Do not, do not, do not carpet your house to sell it! Have the listing and realtor attest loud and clear that you will pay for (up to a certain preset limit) carpet of the buyer's choice if they want it, but don't put any in even there's just plywood there. People don't want carpet at all anymore, or if they do, at least give them the choice of what and where.

I agree, a carpet allowance would be much better.

How bad is the carpet and have you gotten an agent in to give you their opinion for your particular market?

If your carpets are that bad a buyer won't be able to see past it. Look at HGTV and you'll see how buyers are being "trained" at what they have to buy. In some areas people don't want fixers

I disagree with lucy and opticcurve. If *I* were buying a house, I'd rather have a flooring allowance, but there are a lot of buyers out there who'd rather just have new carpet.

There are lots of buyers who want a house in move-in condition (even if it means carpet) so they don't have to bother with getting the flooring done. They want to move in and set up fast, and don't have time to get the floors redone.

I don't think a flooring allowance is always a bad thing, but I also don't think it's always the right way to go.

I also wanted to add my recent experience when we sold our house. We had several bad spots on our carpet and our agent (a very good, successful agent) recommended we just replace with inexpensive carpet. We also had to do the whole house because the rooms were all connected. This was in an upper middle class neighborhood, most built in the 80s and 90s. Carpet was probably fairly normal in our neighborhood.

I went to a local well-known flooring shop (not a Home Depot or Lowes) and asked what was the most popular carpet. Not only did that tell me what people liked, but it also meant they bought it in bulk and could sell it inexpensively. They said that frieze (sp?) was popular in our area. This is the kind that is speckled a little, similar in color to berber although not low pile like berber. It's actually higher pile than regular carpet. The small variations in color help with stains, I think.

We carpeted the ~1800 sq ft that needed new carpet (the rest was tile) and it was about $3500 with installation, tax, etc. I doubt we could've gotten away with that low of a flooring allowance. Our house sold in 1 day to buyers who wanted to move in right away. I was very happy with the result!

It really depends on how worn and/or ugly the carpeting is. If it is neutral, not worn and can be cleaned you may be able to use what you have and forgo new carpeting. If the carpet is badly worn, horribly mismatched or just plain ugly you may have to replace it before selling.

Our carpet is horribly worn. I sent my husband to buy the house as I was very pregnant, and I can't believe he didn't say anything about them (you couldn't tell in the pictures). The carpet had some huge stains in the living area, was cheap to start with, and is very shabby and dingy looking. It's hard for me to imagine that someone could look past that and have an emotional response to this house (even if they knew they had an allowance).

I just heard back from my realtor last night. She suggested we put wood laminates in, but I'm nervous about going with laminates. Our house would sell for about $200K so I wonder if we would recoup our investment on 400 square feet of hardwoods (living area at least). Sigh. I keep researching DIY wood flooring, but my husband and I aren't handy, have never used a saw, and when I hear things like "transitional pieces" I feel like there's a lot I don't understand. Anybody recommend a book or something that could help me really become educated on how to do this myself? Thanks everyone.

Laminate = yuck. I read that the trend has faded and people have a negative feeling toward it. This is basically that fake wood, right?

I think you should go with reasonably priced carpet that looks very nice with the home. It will make the home look cleaner, more finished. You want good first impressions. Many folks don't want to shop for carpet and then have to take off work to be there for the installation. They would rather have it be done.

Check HD and Lowes and others in your area. You will get a very good feel after a couple hours of talking to sales people and looking at samples. Make sure whatever you pick out - that there isn't a 3 week delay.

If your carpet is as bad as you say and you can't afford or justify real wood I would find the least expensive neutral carpet to look clean and refreshed. It would make your home immediately ready for move in. I would not do laminate.

Agreed. Don't worry about trends, because they're so very personal to the buyer. Just make it a simple, neutral-colored carpet; that'll work for everyone, at least while they're moving in and getting settled.

Overall I would prefer the carper allowance.

But - I would MUCH rather have you put in the cheap carpet instead of laminate - if those are your two choices.

I personally prefer hardwood over laminate.

What's the price difference between laminate and cheap carpet? I know laminate is out of favor, but so is carpet (except in bedrooms). And laminate is MUCH more practical. I don't think it's wise to dismiss your realtor's suggestion on the basis of advice from people who have not seen your home. Your realtor is the one who has seen your house and it's competition.

Don't waste your energy trying to figure out how to install wood floors. If you have never used a saw that is not going to happen. You'd be better off getting a second job to pay someone else to do it.

Our carpet is horribly worn. I sent my husband to buy the house as I was very pregnant, and I can't believe he didn't say anything about them (you couldn't tell in the pictures). The carpet had some huge stains in the living area, was cheap to start with, and is very shabby and dingy looking. It's hard for me to imagine that someone could look past that and have an emotional response to this house (even if they knew they had an allowance).

I just heard back from my realtor last night. She suggested we put wood laminates in, but I'm nervous about going with laminates. Our house would sell for about $200K so I wonder if we would recoup our investment on 400 square feet of hardwoods (living area at least). Sigh. I keep researching DIY wood flooring, but my husband and I aren't handy, have never used a saw, and when I hear things like "transitional pieces" I feel like there's a lot I don't understand. Anybody recommend a book or something that could help me really become educated on how to do this myself? Thanks everyone.

