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wwyd: re updates to sell house
our house has been on the market for one month, 2 offers have fallen through (one full price, one 2k under asking). the most common feedback is the the inconsistent flooring downstairs bothers people and the living room is too small. well the flooring being inconsistent is part of what makes the living room feel small, so they are related. we have had about 35 showings and an open house.
we met with our realtor today and she brought a flooring person in. her recommendation is if we want to sell it, put hardwoods in where there are currently tile and carpet downstairs so the floor is more cohesive and rooms will seem bigger/not broken up.
the cost for what we'd be doing is about $5k.... well we just spent almost that much updating our kitchen so we're not too happy about the idea. on one hand i'm peeved at the thought of spending that cash, but on the other hand if we end up staying or not selling, having wood would be nice.
sooooo WWYD
This discussion has been closed.
Re: wwyd: re updates to sell house
Photo by Melissa Glynn
Could you do a cheaper hardwood or an alternative like laminate? Does that sell in your area?
I never think reducing the price is a good option. If it were me and I were financially able to, I would invest the money in new flooring as opposed to lowering the price. Even though I am no realtor, the problem with it just sitting on the market is it gets cold. People get tired of viewing it and realtors get tired of showing it. If you were to do the floors, I would take it off for a few weeks/month while you are doing the floors and then list again with a big open house to get the ball rolling and people interested again.
I don't think I'd do it. The second you do, you'll get showings where people say "oh, we really prefer carpet in the living room!" I'd sooner offer a $2500 credit to buyer at closing for flooring changes of their choosing, if your agent truly feels that's the issue.
What about an agent bonus as well? When we sold in Austin it took for-freaking-ever. We added a $2K agent bonus (to the buyer's agent) and had two offers in two weeks. Agents work for commission, and you better believe they're going to push a house with a $2K bonus in it for them over another house without one. We did the same when we sold our first house, because at that time I was an agent and knew we had some stiff competition - and it was under contract in a week.
Good luck!
(read it. you know you want to.)
anderson . september 2008
vivian . february 2010
mabel . august 2012
If the floor is what's causing that feedback, people will have a hard time getting around that visual. Its exactly why houses with bad staging or ugly furniture take a lot longer to sell.
You could try putting a note in there that says "$5k credit for downstairs flooring" so people have that idea in their heads before they go in to see the house. I wouldn't drop the price so quickly, though, especially since you've already had two different parties submit offers. Third time's a charm!
This is already pretty cheap for hardwood- about $7 a sq ft. Laminate would not work for our hood.
We would be taking it off the market for a week or two, re-doing some of the pictures and re-listing.
Right now I am leaning towards not doing it for at least another month, but another month of showings literally every single day sounds like purgatory.
I agree. Plus, as soon as you put in light flooring, someone will say "We like dark flooring better". Or if you opt for a deeper shade, "I wish it was a light bamboo". Or some people like tile. Or others like me, hate the idea of laminate in the kitchen and prefer vinyl. You get the idea.
I always cringe when I see that someone has put in new counters or new floor, and it's something I'd NEVER choose... because if I bought that house, I'd want to change it, and I'd feel bad about doing so because I'd feel like it's wasteful.
Given that you've had two offers so close to the asking price, I'd hold off on the floors right now. I'd give it another month and then consider dropping the price, offering a flooring allowance, or taking mlf's suggestion and offering an agent bonus.
Meredith, 6-1-06 and Alex, 11-5-09
This. I hope it sells fast!
This. Like pp have indicated, you can't pick floors for other people. No matter what you put in, you'll get complaints from someone. I definitely say wait. Your price seems very fair for the area (and I watch the heck out of that area, LOL), and two offers in one month (in this market) is awesome! Again, like pp said, 3rd time's a charm!
My vote was to wait 30 days. I take it at this point the house you were contingent on isn't still available, so you're not in as big a rush anymore?
I'm going to agree w PPs who said leave it. You can't go back if you lower the price, and that's probably not really going to affect that much.
mlf had an awesome idea w the realtor bonus. If you're going to put money anywhere, put it there.
I hear what you're saying about the living room looking small but, not having looked at house photos, I'm wondering if you can put a small Ikea sofa in the LR for $300?