Realtors — These Carpets Will Help you Finish the Year Strong
When you sell a house, you want it to look its best, but you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg getting it there — that’s just cutting into your asking price. Flooring is a major component of the house, so buyers will definitely take notice when you show the place, especially if the previous owner’s furniture has been moved out. On the other hand, people’s tastes are different, and you don’t want to decorate an entire room (or floor) in a way that turns your new buyers off buying the house.
Why You Need New Carpet
First things first: do you actually need to replace the carpet before selling a home? It depends. If you go over the carpet with a hot water extractor (also called a steam cleaner) and it looks great, then you might be able to get away with leaving it as is. Otherwise, look for the following:
- Stains that won’t come out — if there are dark spots or stains that don’t lift out with hot water extraction cleaning, then the carpet itself needs to be replaced.
- Uneven areas underneath the carpet — carpet naturally develops high traffic areas — the middle of stairs and hallways, the areas next to the bed and in front of the dresser, and the strip of carpet in front of the couch. If you walk around on the empty floor and feel divots or low spots where the carpet pad has been compressed, you’ll need to replace the carpet and pad entirely.
- A lingering smell — it’s hard for people to know that their carpet has started to smell when they’re around it every day, but carpet starts to smell musty or even moldy when it gets older, and there’s not much that can be done but to replace it.
What to Ask Before You Replace Flooring
When you’re trying to decide what carpet to put in your client’s house before you sell, there are a few questions you should keep in mind:
- What’s the neighborhood like? Real estate has a concept called “too much house for the neighborhood,” which describes a home that’s head and shoulders more fancy than the houses nearby. If you go overboard on flooring and make a house that’s too expensive for the area, you’ll have an enormous amount of trouble moving it. Take a look around at the neighborhood’s average house price and set your sights on that.
- What’s your budget? You can expect an ROI on new carpet of anywhere between 50 and 80 percent, so you can think of that like a discount — if you spend $1000 on carpet, you’ll make $500 to $800 back on the increased value of the house.
- You’ll also save a lot of money if you source your carpet through Sloane’s Carpet Secret. In addition to 50 to 75 percent off of name-brand irregulars, realtors can save an extra 10 percent through our Registered Industry Partner program. What does this all mean? It means we can stretch your flooring budget further than anyone else!
- Where should you spend your money? If a lot of the carpet is still in good shape, you don’t have the budget to re-do the entire house, or you simply don’t feel like spending the money, you might only want to do a few rooms. Get a thorough, professional carpet cleaning done on every room in the house, then reassess. Bedrooms don’t see much foot traffic, spills, or stains, so you might be able to get away without replacing them at all.
Which Carpet to Buy
Choosing a carpet to put in a house right before selling is a trade-off. Obviously, you want the house to look great — great enough to spend money on! But on the other hand, the new buyer will see the house as a blank canvas. The second they step in the door, they’re making modifications to the house — new drawer pulls here, new paint on that wall, a new ceiling fan, and sometimes new carpet. You don’t want to tell your seller to spend thousands on new carpet if the new buyers are just going to tear it out a month later.
We recommend going with a good mid-range cut-pile carpet, especially a textured cut-pile. The texture of the carpet adds a little variety and excitement to the appearance of the floor, especially if the house is empty and you’re looking at wide expanses of empty floor. Textured carpets also come in a variety of neutral colors, from beige to tan to gray, including flecks of darker color to mix up the appearance a little.
Consult the Carpet Experts
Whether you’re looking to turn a house around in a hurry or upgrade your client’s flooring to the next level of luxury, Sloane’s can help you find the perfect carpet choice to fit your needs. Book an appointment to take a tour of our showroom today!