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Any Realtors on USCHO? Question for you...

M

Markt

Who?
OK, so I'm hoping the USCHO brain trust can help me out here. If you're ever in a bind in one of my many areas of expertise (such as negotiating with prostitutes, starting/putting out fires, or hiding your porn on your computer), I'll definitely return the favor.

Mrs. T and I are thinking of selling the love nest. There are a few obvious things we'll have to fix, but we're debating a bit on the floors. We wanted to replace our kitchen floor the day we moved in (in 1998 :eek: ). But... time, money, indecision, etc. have stretched that out until now. I think it's in a state where it could hinder a sale, and it's really the first thing you see when you enter our house. The carpeting in the bedrooms isn't there yet, but isn't so far off.

The money's not a huge issue right now (I don't have unlimited funds but I'm expecting to have to put some money into the house before we sell), but I do hate the idea of putting something in and having somebody come behind me and cover it or tear it out because they don't like it. I know if we were staying, I'd do hardwood floors throughout most of it, with tile in the entry and the bathrooms.

So... should I go ahead and spend the money and hope we find someone who likes what I decided to do with it, or should we offer a flooring allowance and let them pick their own stuff? My concern is that although the house is otherwise in great shape, we won't get as far as an offer because people will be turned off when they enter and see the current floor.
 
Re: Any Realtors on USCHO? Question for you...

I'm not a realtor, but I recommend going the flooring allowance route (or just assume the prospective buyers will lower their offer accordingly). Remodeling projects almost never fully recoup the cost *and* run the risk of alienating potential buyers.
 
Re: Any Realtors on USCHO? Question for you...

Not a realtor, but I have a number of friends who are to varying degrees. Unless you were going to do a complete gut job of the kitchen, bathroom, etc., I would almost suggest you'd be wasting your money on the floors, unless they are completely soiled, rotten or are painted. If the floors are an issue to a potential buyer, you could probably negotiate a closing credit or allowance to allow them to do the floors as they see fit. You can probably put that in the MLS info as well. Even if you laid down the best Brazilian Walnut, you might have a buyer who prefers carpet or tile.
 
Re: Any Realtors on USCHO? Question for you...

I'm not a practicing Realtor, but I do have my real estate license and am involved in the industry.

I think maybe the best route is an allowance of some sort. This at least gives any potential buyers the opportunity to make their own decision as to how they want the floors to look. Like others have said, you could spend the time and money replacing the floors, but a lot of times you won't see a full ROI for these types of improvements.

I always tend to pay attention to some of the smaller details/issues because when those start to stack up in a buyer's mind, that can be a turnoff in terms of additional work for them. Turn key properties are always nice, but I think a growing population of buyers these days are more willing to put in a some effort to make their own improvements.
 
Re: Any Realtors on USCHO? Question for you...

I have been a Realtor for the last 22 years and the allowance is a good idea, but there are other factors you should consider. If your market is like most, you have a very large inventory and much smaller pool of buyers. The biggest problem you will have is getting prospective buyers into your home.

Do your research and see what the comparable sold properties are in your area. But like most markets, that approach to pricing your home is not enough as there have not been enough sales (and some of the sales have been foreclosures/short sales) to give you an accurate figure.
I would recommend that find out what your competition on the current market is. That will give you a good idea of what you need to price your home at so that you will get activity on it. When you have found out what price the competition is at, then check the features in each house and see what flooring they have and adjust your pricing as needed. If the homes all have better flooring, lower your price or install the flooring to make in more marketable.

On additional thing you may want to do, ask your Realtor to do an "absorption rate" study for you. Simply put, that if there are 60 homes in your price range and there are only 12 sales a year in that price range, you have a a five year supply of homes on the market!

In general, it will take 2-3 years to recoup the money spent on home improvements, but if it results in a quicker easier sale, it may be worth it.

Good Luck
 
Re: Any Realtors on USCHO? Question for you...

Hey, stop posting so much! At this rate you'll hit 10 by the year 2020:D

Thanks for your input iced, I'm in a similar situation, not with the floors per se but trying to gauge the right price in this crazy market. Have a realtor coming tomorrow morning to talk price.

Don't want to use up next year's post but what are your thoughts on pools? We didn't put it in to recoup the money but are curious about the best way to handle it...I understand it might not get much value in some people's eyes but my thought (I don't have to move) is to throw some percentage of the cost of the pool into my asking price and see if I get somebody who values the pool, landscaping etc.

Any thoughts from the gallery? Thanks
 
Re: Any Realtors on USCHO? Question for you...

I can't believe that I have to "waste" next years post on a pool:)
I have lately seen more pools being filled in than put in. If it is for your enjoyment- do it. Not a great return on investment and the extra insurance rider can be quite high
 
Re: Any Realtors on USCHO? Question for you...

On an existing home that is currently occupied, that type of an allowance is considered a sales concession by most lenders. This means the will reduce the amount of the sales price by the amount of the sales concession. They will lend to the buyer based on the loan to value figured on the reduced sales price.

The best thing to do is to do the flooring before you list your home.
 
Re: Any Realtors on USCHO? Question for you...

I think a lot depends on the home and what the rest of it looks like. If the kitchen is in decent shape and kind of lower end (Formica counters, standard cabinets) I would say it would be worth it to put in new vinyl just so it looks nice for buyers. If it is a higher end kitchen (Granite, etc) the allowance would be the better route to go rather than putting in wood. If the buyers are already going to have to replace carpet or other flooring, then probably no sense spending time or money on making one room look good.
 
Re: Any Realtors on USCHO? Question for you...

I've always found pools to be such a waste. The ROI is often terrible (when it's done right at least) and so many people just don't want the additional cost that comes with maintaining a pool.
 
Re: Any Realtors on USCHO? Question for you...

jerphisch said:
I think a lot depends on the home and what the rest of it looks like. If the kitchen is in decent shape and kind of lower end (Formica counters, standard cabinets) I would say it would be worth it to put in new vinyl just so it looks nice for buyers. If it is a higher end kitchen (Granite, etc) the allowance would be the better route to go rather than putting in wood. If the buyers are already going to have to replace carpet or other flooring, then probably no sense spending time or money on making one room look good.
Click to expand...

I'm no realtor, but I like this advice - put in some cheap flooring that they'll probably replace anyway just to give it better "curb appeal." First impressions can be a killer.

If the floor is really that bad, you might even consider ripping it out but not replacing it right away - bare plywood might look better than what you have now! Just tell them you were in the process of replacing it when you decided to sell, so you're holding off so you can put in what they like or offer the concession, etc.
 
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