https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 15 Nov 2026 09:37:04 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397967 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 12:36:35 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1397967@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yoursilverlining: everything you've mentioned has already been done!</p> <p>We had the entire house painting 4 years ago. New countertops and stainless steel appliances, new windows and expanded the back yard. Added a deck. Knocked down a wall to expand the kitchen/more counter space &amp; painted the cabinets &amp; all new hardware. </p> <p>We HAVE to replace our steps/walk-way but I can't think of any other needs before we sell... Only wants! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397928 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 12:25:03 +0000 yoursilverlining 1397928@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So, it sounds like you want to replace the carpet either way. I would make my selection of carpet or laminate flooring based on what’s cheapest for you and what will look the best in a couple of years. I think “worn” looking floors stands out the most to buyers, regardless of what flooring they will ultimately prefer. </p> <p>I would focus on other low-cost but first-impression upgrades since you plan to sell soon: fresh paint before you go to sell (inside and out), upgraded door and drawer handles and painting dark or oak (bain of my existence!) cabinets white can really brighten up a room and make it look larger without costing a fortune. Same with upgraded countertops. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397925 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 12:24:24 +0000 looch 1397925@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: then go with the laminate. </p> <p>I feel the same about my house, it's just not a site finished hardwood kind of 'hood, but mine were original to the house. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397914 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 12:23:02 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1397914@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: it isn't that kind of neighborhood :/ </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397913 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 12:22:36 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1397913@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Freckles: laminate definitely isn't as durable! Hardwood is hands down the better of the two.</p> <p>If this was our forever home, we'd have installed that in a heartbeat. </p> <p>I suppose you can replace a single plank of laminate if there's damage but who wants to do that?</p> <p>@spaniellove: I knew you'd say that :) it's partially a quality of life thing. I haven't had an asthma attack since last spring! It's made a huge difference in my life. We also like the laminate better than carpet. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397890 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 12:19:38 +0000 spaniellove 1397890@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: If you really want it in the bedrooms for the short time that you'll be living there and would prefer to see it as a quality of life issue rather than taking away from your profit, then you don't need to ask. :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397887 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 12:19:03 +0000 jhd 1397887@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We just bought a house that has really nice laminate throughout. I don't know that I would do a lot more updating if I were wanting to move soon, but at the same time we loved the fact that our house didn't have any carpet except for in one basement room. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397871 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 12:14:50 +0000 looch 1397871@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>What other options do you have, if not laminate? Could you do hardwood, or is it not that kind of neighborhood?</p> <p>I feel like those people that are commenting that they wouldn't buy a house with laminate probably aren't your buyer's demographic. So I wouldn't let that sway you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397857 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 12:10:54 +0000 Freckles 1397857@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@locavore_mama: How is laminate more durable than hardwood? Once there's a nick, you can't sand it down and refinish like hardwood. I hate our kitchen laminate flooring because i've dropped pots a few times and there are nicks everywhere! Hardwood will last many more years. But i guess i'm partial because you don't see a lot of laminate flooring in our neighbourhood.</p> <p>I wouldn't redo the floors either, especially if you're planning to move in a year. You won't see the money back. Also, some people may want the carpeting, or change the carpeting to something they prefer. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397802 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 12:02:40 +0000 mlm2934 1397802@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'd only continue the updates if it's important to you as the homeowner and you will get enjoyment from them until you move. It's probably slim that you'll see a big enough ROI if that's your only motivator to continue the renovations. