Home Improvements/Selling...Worth it?

[Tenny]

DH and I are throwing around the idea of putting out house on the market in the spring. With that in the back of our mind we were looking at our living room carpet the other day and it could really used to be replaced. It is only 4 years old, but since it is the room we spend most of our time plus with a 2 year old it has several stains on it. I would think it would be hard to sell the house with the carpet in that kind of condition. We did get the carpet professional shampooed a few months ago, but within a week all the stains popped back up.

So we were thinking about replacing the carpet. But then we were thinking that hardwood floors seem to be really popular these days and we have hard woods in the kitchen and foyer (which the family room is in between those two) that maybe it would make sense to just continue the hardwoods into the family room. But in todays market we aren't sure if we would get our money back with doing either. But at the same time even if we don't get our money back, do you think the house will sell faster with either.

Anybody have an advise?

1. Leave the carpet.

2. Replace the carpet with another carpet (maybe a high quality berber).

3. Extend the hardwood floors from the kitchen and foyer into the family room.

We also want to do something that we can live with also just in case we decide not to sell.

[petdoc08]

We have a nasty asphault tile floor in the master (who knows what the previous owners were thinking). When looking into selling, our realtor said to put cheapo carpet over it just to hide the fact it was sooo nasty. She said get a nice carpet pad, but cheaper carpet. It will feel like expensive carpet, but be more budget friendly. Hardwood was also an option, but she said we wouldn't get all our $ back. It may, however, have helped to sell the house faster if that is a concern. A third option was to offer a flooring credit in the sale. This way the new owners can pick out the flooring type they want and you don't have to deal with trying to keep new carpet perfect with a toddler.

[villanelle75]

If your carpet is only 4 years old, it is likely still in very good condition. Depending on what color it is, you might look in to dying it. It is much cheaper than replacing it.

[NolaInIllinois]

Our carpet was only 4 years old too and I had had it! I was constantly cleaning it and using my hoover steam vac weekly if not sometimes every other day. Carpet is just not practical with three little kids and three little dogs. Plus our carpet was ultra light beige, bad choice of previous owners. It was brand new when we moved in.
I am extreamly cheap since we are not made of money and I know darn well the dogs and kids are extreamly rough on everything so I got a really cheap floor but it looks really nice. It's sheet vinyle that looks like wood. Most people don't even know it's vinyle. I know it's cheesy and cheap but I don't care, it's a cinch to clean and it looks awesome. It was only 99 cents a square foot too. For me, the next house we may ever get will never ever have carpet anywhere. I can not be a slave no longer to it!! It will have some type of hardwood or laminate hard wood. The plus with me with the vinyle is especially with the pets. I am potty training two puppies at the moment and with even laminate, if any moisture gets under the boards, they are ruined and it's really hard to get the smell out. And my kids are slobs and spill everything. So it was an easy choice for me, vinyle doesn't absorb any moisture and doesn't fade with the sun as hard woods and laminate does.

So if you really like, I would add on the wood from your other rooms. Depending what you need to match, laminate wood flooring is very inexpensive. We were going to get laminate for our living room, it was actually cheaper than the vinyle but we have extreamly uneven floors and the moisture issue. I was a freak about putting my nose to the carpet and smelling everywhere and of course compulsiving cleaning it everyday!

But you also could do a floor allowance when selling too, usual amount I have seen is 2K, and depending on your room size and type of floor, it could be cheaper to have it done yourself.

[mamax2]

What's the market like in your area? What does your competition have going for it? Are you in an area where there are either a lot of newer homes or a lot of homes undergoing remodels/upgrades? Is it a starter or establhished neighborhood?

IMO, those are your biggest questions when deciding what to do. If you are in a starter area or an area in which property moves quickly, save yourself the time and $$ and just get the carpet cleaned OR if you replace it, upgrade the pad and go w/a basic builder grade carpet.

If you are in an established area or are competing with new construction or remodeled homes, go with something as nice or a little better than your competition, which may mean wood.

Also, consider days on market and not just selling price when determining if you're going to 'get your money worth'. If you sell the house 2 months faster, it's probably worth it, kwim?

[maniach]

We are actually doing the same thing right now. I would have liked a laminate floor in our family room, but it is a converted garage with masonry steps and I wasn't sure how to cover the steps if not with carpet or tile. DH didn't want to do tile because he thought it would be too slippery. Anyway, we are redoing it not to get more money because I think we are at the top of our range anyway, but to reduce the number of days on the market. I would make appointments to look at similar houses in the area and see what they have so you know what you are competing with. If they are worse than or the same as what you have, I wouldn't worry about changing it unless you are looking for a quick sale. If they are better than what you have, then upgrade to either a better carpet or wood depending on the competition.

[LittleFredPunkinHead]

We found out we'd be relocating for DH's job shortly after we put hardwood floors throughout our first floor. We lived in an established upper middleclass neighborhood. We didn't get more money because of them, but we definitely sold faster. We got an offer of our listed price within a week and a half of putting it on the market, and this was in a market with a 90-day average.

[huango]

Tenny: I would either do #3 (extend the wood floor) or another option: buy a nice large rug to cover most of the carpet (you can take the rug with you).

We just sold our home (mid-price in mid-price area in Northeast). Our diningroom had pale pink 12-years old carpet in good condition (rarely used). But from 2 potential buyers, their feedback were that they felt like they would make a lower offer because they'd have to replace the DR carpet, and other items.
So one weekend, DH and I just put in a cheaper version of Pergo (click/glueless laminate wood-like floor), with a nice rug over it. It's amazing how much more people liked the house. --> so I wouldn't do #1.

But we KNEW we were not staying there; if we were, we would definitely NOT put in low quality product (even just for looks).

I don't like carpet so I wouldn't do #2.
Example, when we were buying, we would see these 'updated' kitchen where people put in granite tiles for kitchen counters in high-price homes. We bailed on all those houses because for the Xnumber of dollars they spent on the tiles, we would have prefered the money instead so we could spend them the way we want (not tile counters in high price home).
So if I saw your house and that you just put in new carpet, when I would have prefered the $ to invest in new wood floor, I wouldn't be as interested.

2 sides to a coin:
a. My house I just purchased: the kitchen needs updating. I am SO glad that they did NOT invest the money to update, because now, I get to update it the way I want to (expanding/doubling in size with top-of-the-line appliances/counters) while I saved money on the whole house price.
b. My girlfriend just bought a mid/high-priced house where the kitchen was 'recently updated'. They used midpriced cabinets, general appliances, and formica counters and granite island. She is happy that she doesn't have to live through the renovations.
So to each his own.

just my 2 cents.

"But at the same time even if we don't get our money back, do you think the house will sell faster with either.

Anybody have an advise?

1. Leave the carpet.

2. Replace the carpet with another carpet (maybe a high quality berber).

3. Extend the hardwood floors from the kitchen and foyer into the family room.

We also want to do something that we can live with also just in case we decide not to sell."

[justHB]

i wanted hardwood floors and wasn't willing to buy a house that had carpets even if there were hardwoods under the carpet. i wasn't in to doing all that work to get the hardwoods in good shape. in the bay area, i known hardwoods are one of the #1 selling factors in homes.

[Niobe]

I think hardwood floors would definitely help sell your house, especially if carpet is the norm. Of the three options you presented, I would hands-down pick hardwood floors. I would definitely not replace the existing carpet with new carpet of any quality - I'd leave the existing carpet and put in a floor allowance instead and leave the decision on the new carpet up to the buyers in that case.

[jajacobsen]

I agree with either extending the hardwood floors or offer a flooring allowance. I think doing teh hardwood floors is the better option.