Selling... carpet has huge stain

[lataraw]

Carpet in one room has huge stain. Not the best carpet otherwise but as a buyer I'd think it's ok for a while. No way stain will come out (tried everything), currently has a rug over it. Do we:

1 recarpet that one room (though it wouldn't match the rest)

2 recarpet whole house with something cheap but at least in good condition

3 make what we can of the floorboards under the carpet in that room and sell like that

4 leave the rug there for viewings and don't say anything if no one asks (obviously this feels sneaky, but quote to recarpet whole house was 3k and that would be a huge challenge right now)

Thanks

I'd recarpet the house cheaply. How long has the existing carpeting been in place?

Also, have you tried a professional cleaning service?

(not yet on market, trying to work out what to do before we list)

Carpet has been there around 5 years I think. Cheapest option was 3k! But yes the rest of it looks a bit tired anyway.

No way it's coming out, it was a household chemical spill and it's almost a hole!

I'd leave it or recarpet just the one room.

Leave rug in situ.

No that's mean!

Re-carpet the one room with a cheapy.

I’d take it up, make the most of the floorboards underneath (within reason) but be prepared to cut my losses and buy different carpet if the floorboard option looks awful.

If the carpet is really worn and tired then I’d consider redoing the whole house, but as a buyer I wouldn’t be particularly fussed about brand new carpet.

So far a very split audience!

Just leave the rug! No one is going to look under it, and they’ll probably want to re carpet anyway.

I wouldn't recarpet as for all you know it'll get pulled straight up - so wasteful. Option 3 or 4 for me.

A new homebuyer mightn't be able to afford to put down carpet immediately and it just seems to me to be a dickish move to hide it.

This ^^

Cover it for photos and viewings but tell any viewers the carpet will need replacing as it is ‘badly marked’. Also mention when you fill in the paperwork about what you are leaving during the sale process.
It stops the first impression being spoilt by being the huge stain, but you are also being honest about its condition.

Leave the rug there, and don't take it with you when you move so the buyers can cover the stain?

If I'm buying a house and there is carpet, I'd be pulling it up straight away anyway, as couldn't bear to be barefoot on someone else's carpets.

Leave it as it is. The new person will want to choose what they like not have a cheap replacement they probably feel like they have to keep because its new.

Leave the rug. The buyer will probably recarpet anyway, and if not, presumably the rug matches.

Declare it in viewings - the new owners will want to make the choice re flooring themselves

I'd ask to look under it in a second viewing. If a stain was hidden, I'd be worried about other hidden faults and probably walk away. So go for floorboards instead I think

We had awful carpet moth wear under the sofa. We chose to re carpet that room and the stairs. Didn’t match the bedrooms etc. but really tidied the house up. Went with cheap very neutral. It really did make that room brighter and kept my conscience clear. Don’t go top end, if the buyer doesn’t like it they might replace it anyway.

Is the house open plan or are the rooms seperate? If the room is separate to others I don’t think it has to match so I’d re-carpet. Otherwise you could just have the stain on show and accept you’ll probably get lower offers with that listed as a reason. I wouldn’t try and hide the stain, aside from it being morally sneaky you’ll have to disclose fixtures and fittings and include things like stain/ damage.

just put a rug over it. They have very probably done something similar in the new house you are moving into.

What type of stain and have you definitely tried everything? The rug doctor carpet cleaner things that you can hire for maybe £40 or so for the day can do wonders.

God I definitely wouldn’t recarpet the entire house. You won’t get that money back in the sale price. Put a rug over it for photos and point it out to potential buyers on viewings. It’s unlikely to put them off and at worst they’ll ask for a price reduction but you could negotiate that so it’s less than the cost to recarpet the whole house.

I think this is the most sensible option