's would do the labor and have cash left over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 As a buyer I would take the cash in a heartbeat. Floors could be installed or refinished before I moved in and I would prefer to chose my own. And for people like us dh's would do the labor and have cash left over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Ask your realtor. Local conditions are what counts. My guess is that doing the work in advance would make the house sell faster and probably for a higher price, but I am not sure about that. Personally I hate pergo and love hardwood floors, so that would color my view of this for myself. Having said that, given that it takes so long to get someone to work on your place, I am not sure that I would want to take on a project like that just after purchasing a new place. I don't care for the idea of being stuck 'on hold' for maybe 6 months before being able to use a new vacation home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I would probably just do the cash. The hardwood floors would be much more desirable than the vinyl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted February 27, 2013 Author Share Posted February 27, 2013 actually Carol, the floor installers could put floors in at any time, they are the only workers around here that are saying that. They are just bringing in workers from their other stores to keep up with demand. The contractors and electricians are just local people that only have themselves are a few employees so that is why they have such a backload of work. ( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted February 27, 2013 Author Share Posted February 27, 2013 thanks everyone. We are currently having the pilings under our house capped and encased in concrete. This also includes leveling all the current floors so new floors could not even be installed until that is done (should take about 3 or 4 weeks hopefully). We are using a local contractor that is very trustworthy and reliable so we are hoping he can get the work done quick . We had to wait 3 months to get on his schedule. Anyway, in the meantime, we told our realtor to tell any interested buyers about the cash offer so we will see how that goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 You could have a third option, and that is allowing them to choose the flooring and having it ready to move in at closing. I just don't know how that timeframe would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicagoshannon Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I'd want to pick my own floors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I think it is regional and market specific, so I'd talk to the realtor and look through lots of listings, which you've probably done already. I would be inclined to offer $X flooring allowance and talk it up in the listing as the ability to customize to your taste as a buyer, etc. Some buyers would probably rather have the cash after being strapped with closing costs, furnishing a 2nd home, etc. However, if most homes are selling turn key, maybe you should proceed with new dlooring. I'd definitely try to have the floors refinished vs. going vinyl if possible. If vinyl isn't typical in your area, I'd be hesitant to spend the money and put it in when it might be a turnoff to buyers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I would rather have the cash or better yet just take the $10,000 off the price and let me fix the floors. Real hardwood floors can be sanded and stained, and I would rather have that then vinyl for sure. People who want hardwood floors expect damage and resurfacing to occur over time. We had to do that to the flooring in our current house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2samlibby Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 In your situation, I would prefer cash. I don't care for pergo or laminate flooring, esp. if there is hardwood there already. I would rather have the hard wood. I would list the house just as it is and wait see if a buyer mentions it at all. They may like the floors as it, not be worried about it, or have plans for remodeling and would rather do something different with the floors. Before doing anything, I would consult your realtor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 Depending on the buyer's financing, they may not be able to take cash away at closing. I would just list the house as it is and let buyers negotiate. The last house we sold, the buyers had an FHA loan and there were sticky requirements. They didn't have the cash to fix the issue and FHA didn't allow them to walk away with cash, so we had to fix the issue before closing. Ours was very much a buyers' market. I shudder to think of it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaffodilDreams Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 I would rather have the original hardwood. Refurbished would be nice, but if you're unwilling/unable to do that, then just let me have those hw floors as is, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca VA Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Another vote for hardwood. When we were searching for houses last summer, we saw many that had had quick "renovations" done to them. They looked like garbage. My husband and I love older houses, we appreciate the authenticity of them, and we definitely didn't want someone's idea of how the homes should be "updated." We'd prefer to make any changes ourselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted February 28, 2013 Share Posted February 28, 2013 Re-reading your last bit about it likely being a second home for the buyer . . . I'd save yourself the hassle and let the buyer choose their own priorities. I'd leave them as is, and I wouldn't offer $10,000 for them either. Costs right now are being super inflated, and I wouldn't offer the inflated price... half maybe or not any at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.