Should I thorough clean, repaint and change the carpet before going on the market?

[AndBeholdAWhiteHorse]

I'm just about to put my flat on the market. I'm hoping it will sell fairly quickly as it is a newish build, two big double bedrooms, neutral decoration, modern (but bottom range) kitchen and bathroom range. The property is also shared ownership and at the moment they seem to be moving fairly quickly in our area. All good so far (I hope!).

Now to the question... would you clean the kitchen to within an inch of its life. I'm thinking white cupboard doors and drawers could do with a bleach scrub to freshen them up (insides too). I must state I'm actually fairly clean and tidy but I don't routinely scrub the doors.

Also should I touch up little scuffs in paint? They're not immediately noticeable unless you're looking for them.

Lastly, and this is the biggest, I melted the carpet at my bedroom entrance with an iron. I checked my insurance and I'm not covered for this. It is noticeable and I'm not able to hide it.

All in all I can do the first two at short notice but the carpet do I replace or wait and see what viewers say first? Half of the properties I've seen are disgustingly dirty (in my opinion) and require full redecoration and new carpets, which I'm prepared to undertake. But I don't want to seem unreasonable with the selling of mine.

Any view welcome.

Definitely clean, clean and clean some more. Use products like grout revivers, remove any trace of limescale etc.

It'd probably help to change the carpet too but I'm not sure how it works with shared ownership. If your share isn't worth that much, then spending ££ on recarpeting is a bit of a tough call.

We would have changed our carpets if we weren't potty training the youngest and if we didn't have a puppy, on the basis that finding them wrecked on moving in would be a nasty surprise. We priced accordingly.

If your carpets aren't going to get shit on, pissed on or eaten over the next few months, it may be prudent to get a cheap but new one put it.

Yes replace the damaged carpet cheaply. Don't use bleach to clean the kitchen cabinets - it can make plastics turn yellow so you may ruin it. Use something like sugar soap. You shouldn't have to scrub unless it's really greasy.

Yes. And agree with pp, use sugar soap on the cupboards. Not bleach.

Ah yes sugar soap would be better. I didn't mean a literal scrub just a figure of speech. They really aren't that bad I just want to sell it quickly.

The carpet I'm concerned about. When I look round people's houses I often think the carpets need replacing but I would willing do it to get what I want. As for price the flat is valued and will sell for valuation as that is how it works with shared ownership no offers can be accepted. I don't know whether to try my luck with it or bite the bullet and replace... Would it stop you buying a nice property because of the carpet in one room? The rest of the carpet is fine. Happy to be told I should replace but I just don't want to add expense unnecessarily.

How much would a carpet cost. I'd probably replace with something fairly cheap on the basis that many people replace carpets when they move in anyway.

Yes I would replace cheaply otherwise viewers will immediately see it as another expense on top of the house purchase. Yes, definitely clean like you've never cleaned before in your life!

It rather depends on the market doesn't it. We bought our previous house with trashed carpets and when we sold 8 years later one of the carpets, complete with iron burn that predated us was still in place. But that was a small village where you buy the house because you want to live in the village and that is what is available. In a market where there are several similar properties around then yes, you have to scrub up a bit.

I refused to let the agents show anyone round my house or take photos until it had been deep cleaned. I'm not a dirty person and do clean regularly but never have the time to get all the rooms clean at the same time as well as the kitchen floor and cupboard fronts! Plus the cleaners had some amazing stuff to clean the showers with . Now its done its much easier to keep on top of especially as kids are still away at uni and their rooms are spotless

Yes to replacing the carpet, or be prepared to accept a reduced price to reflect the cost of the carpet needing replacing. I saw a house on Monday which I really like but, if I make an offer will do so to reflect the fact that all the carpets need replacing and the house needs some fairly major redecorating.

Definitely deep clean and touch up paint. Steam clean the carpets and maybe put a little mat down in the bedroom entrance that looks like a feature - a sheepskin or similar?

Can you put a small rug over the burnt part of the carpet?

Can you cut out the melted part and replace with a spare bit cut from under the bed?

I can't really add a mat as it would be too obvious. My bedroom is big so I'm reluctant to replace but seems the majority say too. It is frustrating as the house I want I need to replace carpets but it doesn't put me off buying. Off to Carpet Right!

I wouldn't replace it, then. If you're prepared to replace in a new place, then someone else will do the same in yours. It won't be the deciding factor and if someone says "I'd want that replaced" just say, "OK, as soon as you've signed, I'll replace it."

Can you have a piece of the carpet inserted in. It could be taken from under the bed? The melted piece could go under the bed.

Look at carpet warehouse/outlets much cheaper than carpetright

Can't you take advice from the estate agent?
We were planning on retiling a shower room, redecorating everywhere and renovating a utility room.
Our estate agent advised us not to bother.

Because it is shared ownership there is no agent really. It is sold through the housing association. Having spoken to colleagues today I think I'm going to leave it and if it becomes a major sticking point then maybe I'll offer to change the carpet on exchange up to a certain value e.g. if they want expensive carpet then they have to pay the excess otherwise it'll be what I choose.

I’d be inclined to leave the carpet and see how the viewings go. I also wouldn’t bother touching up the paint, it’s obvious when this has been done and looks worse than scuffs!

A new carpet wouldn’t be a deal breaker for me, unless you had brand new carpets everywhere else. Most of the houses we’ve bought have had pretty awful carpets, but that means we’ve felt less remorse about tearing them out in the redecoration process.

Look on pinterest- there MUST be some clever way to disguise the burnt bit!!

Or YouTube has loads of videos explaining how to do patch repairs. It's completely invisible if done well on the right sort of carpet.

Post a pic of carpet. It might look worse/more obvious to you as you "know" it's there so instantly look at it. Having said that, we replaced all the carpets when we sold our old house. We'd just redecorated and removed everything, and the carpets really made it look "unfinished" so it was worth it as it made it look like a showhome. Got offer of full price from our first viewers, and their comments were "they didn't need to change a thing" so it was the right thing to do for us.

No don’t replace it, it won’t affect the selling price as it will go for valuation.

Just clean everywhere and tidy, but not so much that it looks like a hotel. A few personal touches are good.

Here is the offending melted carpet! I know the carpet looks dirty but it is just the water from the iron and a shadow from the door. I'm gonna look at YouTube tonight when I'm home from work and see if I can do anything extra to help hide it. I think as the flat has to sell for value (no offers on shared ownership!) I will just take the risk. The valuation has already cost me £240 so I'm reluctant to keep spending when it makes no difference to how much I will receive from a buyer. They have to pay asking price. It is a case of you either want it or you don't.... Hopefully people want a flat in my area badly enough not to worry about it.

That's almost nothing—it surely won't prevent anyone from buying the flat.