New flooring when listing?

14 years ago

I've cross posted in the flooring forum, but want advice from some buyer/seller experts as well.

When we moved into this house almost 4 years ago, the floors in the front hall were atrocious 1970s tile and the kitchen was peel and stick vinyl tiles. The people that lived here had updated everything but the flooring. So we did Brazilian Cherry in the living room and dining room and a nice tile(I think ceramic) in the front hall and kitchen. Now 3 years later, several tiles are cracked and every time I look at the tile I want to scream(partially because the imbeciles who installed it were major screwups and never even finished the finish work.)

All that to say....there is a chance we will be putting the house on the market this spring. I am thinking we should replace the tile in the front hall and kitchen, but of course don't know what to do. I don't want wood because it will be hard to match the rooms next to it. I don't want to cheapen the house, so can I do vinyl? What should we do? We don't want to spend a lot, but don't want it to look cheap. Thanks!

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Comments (7)

Adella Bedella
14 years ago
We had wood flooring in our kitchen, dining, and front entry when we bought our house. We couldn't match it so the advice was to contrast it. We ended up not doing that either. We went ahead and installed it with the thought that we'd tile the kitchen and dining room later. Later didn't happen and the house sold anyway.

I've wondered what it would have looked like if we had made a border of parquet wood flooring or ceramic tile and used wood floor on the rest. Would something like that look good?
jane__ny
14 years ago
Do you have any of the tile left over? You could just replace the cracked tile.

Jane
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Personally, I would take the route where I do nothing and lower the price accordingly. I would get a few contractors to give you a ballpark estimate for the cost of improvement that you are considering. Then price the house (townhome) such that it would be about that much less than what you would have gotten with the improvements. The total take home amount is the same to you since you did not outlay the improvement cost. From the descriptions, I would say the cost will add up quickly if you are paying someone else to do the work. Try to sell the house as-is with the lowered price toward the end of your stay. If you sell it without the work, then great. Otherwise, take the house off the market, and you can do the work once you move out. I think the work will go alot more smoothly when the house is empty. Also, factor in what you are willing to take as the "lesser price of the house" so that you are spared of the hassle of organizing workers with little ones around. That way, you know that there is a dollar value associated with the hours that will cost you. This will also lower the price of the house. For some, this is 0 and other it may be tens of thousand of dollars. Only you know what this value is. Depending on the neighborhood, the house without the improvements will be enough of a bargain where you will have NO trouble selling. Talk to a good realtor and get a feel for the value of "improvements" in determining the price of the house. Remember bargain-priced entry-level houses move quickly.
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I am familiar with the area and recently bought a home not terribly far away (not in the Woodlands and we have acreage so not comparable). That said, I think your price is too high just looking at the other houses available in the area. Whether an offer is lowball or not doesn't have much to do with how much you paid for it. We bought a house within 20 minutes or so from your house and the sellers sold it us for less than they paid for it 4 years ago. In fact, last year we sold a house that we bought in 2006 and we sold it for less than we paid for it. Yes, the Woodlands is a nice area but there are a lot of homes available in the Woodlands and quite a few of them back up to a greenbelt, are on a cul-de-sac and are landscaped and have granite, etc. Now aside from the price, you need to improve your pictures. You have 14 and I think you can have 32. I would put up a lot more pictures. I would want to see pics of the secondary bedrooms and maybe secondary bathroom, even the utility room if you have one. On your listing you show a 11x15 extra room. What is that? I would put a picture of it (or is that the sitting room attached to the master). Also put captions on the pictures. On picture 2 I don't know what that room is. Is it a study (desk is very small) or what? Picture 3 - I guess this is the dining room. Frankly with the half walls and the dining table that takes up so much space the room looks really small. Also the white is overwhelming. Just not a flattering picture. Pictures 4-6 -- great kitchen and breakfast room but the pictures are awful. They are too dark. Picture 7 - I guess this is the living room? Or is this the den? I would take a picture of each, but you only have a picture of one of them (I assume that the den and the study are different rooms. If they aren't the listing needs to be corrected). Room looks small in the pics. Pic 8 - I guess this is the master bedroom with a sitting area? Again, put captions on. The angle for the master bedroom doesn't show much. Don't try to show the master and the sitting room in one picture -- just makes the room look small. I want to see more of the master bedroom. Pic 9 - Looks bluish. Also angle of the pic doesn't do much for me. Pic 10 -- OK but I would take trash can out and retake the pic. Pic 11 and 12 -- These just serve to make your yard look really small. Pic 13 - Fairly nice but I would vary the angle a bit so you see more of the spa and less of the plant. Pic 14 - blurry
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mkkristen
Original Author
14 years ago
I don't think it would look right with a wood border. And while I think I might have a box of tiles left, I'm not sure and even then, I don't know if it is enough to replace. I really need to replace the tile. I want to replace the tile, not because we are thinking of listing the house, but because I can't stand it. I just want to keep resale in mind when picking out a new floor choice. I don't want to spend a fortune on the floors, but I also don't want something that will make resale difficult or lower our price or anything like that.
idrive65
14 years ago
I wouldn't do vinyl. You can buy perfectly nice looking durable ceramic tile at Home Depot or Lowes for $1/sf. Pick a matte finish neutral color that doesn't show every speck of dirt. The biggest expense will be the installation. I'm no tile expert, but if you don't have a firm base the floor will flex and cause your tiles to crack, so choosing a good quality contractor is more important the choosing a good quality tile!
Linda
14 years ago
Idrive is right. A good tile guy will put down mesh wire under the tile to keep the tile from cracking on floors that flex. (Typically plywood). Changing flooring is one of the easiest ways to update your house. Since this is at your entry and in your kitchen, I think its pretty important that it be replaced. Buy something neutral with no pattern if you are thinking about selling the home in the spring. Do it now for yourself, you might as well get to enjoy it for a little while instead of making the changes just to sell the house!
Billl
14 years ago
If you are selling you house, you have to toss out the idea of making changes because you "can't stand it." From this point on, it isn't personal - it's business.

If you have cracked tiles, replace them. Do not spend thousands of dollars ripping up a 3 year old floor. You will recover about 0% of the money you spend this way.
alabamanicole
14 years ago
Leave it the way it is. If the flooring is noticeably defective and not simply ugly (to your taste), you can offer a flooring allowance with the sale.

Whatever you install, it might be something a potential buyer hates and will want to rip out anyway.

New flooring when listing?

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Adella Bedella

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New flooring when listing?

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Adella Bedella

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