All Tile House or Should I Carpet Bedrooms and Family Room for Resale?

I am not a carpet fan. I do have carpeting in the bedrooms, game room and library upstairs and IF I changed that up, I would certainly NOT have carpet on the steps. I am not sure if I would carpet upstairs or not.. I hate carpet.

That said, I live downstairs in my home. I have travertine tile in entry (large area) and 2 hallways.... LOVE this.

A few years ago, we removed carpet in formal living and dining and have very nice nailed down hardwoods. I would NOT want this very expensive but beautiful hard wood flooring in areas that get daily use. I do have a beautiful rug in the formal family area which brings warmth to the room.

Last year I removed existing carpet from living area, my master bedroom and mother in law suite and put in porcelain tile which looks like wood flooring. It is beautiful, easy peasy to keep clean and I love it, especially with my dogs. Mine looks so much like wood, that the house cleaner would not clean it because they "don't' do" wood floors. It is so durable and if my house were to flood, it will be ok. I LOVE this flooring. I have a another beautiful rug in the living area and a smaller nice rug in each master and MIL area. IF I were to rip out carpet upstairs, I would go with this porcelain tile certainly and accent with rugs.

My kitchen and bathrooms have tile which is very nice.

IF I were to move again, I would be looking at options that had no carpet.

As far as moving furniture back in to the house, I don't think I'd do that unless I had to. Around here, houses are selling before they officially hit the market or within days of hitting the market for the asking price and above. An empty raises a red flag. However, your market may be different so you can't go by what is happening in another market.

Follow the advice of your realtor. If you don't have one, get someone to help with this process to maximize your profits.

I wouldn't. I have passed up condos that looked too small because of the overwhelming amount of furniture and clutter that they had. I had a hard time trying to mentally picture my furniture in there and simply assumed it would not fit. When I looked at the square footage online, I was surprised to see the measurements of the rooms, because they looked half that size in person due to all the clutter. A home looks larger without furniture. Unless you have small furniture, I would decide against it. Too much work, plus the expense of pulling everything out of storage and bringing it back, just to do it all over again, why bother?

Something that is a compromise of these two options is showing a photo of the home with furniture, so the potential buyer/renter can see how it looks with furniture (maybe get some decorating ideas), but for the furniture to be gone when the buyer/renter shows up to check it out in person, so they can now see how much space they have to play with. I have seen properties advertised with furniture online, but were empty when I went to see them in person and that was a great idea, because I was able to steal some ideas (like where I should place my TV), but could then mentally create my own furniture layout and see if all my stuff would fit.

As to your carpet question, I HATE HATE HATE carpets. I can find a beautiful condo but if it has carpets and the selling price is already close to my budget, I discard it, as I realize that getting the carpets pulled out and getting new flooring put in is going to set me back a few thousand dollars, not to mention having the hassle of dealing with contractors, permits, condo association approvals...no thanks. I don't have the patience or time for that, I work and cannot deal with sitting around for hours waiting for contractors and trying to deal with association issues. I'd rather just find something that somewhat meets my requirements, and having no carpets is a must.

Maybe things are different where you live, but carpets here are considered outdated and very unsanitary, as roaches like laying their eggs in there. It is too hot for carpets here, and with pets and kids, they get filthy and may end up with permanent stains, not to mention, people who have allergies would consider it a dealbreaker. You tend to see carpets in homes from the 70s/80s. Even then, a lot of people are remodeling those properties and putting in porcelain tile or wood laminate, it is easier to clean up and looks elegant.

I personally would prefer tile, hardwood and wood laminate can get stained or bubble up if it gets wet, or get scratched with chairs while dining. Then you're left having to replace the entire floor. This happened to an ex-boyfriend of mine, a leak caused him thousands in replacing his bamboo laminate floor. My boss had to replace all his living room floor too, because of flooding due to a leaking window during Hurricane Irma, and the fact that the type of wood he had installed was discontinued. Let the new potential owners decide if they want to put area rugs or not, it is much nicer to place an area rug on tile or wood than on carpet. Also, I hear you can purchase carpet by square footage and put it on top of tile. I think that's what some people up north do when it gets cold and they want to walk barefoot. Once it gets warm, it can be rolled up again and put in storage.

Don't put a lot of money into a house you are going to sell. Use area rugs to define spaces and move some furniture back in as long as it doesn't make the rooms look smaller.