I also like the frieze carpet, we have it in our living rooms, it's on the light side with greens, taupe thrown in.

Don't stress about picking carpet. You want something neutral that will go with the furniture you already have. Grab a couch cushion and go to a carpet store or Depot/Lowes. I would try to price all 3.

If your agent is saying laminate, maybe do that in a room or 2 but what ever you do, do not attempt to install it yourself if you've never done it. You need to get things done asap so that you can get the house listed. We listed Memorial weekend last year and our market had already finished. There were only a few couples shopping still; and needless to say we were on for 9 months.

Don't waste your money on laminate. Get Builder's grade carpet that is neutral in color and looks good. Then the people that want to just move in can or those that want other flooring can easily replace it when they want.

Carpet is so much less than laminate unless you are good at DIY and it doesn't sound like you are so go the easy way.

So many times on this forum we read suggestions on staging, clearing out excess furniture, how to take the best of pics, opening blinds, etc. Like a prospective buyer doesn't typically have any foresight or imagination. Then, to suggest somebody sell a house with used carpeting in it and offer an allowance for new? The two ideas are incompatible.

Myself, I wouldn't care one if somebody offered me an allowance, but I could tell you if that carpeting wasn't new, it would be yanked out before my furniture went in. I have a hangup about living on somebody else's carpeting, just like I would have a hangup about sleeping in a bed somebody else used and nobody changed the sheets. I have ripped out too many decent looking carpets and seen what was laying in the padding underneath, blech.

Carpeting is going to be cheaper than all but the cheesiest laminates. Good laminates cost as much as hardwoods. Do not try to install laminates or hardwoods unless you have some experience. Regardless of what the clerk at the store tells you they don't just snap together effortlessly.

I don't do box store carpet. I have priced them there for comparison and find after they tack on all their little service charges and hauling away charges, that you pay just about as much as you would if you went to a higher end carpet installer. I have used an independent installer for many years now, and if I am selling a house, I just drop in a few weeks in advance, and have him out to measure up the house/room. They often have really large commercial jobs where they have ordered in overage and will sell it installed at a very reasonable price if you aren't insistent on picking out one particular pattern. I have gotten really good high-end carpeting like that for box store prices and expert installations. The aroma of clean fresh carpet is like a pheromone to a potential buyer. Even if they don't particularly fancy your choice in patterns, most will live with it for awhile and it's something they don't feel they need to do before they move in.

New carpet smell is toxic to a lot of people. You need to get rid of the stink before putting it on the market.

Put in inexpensive builder's grade carpet. I would rip it all out regardless of its condition (even brand new) and install wood floors before moving in. (I would also then sell it and recoup some money for the HW floors!)

I don't think it is true carpet is "out." I have hardwood in my kitchen but I sure wouldn't want it in living room or bedrooms -- too cold, too hard, too dusty. It is much easier to run my vacuum over the carpet then to dustmop or mop hardwood or tile.

I love frieze. I definately want it when we replace our family room carpet.

New carpet fumes are toxic to a lot of people, as are paneling fumes, new burn off smells from stoves or furnaces, pet aromas, potpourri smells, candles and air fresheners. If it exists, somebody is going to consider it toxic.

What I was getting at, is that regardless of what you put in, somebody is not going to like it, going to love it, keep it or rip it out. I've found that despite all the trendy advice what has always moved a house for me, especially in a slow market is absolute cleanliness.

I don't have carpeting here, but toxic or not, always find the smell of a new bolt of it very pleasing. It gives me the subliminal message it's not hiding dust mites, fleas, molds, or accidents "human or otherwise".

It really depends on where you are? If you're in Florida, carpet is the wrong thing to install, if you're talking about Maine, carpet is the right thing to install.

I'm very surprised the realtor would suggest laminate, its very taste specific.

I'm going to assume that because there is carpet already there, you are in an area where carpeting is acceptable. Since you said it was very worn and stained, I would put in a neutral colored carpeting that "anyone" can imagine would work with their furniture. Clean and neutral sells. Carpeting allowances work well for people who have purchased a home before and realize its not a big deal to have new carpeting installed. Personally, I dont think a carpeting allowance for your house would be best as it sounds as if its a first time homebuyer house. Most of the time, that type of buyer doesnt have the extra cash to install carpeting even with an allowance and the entire process is very overwhelming to them. Adding to the pot will only make it seem worse.

The other thing is, flooring is the cheapest way to change the entire look of a house. With new carpeting, your offers just might be a little higher than if you left old ugly stained carpeting on the floor. It would make it appear that the whole house needed work.

Well, I'd rather have high-quality laminate, since I have 4 large breed dogs. I've had laminate for 9 years, and they have not made one mark in my floors. I don't think hardwoods would have held up so well. All I have to do is sweep and mop with a damp microfiber cloth- no refinishing or any of that crap. If there is a ding it can be repaired with wood filler.

I replaced all the carpeting in my house with laminate- MYSELF. And when I say myself, I mean without DH's help, myself. It is easy- the pieces just snap together and if you are doing the whole house you won't need transitions. Transitions are easy too- they are just plastic channels that you screw into the subfloor and then place the transition inside. The hardest part is odd-shaped rooms, and even those aren't bad, you just have to make accurate measurements.

All that said, I would just ask for a carpet allowance and replace the carpet with what I wanted anyway, so long as the house didn't smell like cat pee or something.