It sounds like a perfect place for you and your family! Great time to buy right now too.

If the carpets really look bad I would probably replace them. I'd probably go with a laminate though since it would be much cheaper than hardwood. Some hardwoods get scratched easily by dog's nails too, I assume your dogs are allowed in the house?

Lydia, yes the dogs are allowed in the house.

If you have nice wood floors underneath, rip out the carpet and refinish the floors. People like wood floors these days. I have never had carpet in my life. Just always have had wood floors everywhere I've lived. The floors in this house are 170 years old and pretty nice for their age.

I hate it when these realtors expect you to update your home to sell it. I had rather go down on the price accordingly to what it would cost me to upgrade. It's a hassle to get done and a lot of buyers want their own colors and flooring. When I sold my last home, the realtor made a comment that the guest bathroom had not been upgraded. They expect you to make it like new for someone else. The carpets could be a problem if they look nasty. There is a difference needing to be cleaned or worn and nasty. If they are just worn and dirty I would clean them and I would wait and have the realtor talk to the prospective buyers about knocking off some on the price. Most people want their own colors and had rather do it themselves if it saves them money.

I would talk to a realtor and ask their advice on what you need to do to get the house ready for a quick sale. It would be a good time to have a garage sale and what's left you can toss or donate if you don't use it.

I'd call around and get estimates from movers, too. We've used them the last few moves and found it's was just about as cheap as renting a U-Haul. Of course, all our friends are older now, too. So finding help isn't easy. We always pack our own boxes so I can label them according to room and contents.

Having a laundry room inside would be wonderful. Our W/D are in the garage. Better than the laundromat, though.

Let us know how it's going and good luck!

Lily, no hardwood floors under the carpet. This house is cheaply made as possible, which is one reason I hate it. The toilets weren't even bolted to the floor!

Vala, the toilets are new and I have ceramic tile and everything needed to install them. I was having it put in when they did my Pergo flooring in the kitchen but the guy then moved out of state on me and didn't finish the bathrooms. I never did get anyone to put the tile in. The carpets are worn and stained, which makes them look nasty to me. It's mostly spilled drinks that the kids didn't steam clean up right away, they were just wiped up leaving residue to stain the carpet.

Patti, I had a yard sale last year and didn't make anything. I gave away what I had leftover to the Humane Society for their annual yard sale. I'm going through all my clothes that don't fit, and everything else that I don't want right now and taking it all to Goodwill. I also learned from my last move not to rely on "friends" to help you move. What a nightmare that was, ended up having to rent a U-haul at 7 or 8 pm that night to finish myself. Never again. I have a laundry closet right now, in the kitchen. It annoys me because I just keep thinking that if it wasn't there I'd be able to have a nice little pantry and wouldn't have to worry about cabinet space. Then I have to clear the table off to fold clothes on.

I'm with vala55. Real estate agents and their lines If you spend $25k-$30k, I can get you another $5k for this house!!! How often I see people putting new appliances, paint and carpet in upon real estate agent advice and after people move in, there's the dumpsters with those appliances and carpet loaded in them. Just so the real estate agent can make a few extra bucks. I would probably go with a selling agent bonus ($__ to selling agent who closes within 30 days) before wasting time and money on the gamble of new carpet. You won't know if new buyers want hardwood or carpet and if you pick wrong you don't help yourself. The caveat is that if you expect Taj Mahal price, you need to sell the Taj Mahal. People are probably going to haggle anyway.

I get a kick out of how one real estate agent will scream you HAVE to replace that "outdated" kitchen and another one will list it as a "classic retro kitchen". Yours just needs "slight TLC" so I wouldn't get too worked up over it. (We're talking about a group of people who call a swamp a "Scenic wildlife area">) You can also use it as negotiation that you'll replace it for the buyer if necessary. I'd prefer to keep the bargaining chips on my side of the table. Another option is to list it as "Price includes $___ carpet/paint allowance".

I would rely on my realtor's advice about the floors, bathroom tile and wall colors.

I'm with the ask the realtor's advice and I would also ask more than one! Personally, I'd go with the price w/allowance. People have real specific preferences not just between hardwood & carpet, but what kind of carpet, grade of padding, etc...

good luck!

before getting your hopes up, be sure to go to your bank or mortgage co. and see IF you qualify to buy a house. then check with a realtor and see if the homes in your area are even selling (and for how much)

ds1 wanted to add on to their home and were turned down despite having cash and great "numbers"...

in this buying market people want as little to do when they move into a house, as possible...what you might do is spend the $200 or? and have a home inspection done...(most buyers will have one) but you won't get hit with any surprises about honey-do items...

if it's a go on all the pre-requirements, shop away, and enjoy a new home...

I would think twice about buying a house across the street from a high school. The parking situation would be awful!

Sheila, it's not directly across from the high school, actually a park is and this house is in back of and down the street from the park. Plus, the high school has plenty of parking so that wouldn't be an issue anyway.

Susan, if I like this house I'm going to have to get an inspection on it so I doubt I'll get another one on the house I'm living in. I know what's wrong with it already and will fix some things.

I think you're right Susan, about getting prior approval. I think I'm going to join the Federal Credit Union and see what they say. Last time I got a VA loan and after having done that found out that probably wasn't the best way for me to do it.

