Doer upper

[GettingStuffed]

Once our house has been sold we'll be selling my late in-laws house. It's going to need total refurbishing . DH and I have a slight disagreement about the carpets. Long story short DD had a cat who was incontinent and the carpets are stained, but don't smell. I'm in the new owners will want their own choice of carpets camp so the best thing to do is to rent a carpet cleaner and make them look better ( Definitely need replacing by new owner as over 30 years old) DH thinks we should replace them.

What are your opinions on this?

If it is a total refurb then don't change the carpets. It is a waste of money as they will need ripping up to do the rest today the refurb work.

For the sake of a £2k max, get some cheap remnants and replace the carpet to enhance the place. Nothing expensive, just something to do the job. The carpet has been down 30 years so the smells will be horrific that not even a carpet cleaner could remove…

Don't do it!
I had similar when my nan moved to a carehome. Some estate agents said we should re-paint/re-carpet some areas, others said to leave it. I spend weeks with my aunt and mum, both in their 70's, repainting the inside, getting new lino on the kitchen and other 'bits' done. It was a complete waste of time!
The new owner was a builder who stripped out everything, reconfigured rooms and made a massive profit. Don't waste your time and money because it won't be recouped.
Anyone looking for a refurb will look past the carpet, paint etc.

I’m usually one to think a little spruce up goes a long way, but if it needs a total refurb I really wouldn’t.

If it is a doer-upper then no way would I consider replacing them.
Most people I know can see past superficial things like decor and are more interested in the structure & layout, not whether the house has been fitted with some cheap carpet.
In a doer-upper, I think most people would be pleased to be able to see the condition of the floorboards and any horrors that may be hiding there.

I don't think there's much point recarpeting a house that is a complete refurb project. See how a day with the Rug Doctor improves the stains if you like, or some Vanish foam. Buyers will just want to see how much space there is and an idea of the condition/age of the building fabric (plaster, wiring, windows etc). It's almost a given they will redecorate and re-floor.

I’d have a go at cleaning them. Don’t replace.

Total refurb definitely don't replace but clean if there is any hint of a smell as that will be more pleasant for anyone viewing.

I bought a flat that stank of cigarette smoke, carpets were easily 20 years old. I couldn’t afford to replace them, so hired a rug doctor and washed them all and the smell went away. Weirdly it resurfaced about 6 years later but by then we’d re-finished the floors or replaced most of the carpets and it was an added incentive to get the last room sorted.
My friend used one a few years later on a cream carpet and it came up beautifully from having brown and grey paw prints all over it. Well worth it for the price.

Don't do it. If the house needs doing up they'll just pull them out anyway. It's a waste of time and money.

Don't replace.

For the sake of a few quid and a day of your time, rent a carpet cleaner to give them a bit of a spruce. But that's all.

We bought a total doer upper - we didn't even look at the carpets when we viewed because we knew we'd be replacing everything anyway.

Thanks all. The carpets don't small they're just stained

I’ve bought 3 renovations and wouldn’t think twice about the state of the carpet. I wouldn’t even waste your time hiring a carpet cleaner. The type of person buying the property is someone who sees through all of that and will rip it up the first day anyway.

Give them a good clean, if the stains come out fine, if they don’t change. As tthis is your husbands parents house let him make the decision. Don’t bully him to do what you want, as you’d not wish that if it was your parents home.