[senior citizen]

...........

[Cobh521]

When we were selling our home, we first de cluttered. We had a very large property also. Our children's took a lot of the furniture before we put the house on the market. We then moved the existing furniture around and staged each room. We did replace the carpets in our 6 bedrooms as the carpet was 16 years old. We bought a neutral carpet at Home Depot on sale that included whole house installation for $99. The rest of our house had been updated within 3 years so we did not have to worry about it. Good luck in your move

[OldManTime]

Do not do carpets here in florida, take the money, and tile your whole house

[gomoho]

Ask your REALTOR for advice in your particular market - they know best what is expected when buyers are looking.

[wendyquat]

Unless the carpet is worn looking or badly stained I'd consider a "flooring allowance". Many would prefer laminate and there are so many differing opinions for carpet, ie some like Berber. I hate Berber! Good luck!

[manaboutown]

Whether to paint, re-carpet, upgrade and stage or whether to just clean the house well and sell "as is" depends upon how "hot" the local market is and many other considerations. I would find three experienced successful real estate agents from different companies who "farm" your area and obtain their opinions on what best to do and not do.

[katerogers]

There are a myriad of websites that will tell you exactly what you should do in order to get the most for your house, without spending a fortune - that you will probably never get back. I did my research this way when I sold my last home and it was worth it's weight in $$$. You'd be surprised what makes a difference to a new buyer, but the bottom line is that they must look at themselves living in your home, so there must be no reminders of your family - less is more in furniture and knick-knacks - and painting beige or white will make it more appealing.

Katie

[KathyW]

Housing is our area is pretty "hot". We sold our home without an agent and without listing through word of mouth. The local elementary school is a big plus here. We did not fix up anything and sold "as is" for less money. All the younger families told us that they want to fix up the house the way they want, and not what we thought they would like. Location was the big factor in us selling! I would imagine everything depends on your area.

[MSG@TV]

As someone who has just completed this process, it depends on what you're willing and able to do. One of the consistent pieces of feedback we got from prospective buyers is a desire for an updated look. That message is shown again and again on cable's HGTV. Basically it translates into an open concept floor-plan, floors preferred over carpeting, granite kitchens, no wallpaper and neutral color scheme. As one of the realtors we interviewed put it, the young people want "Pottery Barn" decor. However, our house was over 25 years old and decorated in the 80's in part by a professional decorator, with faux paint, floral wallcoverings that matched custom window treatments, and other custom treatments. We did remove wallpaper from several rooms, but it was expensive and difficult to find workmen willing to do it. That realtor suggested spending about $30,000 more to put it in the Pottery Barn current look. We chose to go with another realtor who took the listing with suggestions for only modest changes. Although we got (3) offers, people had no qualms about putting in offers significantly below our asking price. We finally got them to come up and settled for something in-between. The point I'm making is that the young buyers want it all and the houses that sell the fastest are those that give them what they want. If your house still has other features that appeal (ours had great curb appeal), you can still sell, but not as quickly and as for as much as you might have wanted. So, the most important changes you make are ones you've already considered. Yes, de-clutter. Our realtor staged our house and had us put away the bric a brac (sp?) coveted by decorators. We also changed the knobs on our kitchen cabinets from brass to nickel. It's amazing the difference this inexpensive change made. We did not re-carpet. We did touch-up paint on ceilings and baseboards and spent money fixing stuff that was not operating properly. So, we were able to sell, but likely would have gotten more had we made the house look like those on HGTV. Only you can determine whether it's worth it or not.

[Mikeod]

We were in a similar position with the carpet in the house we sold. Our realtor advised us to leave the carpet as is. One problem is if the prospective buyer doesn't like the new carpet or would prefer wood or laminate they will lower their offer or ask for an allowance anyway. We were prepared for a lower offer or a request for a flooring allowance. Neither happened.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by gomoho

Ask your REALTOR for advice in your particular market - they know best what is expected when buyers are looking.

As a former realtor, I agree with Gomoho. Your local sales agents will give you a Market Analysis at no cost to you, and will advise you on flooring, and will know best what purchasers are looking for in your area. Most people will walk into your house and form an immediate impression, so staging is really important. Fresh paint (neutral colors) and declutttering are always a good idea.

[Cantwaittoarrive]

In my experience an allowance is not as appealing to buyers as new carpet. If you decide to re-carpet a room or rooms I would buy the cheapest quality of carpet and pad you can get. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer, it seems in todays market many buyers want to move into a home that has everything already done but they still want to get a "deal" so they may still ask for a allowance or may still list flooring as a reason for not offering "full price"

[Buckeyephan]

We have a contract on our house and are closing on June 28. Sold in 11 days with 3 offers. Our realtor gave us a list of asking prices for all, some and none of the improvements we could make. The house is 15 years old so we opted to replace the appliances with stainless steel and recarpeted. We remodeled the master bath and kitchen 5 years ago. In all, we spent about $5000 to prep it but got our asking price with no negotiations. We feel it was totally worth the expense. Our realtor manages properties and got us her discount for the carpet. It is not a quality or pad I would choose, but people loved the fact that it was new. We had what I call the House Hunters Big Four: stainless, open floor plan, granite and hardwood. I don't think there is a right answer for everyone so you need to choose what works best for you. Good luck with this wild housing market.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by Buckeyephan

We had what I call the House Hunters Big Four: stainless, open floor plan, granite and hardwood.

I would agree 100% on your Big Four. (I think young mothers haven't yet realized how much time they'll spend wiping fingerprints off a stainless steel fridge!)

[susiejwill]

IMHO, do Not replace your carpet with yet more carpet!