Kath, sounds like you are definitely ready to move. I know you have had a lot of stress over the one you are in. My first thought about the one you are looking at is, what kind of heat does it have? Not a heat pump I hope.

Have you looked around at other houses also? Not a good time for an impulse move. Being a buyer's market, means of course your house may sell quickly to an opportunist.

I watch the House Hunters on HGTV. Interesting what buyers are looking for. Some want a fixer-upper, because they like making it "their own." Others want the latest "upgrades." The question of carpet or hardwood is 100% personal. Hardwood is beautiful, but if the floors are light finish, they want dark, and vice versa. My preference is carpet. I would go with doing very little and offering an allowance to cover what ever an interested buyer wants.

I remember when you bought your house, my one suggestion was to get a licensed, certified inspector. That can save everybody a lot of grief.

Good luck and I hope it all works to your advantage, and you can get off of that living room couch!

Sue

I would personally go with an allowance for replacing the carpet.

I had a neighbor selling, and the carpet was truly gross (not her fault). It was old, it had been cheap to start with, and had never been installed correctly, so the tack strips were coming up at the walls.

She ripped it all out, scrubbed the concrete subfloor clean, and then had samples of possible flooring options - carpet, tile, laminate, and hardwood - with estimates for each type of installation.

This cost her about $300 in materials,(for the samples) and allowed the customers to view many options without being stuck with the badly-stained builder grade beige carpet in their minds.

She sold quickly, at her price, and she didn't have to live with floor replacement.

A green option, too.

Keep in mind that the allowance will only be of interest to people who will be interested in fixing it up or in having their own choices........Lots and lots of people want a move in condition and would rather pay the extra $5K or whatever the amount is than have to do it or put up with the inconvenience..........and way too many cannot visualize what a home will look like "fixed up" My husband is one of the shoppers that is completely turned off and wouldn't even consider a house that needed fixing up...say the carpets are dirty..Nope even as easy as it is to do, he would figure, dirty carpet, dirty house, and he wouldn't even give the house more than a cursory glance before moving on..............

My advice would be get your ducks lined up in a row and get your realtor in and let her/him advise you as to what most buyers in your own area seem to prefer.

Sue, it has a heat pump, but also radiant heat in the ceiling, which I love. The realtor didn't know if it still worked or not, though. She's going to find out. I did have my house inspected but I don't think it did me a lot of good. There were still problems with it after I moved in that he never mentioned in his report. I have looked at a lot of houses in town, though, none recently other than this one. There aren't alot of big houses in the area I want to move. If there are, they're a story and a half which I don't want, even though they are super cute. At my age and looking forward, I don't want anything with stairs.

The house is nice, but I have some problems with it. The closets all are loose on the bottom, not attached to floor tracking. Thought that was kinda weird. There are lots of closets, though, and I love that. The floor slopes in a few rooms, like the master bathroom, kitchen and garage. They redid the flooring in the kitchen and dining area but didn't cut the tile right, or put edging or anything around the edges so there are big ugly gaps near the edge where the flooring and cabinets/walls should meet. It's an old house, built before 1978 so I didn't think it was going to be perfect.

I do love the separate rooms, living room, den, dining room, laundry room, and the bedrooms are much bigger than mine. I'd only have to run one line of fencing to keep the dogs in the backyard. There is a separate area completely fenced off but I would use that area for a garden. The hardwood floor is beautiful. It also has new windows.

I also love the built in desk in the den, built in shelves in that same room around the fireplace. I think I'm going to call about getting pre-approved and then maybe go back and look at it again before I have an inspection done or go any further.

Kath, at one time years ago we lived in Tennessee and many houses had heat in the ceiling. I always thought that heat rises and wondered how it could be warm down on the floor. LOL

The house sounds like what you need and want, and a good contractor should be able to fix those problems.

After you find out what you would be qualified for, you can make a better decision on it. I'm hoping it will all be in your favor.

Sue

I think it sounds like you thought everything through and you know what you want. That's fantastic. As far as the floors, I would probably just talk to the realtor. A tip for the move.... you can rent a Pod and start moving your things in as you have time.... then when you're ready to move, the company comes and moves the whole Pod to your new place and you can unload at your own pace. You sure have come a long way, Kath! You should be very proud of yourself!

I have a heat pump and love it.It works very well and my bills are low.

As for the carpet, what is the norm in your neighborhood? People here are very savvy but most people aren't. They are going to look at the nasty carpet and be turned off, even with a carpet allowance. I would check with a couple of realtors but I tend towards replacing it.

Please double check the costs of the radiant heat. Have had it for 30 yrs. It is so expensive and ineffecient that I haven't used in in 10 yr. I use a wood burning fireplace insert to heat most living space and block the rest of the rooms off. The idea is nice but I don't believe builders are using this type of heat anymore, at least not in our area.

I really hate my heat pump and freeze every Winter. My bills are super high too, over $200 these past few months for my tiny house. The realtor left me a message and the radiant heat is working in this house. I'm so glad, because if I get this house I will probably use it. The current owners even use it in their bedroom, because the heat pump doesn't keep the house warm when it gets below 45 or so degrees outside.

I used it in my last house, which was a rental and loved it. My electric bills weren't nearly as high as they are here with the heat pump. I'm hoping it's the same with this other house.