Do you need a reason to tear out that ratty carpet? A good looking floor can more than pay for itself. Hardwoods can boost resale prices by as much as 6%, and bamboo, porcelain tile and other hard surfaces are also gaining popularity. Floors make a crucial first impression on prospective buyers. Go to an open house, most people are looking down. They’re going to notice the floor long before they notice the windows. But how important is it? While it’s true that the top return on investment is in renovating a tired old kitchen and master bath, floors are definitely in the top three. This has been confirmed by realtors all over the city. A nice floor helps sell the home fast, and for more.
A recent survey of 29,000 home sales in the Houston area having wood flooring in a home boosted its sale price by about 6%... and having a combination of wood and tile added nearly 11% to a home’s sale price over comparable homes with just carpeting.
With all the buzz about the value of hardwood floors and the like, carpeting isn’t laying down… flooring humor. For both cost and comfort it’s still hard to beat a warm fuzzy carpet in the bedrooms…and of course it’s much cheaper than a wood floor. Of all flooring sold, carpeting is still over 62% of what’s sold. Luckily, wall to wall has gotten an injection of style and innovation. We’ve seen them go to much better fabrics, and look for recycled fibers as well as coverings made of sustainable materials such as sisal.
Nine tips about flooring…from buying it, to helping use it to sell your home:
- When trying to decide what kind of flooring to install, think about the area’s use. Is it high traffic? High visibility? What’s your goal for this piece of your home?
- Also ask yourself, “What kind of feel do I want underfoot: firm, glossy and sophisticated, or casual and barefoot friendly?”
- When possible, use environmentally responsible products. With wood flooring, for example, look for the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) label that marks sustainably harvested wood.
- Think low maintenance, easy care flooring, like hardwood floors with a polyurethane coating and aluminum oxide that protects them. Think twice about light colored or grooved vinyl that can be hard to keep clean.
- Don’t forget about the eventual sale of the house. One of the biggest mistakes people make is putting too much in; don’t over upgrade for the area you live in because you probably won’t get your investment back.
- Similarly, if you go with carpeting, don’t put in a $50 per yard carpet, if it becomes so expensive you may not recover your cost. You can get pretty good berbers or plush carpets for a fraction of that cost.
- About to sell? Seriously clean that carpet…and replace it if an agent says to. Three thousand dollars worth of carpet can cost you $10,000 in an offering price.
- Say no to orange. Neutralize the walls and floors of the house if you’re selling. This way the buyers can envision their own things in the house.
- Finally, do your research; you don’t want to be changing your flooring out. Let it be a long lived decision.
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