I live in the suburbs in a subdivision of houses built in the 70's-90's, and almost everyone I know has carpet upstairs. Many of us like the comfort of a carpeted floor in bedrooms, and with children, it also really cuts down on the amount of noise that transfers to the lower level, especially if you have a home where the family room is under the bedrooms. I continually read on DCUM how everyone wants hardwoods throughout their house, but can say that is not true for everyone.

Anonymous wrote:op here- not sure if there's hardwood underneath or not. if there is, it's probably in pretty bad condition. We'd be doing this just for resale, and I'm not sure it's worth the cost. definitely would completely replace the carpet bc/ it's gotten beaten up over the years, but wondering if it's worth the extra cost to put in hardwoods. it's only 2 bedrooms and a hallway. i personally prefer carpeting in bedrooms because I think it's cozier, but it sounds like I am in the minority.

It's likely NOT worth the money and bother to put in hardwoods for resale, you will not recoup the cost. It would be good to check what's underneath, if there are hardwoods under there (and assuming it was built before 1950 and not significantly renovated the answer is very likely yes) that could be a selling point. When we bought our house the floors had been covered with carpet for 30 years, they were actually in really great shape, just needed to be sanded and sealed. I'd still let the new owners do that, because then they can pick what color they want them finished in, and it gets you those buyers that may prefer carpet and want to leave it as is.

In the townhouse market - carpet is typical in bedrooms. I know you DCUMers probably don't live in townhouses - but there is a whole market niche in this very area where carpet is the norm.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What three states did she sell in?

Pennsylvania, Texas and Florida.

Amish, cowboys, and old people.

There you have it

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, you can say that, but the reality is....it will make a difference in how people feel about the place.

Only to the DCUM crazies.

Anonymous wrote:What three states did she sell in?

Pennsylvania, Texas and Florida.

Keep it carpet. In this market it will sell. You coul also look at the comps and see if your neighborhood will support any improvements you do. We did a ton of improvements- new bathrooms, new flooring in kitchen, etc. Our place sold for the same as other places with no upgrades.

Anonymous wrote:"Those houses with the carpet over hardwood are almost always old people houses. They carpeted over the hardwood in the 1970-80s when that was the style. If your mom has been selling real estate for 30 years, she's at least in her late 50s. What three states did she sell in?"

Probably flyover country.

I am the one with the ILs who even carpeted the bathrooms (forgot to mention the toilet seat lids are also carpeted)

Kansas

"Those houses with the carpet over hardwood are almost always old people houses. They carpeted over the hardwood in the 1970-80s when that was the style. If your mom has been selling real estate for 30 years, she's at least in her late 50s. What three states did she sell in?"

Probably flyover country.

Sometimes one spouse wants hardwood and the other doesn't care. So the one who wants hardwood might stay away from those with carpet, to avoid fight with spouse over replacing carpet with hdwd. I know a lot of husbands who have balked at that expense.