Personally, I do not think you need to stage it. I've been in staged houses where I hate the furniture they put in there and it makes the rooms look smaller. I've never had a problem selling a house (3 of them). I make sure that each year we do 1 or 2 small updates or a large update. I make sure the paint is fresh, the light fixtures are modern, the door knobs are modern (not 80s brass), there is no damage. When we live there we update the bathrooms and kitchen. If we can't afford to do the whole kitchen we do what we can (update the countertop, faucet, paint the cabinets). I don't think having all tiles is bad.In fact, many people have allergies and really appreciate this. I hate carpet, but I do like putting down area rugs for a soft floor covering where needed. I would not carpet the bedrooms. The first thing I do when buying a house is take out the carpet. If your house is updated and clean that will help it sell. If it is dated and run down it will take longer.

When you say "tile", do you mean newer, up to date, unscratched/undamaged tile? Or 20 yr old linoleum tiles that are scratched and yellowed from years of use . . . obviously one is good and one not so good :)

As far as staging, unless you are using a professional stager with brand new, beautiful furnishings that you are renting for the sole purpose of staging, I'd skip it. However, I would consider staging any area that seems like it has no purpose - using furniture to give it some purpose (like a room that could be a den, but doesn't seem like it when it is empty). Rooms that appear to have no purpose appear to potential buyers as wasted space. Also, staging an unusually shaped or really small room to show they are useful, unwasted space might be a good idea.

Finally, ask your realtor to do a CMA (comparative market analysis) if one hasn't been done already. Getting a "real feel" what is selling in your area and then pricing a couple of grand below that is probably what will make your house sell the fastest. People just love a good deal.

Good luck!

Tile is great.
If anyone wants carpets then area rugs will do it for them - and they can do any color they want easily without tearing anything up - let them do it - don't buy the carpets yourself.

I know some people swear by staging but I've never been impressed by it.
When I look at a house I want to picture where I'll put the Christmas tree and imagine my own furniture in it.
Other peoples stuff doesn't help me decide anything.

A vanilla scented candle in the kitchen really does help with making it seem more like "home" to prospective buyers - the realtors I've known insist on it.

Welcome to mamapedia, T..

1. Get an inspection done your home BEFORE you list it. Find out what needs to be fixed and fix it.

2. GO TO other open houses in your area with homes SIMILAR in size, bedrooms, etc. to yours. See what they have.

3. I don't know about the Nashville area, however, most places do "need" staging so people can "vision" the room. I know there are plenty of people who still want a blank space so they can see their furniture there...

4. I would NOT buy a home with full on carpeting. I NEED hardwood floors. So anything you did in way of carpeting would be ripped out and replaced. I would NOT purchase a home with tile floors in Nashville. It would cost too much to rip them up and install hardwoods.

5. Keep in mind that any "upgrades" you do? Will most likely be changed by the new owners. Make the house clean and open. Ensure no bugs or bad walls. Fresh coat of paint is always nice to a buyer (at least to me) while I will most likely paint over it - it shows that you took the time to make it look better.

GOOD LUCK!

A realtor once said to me to make a house sell fast, they make the house look like a sample house. There is a reason builders spend so much money on decorating.

I definitely would not carpet and I would only move furniture in if it was super nice, new and not dated. (Renting furniture is not super expensive).

Ultimately though, I think selling a home comes down to the price of the house. If it’s priced right it will sell regardless.

depends largely on what you have going on right now if speed is what you're interested in. if what you have is all tile, which is what it sounds like, don't carpet just to sell it.

a lot of people are moving away from carpet, especially with the rise in allergies.

i myself am not swayed by staging. i've heard conflicting opinions about this too, but in your situation i'd leave it clean and fresh and a blank slate.

khairete
S.

Is it possible for you to go look at some model homes near you, or some homes for sale near you, as close to your neighborhood as possible? That way, you can compare.

You might find that the tile in your house is as nice as comparable homes, or you might find that your tile seems dated and out of style. Or you might find that most homes are carpeted. Take note of how new homes and older homes are being staged.

From what I have observed, it's not bad to put some basic furniture in for a sale, as long as it's fairly neutral stuff (you don't want to have your great-grandmother's tufted velvet Victorian sofa in the living room, even if you love it). And I've been told it's best not to have a lot of personal things around (sports trophies, family photos), so that the new potential buyers can picture their own stuff in there. But some furniture can make a room look inviting.

Have you gotten 3 different realtors to give you quotes for what you should sell your house for? If you haven't, that's the first thing you need to do. You should also ask these 3 realtors to give you advice on what you need to do in order to help you sell. It's really important to listen to them because they know your neighborhood market.

When we bought the home we are currently living in? We changed most of what they did prior to listing it.

