Selling My House. Should I Put in New Carpets ETC. (1 Viewer)

[Mark Sherman]

A few Months back I put a deposit on my new house now its time for me to put my house that I am now living in on the market.



The Question I have is should I put some money into it. I was thinking New carpets ( the ones in the bed room are not that bad) maybe new appliances in the kitchen. and do a quick once over in the Bath.


what would be the most cost effective way to handle this.



Thanks


Sherm

 

[Robert Marc]

probably not worth it unless they are worn through although i would get them cleaned. its amazing how much better it looks afterward. same goes with the bath. fix anything that is broken or leaking, maybe throw a fresh coat of paint on the walls. if it was me, i would interview a couple of real estate agents with experience in your area and get their input before doing anything major.

 

[Mark Sherman]

Thanks Robert Im gonna give that a try.

 

[Philip_T]

I would say it depends on your market. If homes in your area are spending less than 30 days on the market, you may not need to worry about it. However, if your in an area where homes are typically staying on the market for a long time, you may want to do some updating. If you don't want to worry about it, you can always market your home with a carpet allowance. Basically you pay back the buyer X amount of money so they can get the carpet replaced how they like it. Other than that, some simple yet inexpensive updating may include new lighting and bathroom fixtures. Clear out the clutter and remember, big, bulky home theater set ups in the living room tend to turn off certain potential buyers. A crime, I know but Less is More. Other cheap things to try when marketing your home is to light some candles right before a showing and turn on some light jazz at minimal volume to give your home some ambiance.

 

[KeithMoechnig]

I'd get some real estate guy to come out to your house and ask if it would be worth your money to redo the bathroom, new carpets, etc. And don't put in a color that only you like if you redo the bathroom.

 

[Seth_L]

Don't most people usually replace all that stuff when they buy a house to whatever color they want?

 

[nolesrule]

When I bought a home, I was glad the previous owners did not paint or recarpet because a) that gave us the opportunity to pick colors and carpet-types we wanted and b) we didn't have to pay for the seller's expenses in the sale price to redo something in colors we would not have wanted.

Now, a paint job might help depending on how bad the walls are. But I'd recommend a carpet allowance rather than replacing the carpet, but only if the carpet is truly in need of replacement and not just dirty.

 

[Robert_Z]

Exactly. And I have a question: Why would you go through the trouble and expense of installing new carpet, etc., for total strangers but not for yourself?

If I ever have new carpet installed in my house it will be for my enjoyment, not for the enjoyment of others (not to mention the fact that I have no idea what each potential buyer's preference in carpet would be.)

When I was homebuying last year, I basically crossed from my list every house that had "new carpet and paint" because that told me the house was crappy and the seller did this to cover up a poorly maintained house.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

We moved out of our old house because it was too small (among other reasons). After doing exactly the above, it was amazing how much room we had ! I was almost tempted to stay....

Agree on not installing new carpet, just get it professionally cleaned (unless it's REAL bad...)

 

[gene c]

As others have already said, the Real Estate Agent you choose will be the most important decision you will make. He/she will be the one to listen to. Having said that, here's my two cents anyway. Fix things that are broken and clean, clean, clean everything else. This includes the exterior and landscaping. Secure loose gutters, clean oil stains on the driveway, etc. Mow the lawn, pull the weeds and trim the bushes. Maybe a few in-expensive colorful annuals for the front of the house but don't spend too much. How a house smells is also important. Last minute improvements "might" help a house sell a bit faster, but they say you only get back about 40% of what you put in it. In a strong sellers market it isn't necessary. Make what is already there more presentable and leave it at that.

 

[Win Joy Jr]

Having just gone thru selling a house, I would do the carpets and paint. Remember, you want the house to stand out above the rest. Don't go to a big box store (home depot / Lowes) to do the carpet. Find a local carper dealer and ask for their builders grade carpet. We walked into our local carpet shop who knew our model of house (it helped that we live in a Levit development, only 5 styles of homes) and saw a roll of "Builder's Beige" that was being put down in the house that afternoon. The painters were leaving and the carper guys were pulling in. We put 5K into carpet / paint / cleaning / power washing and bumped the listing price by 15k.

As far as the appliances, how old are they, and what color? If they are more than 10 years old, I would think about it. In my MIL's house, the appliances were a little old (greater that 10 years) but we did not have enough cash available to replace the appliances. If we had done so, we would have had more than 1 offer on the weekend open house.

Yeah, some people rip out what is in the house to make it their own right away. But, a first time buyer may not have that ability, and they are looking for a house that needs no work to get it into move-in condition.

Also, remember, the top line number (listing price) is not what you need to worry about. It is the bottom line number you need to hit. In our case, we accepted dual agency for a reduction of the commission from 6% to 5%. Also, the agency on bot side of the deal split the cost of the home warranty to close the deal. We walked away with what we wanted in terms of cash.

Again, to sum it up, you want your house to be the one that potential buyers like and remember and write an offer...

 

[Ken Chan]

How does that compare to "Sell This House"?

 

[SteveLa]

My mom recently had her house on the market for over a month and had attracted little repeat interest from people viewing the property. Her agent suggested maybe installing new carpeting, so she had some cheap carpeting and pad put down. Result: the house sold the following week.

 

[MarkHastings]

I think it really depends on the buyer. I am the type who would want to repaint and recarpet, whereas others may not be able to afford to do this so they'd be looking for "move-in" conditions. That's a good point too. I'm the type that would also be thinking "what are they trying to hide"?

 

[Mark Sherman]

My carpets are pretty much on the new side. So I splurged and bought a carpet Cleaner and spent the weekend cleaning my rugs. I spent about 2-3 hours on my living room rug I was amazed at how dirty the water was after doing so. My rugs Look almost brand new minty fresh now as well as my bed rooms. After that I started painting my Kitchen. Next up the bath room.



I have been told that the units in my Building are selling like crazy. maybe on the market for a few weeks tops.



Thanks again for all the help guys

 

[Todd Henry]

The other key on Design to Sell is that they get the benefit of free labor. If you aren't handy the improvements that they do might cost twice as much if you have to hire someone to replace light fixtures, add new crown molding, etc.

 

[Ken Chan]

That's also in northern CA; I live in one. Luckily, I bought it ten years ago for one-third the price. And it is crazy. I wouldn't pay that much for my place. (Although if you bought even just a few years ago, you could still make a profit now. But how long will it continue to grow?)

Sell This House rarely spends more than $400. It's mostly decluttering, painting a few rooms, using sheets as drapes and table cloths, and lots of staging. They focus on selling houses that haven't been getting any offers, and use "hidden cameras" to see what people really think. They use the same designer, and the host is very appealing.

 

[Mark Sherman]

Im going with the make the place clean but lived in look. Clean the carpets, fresh coat of paint and some new closet doors. I think I might drop about 5-600 if that. That way I can save more to spend on new stuff for the new place.