<p>We are about to sell our 25 year old home and the carpet is shot. Not sure if we should tear it out and replace it with something neutral and inexpensive or include some type of flooring allowance for potential buyers. </p>
<p>I want to tear it out and replace it. DH thinks it’s better to gave a buyer an allowance towards flooring of their own choice. </p>
<p>Opinions?</p>
<p>I am not a professional- but I would think it would depend on your market and your price range.
If you are trying to appeal to those on a budget, who may have skills to do their own installation to save money wherever they can, I would give an allowance, but if those looking to buy are likely not even want to be bothered with finding a contractor and home sales are good, I would put something neutral down.</p>
<p>What room is it in? I rejected a house once that all new carpeting in the bedrooms because we would just have to tear it out and put in other flooring because of dust mite allergies.</p>
<p>My sister tried selling her older home without replacing the carpet and couldn’t even get a nibble. She had some friends put down neutral floating floors and she had an offer within a week. That is the only major change she made. </p>
<p>We bought our house and it had new WHITE carpet in the living room and hall. It didn’t even stay white past move-in. Two years later we tore it up and discovered beautiful hardwood floors that needed a simple refinishing. Why these people covered it up with a ridiculous color carpet is beyond me.</p>
<p>Tear it out and replace it. Home shoppers already face a mountain of tasks. All things being equal, replacing a floor is a mark against your property in the minds of potential buyers, not to mention it makes a terrible impression.</p>
<p>These days most people prefer hardwood to carpet. If you have hardwood underneath your carpet, just rip out the carpet and get the hardwood in good shape.</p>
<p>I think if we had done that when we sold our old house, we would have had a quicker sale and gotten more money.</p>
<p>Definitely replace the worn out carpet.</p>
<p>It will make the whole house look worn out and tired…which will not be conducive to getting offers, much less good offers. People will low-ball on such a house, and then expect an exorbitant allowance on top of the low price.</p>
<p>I, too, would recommend going with some kind of wood, because that is what people want today. Plus there is something about a shiny wood floor that makes the whole house look inviting and shiny.</p>
<p>I’d replace it. If it’s the whole house that needs it, you could put new carpeting in the bedrooms and wood in the living areas. That would save you a little, and you’d still have the “shiny” look going for you. I actually like carpeted bedrooms, but I realize not everyone does.</p>
<p>I’d replace the worn carpet with something cheap and neutral and let the buyers figure out what they want to do, to their taste and specifications, when you’re out of the picture. Even buyers who plan on replacing carpet with hardwood floors don’t necessarily want to deal with it right away in order for a house to feel clean and livable. IMHO there is no point in spending the money and time doing improvements to a house you want to sell unless they are absolutely necessary to making a sale. I understand that most home improvements don’t actually make back their cost at sale.</p>
<p>It depends what you are thinking for the allowance… but my suggestion would be…</p>
<p>Give the allowance. If you get no bites, take it away and lower the price… or replace the carpet then. That’s what the people I bought my house from did.</p>
<p>That way the future home owners can put in whatever they want - instead of possibly tearing out your new stuff. </p>
<p>The house I bought was listed at 20k higher but came with an allowance for new floring in the whole house. They had no bites, lowered the price 20k but got rid of the floring allowance.</p>
<p>That was perfect for me. I tore all the icky carpet out, exposed the hard wood under neath, spent 500 bucks to re-finish the floors, and another couple hundred in area rugs, and now it’s almost perfect. I do still have the old icky carpet in two bedrooms but it’s good enough for now… these rooms didn’t have nearly as much traffic as the other rooms did.</p>
<p>I can think of several other factors to consider.</p>
<p>Does your house smell bad because of the carpet? If so, replace it.</p>
<p>Does your house need a lot of other repairs or changes? If so, replace the carpet.</p>
<p>How many rooms are involved? If your entire house is carpeted, having old carpet all over could make it hard for your buyer to picture the house with new carpet.</p>
<p>Is the existing carpet a neutral color? If not, replace it.</p>
<p>When we were selling our first house, we had a 20x20 family room with hideous carpet. We decided to do the allowance thing. We did get offers, but none that came through. We took the house off the market in November…had the carpet replaced with a nice neutral Berber, and relisted it in April. It sold in three weeks…for more than we originally had it listed for.</p>
<p>If the carpet looks shabby, some folks won’t be able to see past that.</p>
<p>If possible, I would replace. Well worn carpet will set the tone for how the whole house is viewed. Replacing with a fresh neutral color will give the house an instant facelift. Even though you may offer a flooring allowance, potential buyers will probably lowball any offer keeping in mind the time and expense involved and wondering what else needs updating.</p>
<p>without a doubt, replace it with neutral color builder’s grade carpet before showing it. It will be far cheaper if you do it - they will not be thinking it costs a little as you will pay for builder’s grade AND most importantly, people cannot see past such a negative when they look at the house.</p>
<p>Replace with a neutral color that looks plush and good. It will make a very favorable impression.</p>
<p>However, if there are some high traffic areas that have carpet, you might consider putting in some kind of hard flooring in those spots. That is also appreciated.</p>
<p>Most buyers would automatically think that allowances would not cover the actual costs, plus, not everyone is excited about another hassle after a move-in. If possible, as the others suggested, replace it with something relatively neutral that hides dirt and looks nice even after a stampede (beige is better than grey). If there is hardwood underneath, take the carpets out and refinish the wood, it is more popular than carpets.</p>
<p>The house I’m living in now languished on the market for over a year before we bought it. I’m convinced most people could not see past the stained pink carpet that covered the entire house. (It didn’t smell great either.) Under the carpet were the original hardwood floors. If you have a decent floor underneath the carpet, I’d pull them up and refinish the floor. If it’s just plywood, I’d probably still pull them up and put in something cheap or neutral, but that’s a closer call.</p>
<p>I think replacing it is the way to go because a lot of buyers do not have much imagination. You will lose all of the buyers that want a house in move in condition. And that is a lot of the buyers.</p>
<p>In this area, you have to frigging stage a house, spending quite a bit to showcase it, if you are selling at a certain price range… There is no way you can just have allowances for those things.</p>
<p>Potential buyers have no – none, nada, zippo – imagination. You really have to do it for them.</p>
<p>One suggestion I got from a carpet salesman was to buy the cheapest possible carpet you can, but get the upgraded cushion underneath. A high weight carpet pad will make just about any carpet feel luxurious when you’re just briefly looking at it.</p>