We changed to hardwoods.
We added granite counters.
We changed the refrigerator and stove.
We painted.
We changed a lot. We bought the home because it was the land we wanted, in an area we wanted with the right school district and location for family.

If your home is in a great school district and great location? Just tidy it up. The buyers will most likely come in and change it up to their liking.

I would not tile the house. I have friends that have that and hate it. Very cold & loud.
I would put hardwood in the dining room, living room & family room.
Then I would carpet the bedrooms. Much cozier.
I would pack away all of your knick knacks. You want clear surfaces.
Yes, you should stage it.
Pair down your kitchen countertop appliances. Put them in cabinets.
If you've moved all of your things out of your house, stage the living room w/a couch, over stuffed chair, end table, tall fake plant in corner, pillow on sofa, blanket over one end of couch, a few big pictures on the wall. Put away framed
family pictures.
Put towels in the bathroom. Hang a sm picture in there.
Put a hand towel in kitchen. A small dining table w/chairs in dining room. A sm
table in breakfast nook.
The rooms you should absolutely stage with furniture are: living room, family room, dining room & again a sm table in breakfast nook.
Bathrooms should have a rug, towels, 1 sm picture hung up.

If it were me, I would prefer hardwood to tile in the family room, and I would be ok with nice, new neutral carpet in the bedrooms over tile.

I don't think I would buy a fully tiled house. That's just me and where I live though - not used to it.

However, you could break up the tile by using area rugs as others have suggested.

If you do that though, my thought is - then if you have no furniture, you'll just have an empty house with a bunch of area rugs.

That might look a bit odd.

To break up all the rugs, then you might want to put in some furniture.

I think, where you live, and the cheapest/easiest solution would be - buy some area rugs (that you will use again), put some furniture back in - and give it a whirl. Try that. Get feedback (ask for some), and if people mention the tile as reason not interested in buying - then redo floors.

When I was looking to buy a house, one of my non-negotiables was that would NOT have a house with carpet. I absolutely hate it. I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels that way. There is someone out there who would love to buy your house and not have to rip out carpet.

what does your realtor think? when we listed my late grandparents house we knew that the master bedroom had hardwood under the carpet, and she said leave it as is and a potential buyer will be told about the hardwood. we could deal with it only if a serious buyer wanted the carpet out. everything else we left. it is currently sale pending. buyers wanted the carpet left

Don't carpet. All tile is a huge bonus for potential buyers with allergies. I would put down a large area rug in the family room, and a smaller one in the bedroom next to the bed to make things a little softer. I vote yes for some nice (not worn) furniture (small pieces that don't overpower the room so that the rooms still look big) that helps a buyer see what the house will look like. Matching towel sets and bright new shower curtain for the bathroom, etc.

I wouldn’t replace flooring at all. More than likely you can give an allowance for it if need be.

I had a home close to Fort Worth that was built in the 80’s complete with mauve carpeting. It was in decent shape but I KNEW it needed to be replaced. Had a realtor come out and she advised against it and said it could be used as a bargaining chip. She said most people want to choose their own colors/materials when they renovate. She was right. The family that bought it didn’t even ask for a carpet allowance but required us to paint a room I used for my daughter’s nursery that was a beautiful sky blue. So the cost of a gallon of paint was all it took.

Keep it as is and give a discount if needed.

Good luck!

We just sold our house. It went on the market on a Tuesday night, we had an offer on it by Wednesday night, and accept the offer (more than the asking price) on Friday. We closed exactly a month after listing.

We did very little except to really clean everything. We had the main floor repainted simply because it hadn’t been repainted in over 15 years. We had it painted a very light gray. We took down the old blinds upstairs and left the windows without treatments. We replaced the outside lights on the garage because they were rusty. We did nothing with the flooring except to have the carpets cleaned. I also hand scrubbed the tile and linoleum floors. I worried about the old linoleum (almost 20 years old) because it had some sun damage. The carpet in the living room also had some fading that I was a little worried about it. Other than clean the downstairs we didn’t do anything there even though the carpet did have some small stains. Our buyers didn’t ask for anything except for radon mitigation and a couple of things related to that. We had no furniture in the house.

A friend of mine sold her house a few years ago. They had put in new carpeting in their basement because their water heater had leaked. The buyer was her husband’s coworker. When they were invited to a Christmas party at their old house just a couple of months later the brand new carpet they had just put in was gone as well as the backsplash that their realtor had said they should put it. She wasn’t very happy!

I would leave it the way it is. See if they ask for an allowance...heck they may like it. Some people don't like carpet.