Would you fix this before selling?

[ohdearwhatcanthematterbee]

We are getting our house ready to put on the market, mostly just general tidying up and decluttering. We’ve got these two damp spots on kitchen floor- one from dogs repeatedly knocking over water bowl and one from a dog who kept peeing there for waaay longer than if should’ve taken to toilet train him. We initially planned to stay here another year or 18 months so had bought tiles to refloor the kitchen and hallway, but things have changed and now we’re hoping to move sooner.

I know the general advice is not to do big projects as you won’t get your money back, but I worry that people will look at that and think the house is damp. It had a damp proof course done 10 yrs ago with a 30yr guarantee, but the explanation of dog pee might well be offputting too!

So if you were buying- would this put you off? We spent about £500 on the tiles already, and it’s likely to be another £400-500 to put them down, but we’re hoping to buy a doer-upper so could take tiles with us. On the other hand, this house is in otherwise very good nick so I don’t want to put people off! The rest of the floor is also a bit tatty- scuffed and grubby.

I'ved lived with damp and at the first sign of it I'd leave.

I think you should fix it.

I think Sarah Beeny would agree.

Try oxalic acid to bleach the wood.

It would put me off if I noticed it, but how many people inspect the floor? Is it very noticeable?

A well placed rug? We've all seen enough Kirsty and Phil to know that buyers these days look more at the furniture than house.

Buyers may not notice initially, but it may get commented on a survey to say "signs of damp". In my experience surveyors are very picky!
Instead of your nice tiles, might it be cheaper to get some basic lino put in?

I do some basic Lino and or carpet in the appropriate areas. You might not “get your money back” but it might be the difference between a quick sale and months on the market.

Put a large pet food mat or rug down. I have a huge gouge in our hallway floor caused by the previous owners cats. It has a rug covering it. No way would I replace the flooring. Its simply unnecessary!

I can't even see it, and I'd much prefer wood floors to tiles. I'd leave it.

I have no experience of wood floors, but I would look into ways of removing the stains and perhaps sanding the floor and refinishing.

Thanks for the replies.... lots to think about! I think we’ll maybe try the oxalic acid and see if that works- they’re both at the very edge of the floor so I think a rug would look very suspicious! Filing that we’ll look at cheaper floor options - I do love the new tiles, and I’m sure I could use them somewhere in whatever we buy!