To Rip up the Carpet or Not?

cheapchick · 09-09-2009, 08:37:02 PM

I thought I would pose this question on here. My grandma died and we need to sell her house. The living room, hallway, and small bedroom are carpeted in a "lovely" emerald green plush

which is about 15+ years old but is in surprisingly good shape. Underneath that "lovely" plush are solid oak hardwoods that haven't seen the light of day in 40+ years. Of course they would need refinished but they shouldn't be in too bad shape. My mom is executor and wants to rip up the carpet and expose the hardwoods. My aunt wants to leave the carpet and have it cleaned. She thinks it would be too much work to remove (even though she wouldn't be doing the work). The realtor suggested to leave the carpet and have it cleaned. My opinion is: Hardwoods are very in now. Emerald green carpeting is not! It's old, it's ugly, it's dark and will turn buyers off! If a house has hardwoods that is a huge plus! I think my aunt and the realtor are nuts! My mom and aunt have been fighting over the @#$% carpeting already...

So if you walked into a house would you rather see a rainforest at your feet or hardwood floors?

My grandma's house also has "lovely" aluminum awnings on all the windows. Everytime I see these on a house I wonder why the heck the owner's didn't remove them. They must have been popular in the 50s I guess. But they are ugly, they make the house dark inside, plus they attract sparrows to roost under them and crap all over the windows! Bleh! The awnings are full of bird you-know-what which has run down the siding. The have also become pitted over the years from exposure. My aunt thinks we are going to pressure wash these things...haha! They are coming down and being replaced with vinyl shutters! Seriously why would we leave these up? Again, they are dated and will not attract buyers...

BringontheWonder · 09-09-2009, 08:50:14 PM

When we bought our house, the carpet was a hideous baby blue in some rooms and Pepto-Bismol pink in others (each room had matching paint YUCK!). It also smelled like animal pee, so that was a special bonus. The general theme was vomit-inducing. Rip that carpet right up, I say. Emerald green seems like a first cousin to baby blue and yucky pink. I think hardwood floors are inviting and sophisticated. Of course, that's just my personal preference, and hardwood floors might not be appealing to lots of people. I can see not wanting them if I was a parent concerned about kids scratching them up. In any case, I have trouble imagining emerald green being a desirable carpet color, so potential buyers might immediately be thinking about the cost of buying new carpet and mentally subtracting that amount from an offer on the house. That's certainly what we did. I'm with you on this.

cheynesnana · 09-09-2009, 08:53:00 PM

Yeah I'd ditch the carpet too... I absolutely love wood flooring.. and think it'll be worth it money wise in the long run when you're selling.. ;)

meems · 09-09-2009, 08:55:37 PM

Hands down no question, get that carpet out of there, hardwoods are HUGE selling points!

cheapchick · 09-09-2009, 09:13:10 PM

Originally Posted by meems

Hands down no question, get that carpet out of there, hardwoods are HUGE selling points!

Actually we are ripping up the carpet...my mom has just been lying to her sister making her think we are keeping it. We aren't refinishing the floors though...that will be up to the new owner. It's not in the budget. In its current state the house is worth maybe $45,000. The agent said she wouldn't list it past $59,900. I don't know why my aunt cares about the carpet...it's not her sweat that will go into it. My mom and I are doing all the work ourselves: painting every room, removing carpet, removing awnings, hanging shutters, new sink and vanity, paint cabinets and new hardware, install new lighting, etc. :shrug7:

Note to Self: Learn how to do basic wiring....

meems · 09-09-2009, 09:16:09 PM

My sister changes out all her fixtures...it can't be that hard...good luck! Hope the floors are decent when you get that carpet up!

cheapchick · 09-09-2009, 09:23:38 PM

Originally Posted by meems

My sister changes out all her fixtures...it can't be that hard...good luck! Hope the floors are decent when you get that carpet up!

I know it's not hard to change fixtures.

The one bedroom has never been carpeted so there is an example of what to expect under the living room carpet. I figure if that bedroom floor has been exposed for 50 years and the hardwoods look okay there then the living room should be even better!

Forgot to mention that other bane of new homeowners: the "wood" paneling! Oh yes! In the living room and one bedroom...light smoky gray 60s "wood" paneling...

I want desparately to rip it off...

jillynoodle · 09-09-2009, 10:18:22 PM

i would love to see hardwood rather than carpet in a house i was buying...even if i had to refinsh them soooooo much better than carpeting!

couponcrazy5950 · 09-10-2009, 05:33:18 AM

My parents & your Grandma must have had the same decorator!! We had horribly ugly carpeting (some of it was like felt carpet tiles-BLECH) AND wood paneling in every freaking room. Take the carpet out!! People with allergies/breathing problems would appreciate it

The paneling isn't hard to remove but it is a PITA. If you remove the paneling, have spackle & paint ready. They also have this thick, textured wallpaper you can put over it & paint. Good luck!