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I am at 9 months before I get my garage townhouse ready to put on the market. I live in Northern Virginia in a high demand area. Houses here, even before the recent uptick in sales, sell quickly and usually above asking. Even during the recession more than a decade ago, houses here sold okay (just slower).
My house is in great shape maintenance-wise, I always fix things that break or are near the end of their life right away. I have an old kitchen and bathrooms. But I have no plans to update any of them. I rather just sell for less. But I believe there are things I can and should do to get the house ready for sale. So I have a list that I've been working on.
The one thing I've wondered the most about, that is on my list, is the hardwood floors. I have oriental rugs on them and under the rugs, the floor is a few shades darker (or maybe more accurately, where the floors are exposed, they are lighter). When I sell the house, it will be empty (no furniture or anything) so I know the floors an the outlines of the old rugs will be visible. I've had friends and relatives tell me not to refinish the hardwood floors, but I think it would look "unkempt" if I don't. But it's also not cheap to do, so I don't want to waste money. I might just be too picky about such things. I am questioning myself because no one agrees with me to refinish them. Then again, none of them have ever sold a house with floors in the condition of mine. Of all my family and friends giving me advice, only my mom's house had hardwood floors and hers weren't faded at all.
So I figured I would get more well-rounded advice here. in your experience, is it best to refinish faded hardwood like mine or is it a waste? And do I need to truly refinish them or would something like buffing them work?
I've been in contact with a agent that I think I am going to hire to sell my house, but she said nothing about it either way even after I asked. She talked about other things I could do to prepare the house. But to be fair, I am not her client right now. I think she would be more focused on my house once I contract with her (actually, this is another question. When do I do that? I am thinking three months before I want the house on the market).
I am just trying to plan things out and budget for them, so I am wondering if refinishing the floors is a must or not.
For the record, for the curious, I've removed the all the wallpaper and painted the walls (the wallpaper was okay looking, but it was starting to peel) and replaced wall-to-wall carpeting in the bottom level with luxury vinyl plank (carpet was old and worn plus it got wet when my neighbor's downspout dumped at my sliding glass door--that's fixed now and no more water comes in). I also recently did an inspection of the wood on the outside of my house and replaced any rotting trim and repainted it.
I plan to also replace two shutoff valves that are not working properly (I only just discovered they don't shut off all the way) and get a stubborn toilet that doesn't flush without holding down the handle fixed or replaced (I tried to replace the "guts" and that didn't help). I also plan to repaint most of the house after I move my stuff out (it's already a neutral color, but the walls are scuffed and it needs cleaning up), replace all the painted light switches with clean plastic ones, and I plan to have the bedroom carpets, which is in great shape, professionally cleaned. Houses here sell with carpet in them, so I am not worried about that as long as it's clean.
IANA Realtor, but here’s my thoughts: Hardwood floors are unlikely to be changed out by a buyer to something else, like carpet, linoleum, or even tile. Hardwood is kind of (IMO) the gold standard of floor coverings. “Man I can’t wait to put wall to wall carpet over these hardwoods” said no buyer, ever.
So I would be inclined to refinish them, or offer an allowance.
I sold my Westchester NY six months ago. It was a seller's market like the OP's. We had our upstairs hardwood floor done three years ago. They looked great! However, I never had our downstairs hardwood floors done. They looked crappy especially by the kitchen sink.
Not one buyer cared. It made no difference in the amount of offers or the price of our home.
Same for the paint. The upstairs had been painted a couple of years ago and the downstairs had been painted a decade ago. No one cared about the downstairs needing a paint job. As long as it isn't wallpaper, people are okay.
I'd refinish them. Shining and clean hardwoods are a big selling point. Not that expensive to do either. Much much less than renovating a kitchen and baths.
I would not refinish. Yours would require stripping and restaining both, then refinishing with new poly. This is time consuming and getting the stain right will be tricky. On the other hand, the buyer might use rugs as well, and your outlines will be a good guide for where they go well.
Now if they were all scratched and gouged, refinishing the poly coat would be a good improvement.
I've been in contact with a agent that I think I am going to hire to sell my house, but she said nothing about it either way even after I asked. She talked about other things I could do to prepare the house. But to be fair, I am not her client right now. I think she would be more focused on my house once I contract with her (actually, this is another question. When do I do that? I am thinking three months before I want the house on the market).
Thanks everyone. I’m still torn, but it’s nice to get opinions outside my close inner circle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jkgourmet
I'd be looking for another agent!
Technically, she’s not my agent yet. I haven’t contracted with her yet. I sent her a message about preparing my house for sale and she replied, but her response didn’t cover everything. I don’t blame her, she’s got paying clients she needs to attend to. She doesn’t know if I’m really going to sell my house or if I’m just fishing for information after all. It would be a different matter if I was contacted with her.
I wouldn't refinish them. That's a big job, and you probably won't get your money back, much less be compensated for the nuisance. And some buyers won't like whatever color you choose.
We had our 50-year-old, somewhat discolored hardwood floors buffed. They looked great, and the house sold quickly.
We sold our house 2 months ago and our floors needed to be refinished but our agent said don't bother. House sold in 3 days and had 9 offers ALL over ask.
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