Laminate floors when selling your house?

[Dragonwoman]

Hi
We have nasty carpets downstairs (put in by prev owner). They are v dark green, suck all the light out of the house and are now also old & threadbare with really obvious frayed bits.
I think we need to replace to sell but if I put cream carpet down I will really struggle to keep it nice even for a short while. The rooms are all through rooms - no hallway and the kids always drop food on the floor in the dining room.
I am considering putting Laminate instead. Ideally I would use real wood but this is too costly for a house we are not staying in.
So my question is - is Laminate unbearably naff these days? Will it put off buyers?
I could limit it to porch and dining room but would still struggle to keep even the living room carpet nice I think.

I hate carpets . Dirty , dusty , stained , full of inground dirt . Id take laminate over carpet . We have laminate , and am thinking of laying real wood , but also want to move in four years, so probably won't bother.

Nothing wrong with a bit of good old honest dirt, imo! Floors, after all, are for walking on. They don't have to be clean enough to eat off them; that's what plates are for! Personally, I can't stand laminate.

If you make people remove their shoes at the door carpets shouldn't be filthy, I've bought those shoe covers for when people view the house.

Full of imbedded hairs, skin cells, dust, etc. Carpets are vile. Hoovers don't remove them entirely.

I would rip out laminate upon purchase so it would be wasted on me. I'd rather see scummy carpets knowing I'd replace with real wood flooring anyway. Laminate is only suitable for a buy to let - shared house sort of scenario, IMO.

'If you make people remove their shoes at the door carpets shouldn't be filthy'

Hmmm sweaty feet?

Poor OP, we have probably confused you more now.
In the end it depends what your market is, the price of the house, its age and style, size, area etc.

(To all carpet haters: i don't want to take over this thread so i'm going to start one in AIBU, this subject winds me up )

at the shoecovers thing. Sorry, mamato. PMSL...

Put down a beige coloured carpet with a slight mottled effect or darker fleck through it - it will be much cheaper than laminate and won't show the marks like a cream one would.

That said, give me a nice quality laminate anyday. Much easier to keep clean.

Hi - Sorry for delay in replying- I've been away from comp & thought thread had died.

In answer to questions, it's a 70's house with no floorboards downstairs only concrete. The house is worth less than £250k. So I don't think it's 'worth' wood floors as there is no character to preserve & it's not an expensive house.

We have to walk through both the living room & dining room to get to the stairs or kitchen. Even with shoes off, I'm sure it would show dirt as the DCs & DH tend to go outside in bare feet in warmer weather. At the moment houses round here are taking months to sell, so putting covers down etc would be a total pain. Also, the main dirt areas are near doorways with doors that need to open & close, so rugs wouldn't work.

Carpet is not just grubby, but threadbare & frayed (one patch of fraying is now almost a foot square)!
So dark green it's nearly black & was (& looked) cheap even when new.

I know some people really hate laminate, but maybe those sort of people wouldn't look at a 70's house anyway?

Oh & was it my thread that started the big debate about laminate on the other thread? Sorry if so, I'm not a style snob honest - just wondered what buyers would think!

Hi Dragonwoman
it was me who started the other thread but it was not inspired only by this thread. There have been many threads where people call 'tacky' the ones who have laminate and it was time for us to defend our laminate floors .

Please do not apologise. I am the one who should apologise. I swear i never thought that you are a style snob. You are trying to sell your house and you are very right to question this. When you are selling is not about what you like but what the majority of people like.

I hope you get more opinions especially now that you have given more details about the house.

I wish you luck and hope to sell it very soon.

Laminate is the work of the devil! Where we live it would not been seen as a plus point for the house but you must keep it in perspective. It wouldn't stop me buyng a house but it is potentially going to impact on the price I offer.

If your house is very saleable and the market is busy, then flooring won't count against you. However, if you need to make the most of what you have then definitely go for a cheap carpet - perhaps with a slight fleck - it will stay looking good with not much effort and will certainly make the house look better cared for. Some buyers have NO imagination! Definitely discuss with your agent but laminate is awful and as others have said, it is more costly and time consuming to put in/rip out.

Good luck with your sale!!

sorry Dragonwoman, missed a page of comments.......my house is mid-terraced with DH and DC's going through front and back like you, so I can sympathise. The level of muck is hard to deal with even with my maniacle screaming to 'remove shoes'.....and dont get me started on the cat!

if the market is slow then talk to the agents, they really should be able to let you know what your target market will want to see. Ultimately, if you are selling, it is not about your own preferences, it's all about how to make your house stand out as the one to buy.

laminate over carpet any day. just make sure it is well laid and there are no gaps between laminate and skirting boards (unlike in our rental flat). or alternatively a light easy to clean carpet.