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397742 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 11:44:44 +0000 BabyBoecksMom 1397742@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: We're in a very similar situation. We're planning on moving when DD1 gets old enough for kindergarten, but there are improvements we want/need to make to the house. The tile wasn't installed correctly in our house (all 600+ sq ft), so we have to rip it up and replace it. We really want to change the carpet to hardwood floors, but our house is already one of the most updated houses in the neighborhood... We decided we're just going to leave it like it is and do the bare minimum updates - save the money for updating the next house (or a vacation ;-) ) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397516 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 10:44:37 +0000 twinmama 1397516@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: We have white and I hate it too. We just put a multicolored carpet in the bedrooms at our rental. It's multiple tones of neutrals/beigey brown. It's supposed to hide stains better bc it's not a uniform color, and it looks very nice. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397514 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 10:43:35 +0000 2PeasinaPod 1397514@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: I'm not a fan of white carpeting either. I think beige or tan is a good neutral color and tan is what we have in our bedroom right now. We replace bright pink 90s carpeting as soon as we moved into the house with that! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397498 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 10:38:39 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1397498@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MerryC: That's a huge debate for us -- we WANT to put it in the bedrooms and it's a minimal cost/effort for us.</p> <p>For those who prefer carpet in the bedroom, is color or quality a selling point for you? Or, would you replace it with something you like better?</p> <p>I *don't* like white carpeting. It looks nice but soils easily and <i>every little drip</i> is noticeable. The carpets in our bedrooms are in good condition, not great. We have two cats &amp; it's helped my allergies to replace the living area flooring so our ultimate goal is to further improve them by replacing the bedroom floors. </p> <p>I was disgusted and shocked at how grey our carpeting actually was once we pulled it up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397452 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 10:27:14 +0000 twinmama 1397452@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Since your timeline for moving is not set in stone, I would look at it from the perspective of how you want to live in your current house while you are there. If more laminate makes the house better for your family and is reasonable cost, then do it. Imo, people can get so caught up in what's best for buying/selling that they lose sight of what would make their life better right now. If it were a huge expense, of course you have to consider a roi, but to me $500 is still a reasonable expense for a few years of benefit.</p> <p>P.S. We love laminate! We were actually going to put hardwood in our house, and the manager convinced us that laminate was way more durable with kids. I'm slowly getting rid of most of our carpet, even without pets :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397343 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:48:32 +0000 autumnlove 1397343@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would not upgrade in this situation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397338 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:46:33 +0000 2PeasinaPod 1397338@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If I entered a house with laminate in the bedrooms, it would be an automatic no for me. I prefer either carpeting or hardwood floors, and you mentioned that it wouldn't be something you would see ROI on, so I would just leave as is. Flooring is cosmetic and since you said the bedrooms are small, it's something that can be easily replaced before someone moves in. But I would take 70s shag carpeting over laminate any day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397335 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:44:20 +0000 spaniellove 1397335@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>FWIW, we're just wrapping up a project replacing the carpet in the bedrooms with hardwood. The seller was in a sort of similar position...the rest of the house had hardwood. It's a nice neighborhood and other houses have a mix of hardwood/carpet, not many are totally updated like ours, and we wouldn't have paid more if the bedrooms had hardwood. We only replaced the carpet because of the baby and my severe allergies, otherwise it was new and in good shape so not the biggest deal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397325 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:40:27 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1397325@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm really glad I asked! It sounds like a lot of you are very knowledgeable in real estate. I'm obviously not!</p> <p>I'm not sure if this plays any role, but here's the background of our house:<br /> We bought at the height of the stock market crash in 2009. We are very well aware of how lucky we are and what a hell of a deal we got on this home. People two doors up bought last summer and paid $60,000 more than what we did 4 years ago. </p> <p>Generally speaking, the homes in our neighborhood are NOT updated. We're talking 20+ year old carpet, original windows (homes built in the 80s), dark 80s kitchen cabinetry, etc. This house particularly appealed to us because we knew we could make a lot of cosmetic updates inexpensively.</p> <p>We installed the laminate flooring last spring on a whim. My allergies worsened when I was pregnant with Chloe and my allergist gave me two choices: allergy shots or eliminating the allergens. We didn't want to rehome our cats without trying everything first, so insert laminate flooring. It's worked wonders. I haven't had an asthma attack since spring 2013. </p> <p>We chose laminate for several reasons. Hard wood isn't seen in our neighborhood and we knew we wouldn't see any ROI. Laminate was the least expensive option, even if we could get hard wood at cost, and more likely to see ROI if/when we do sell. If this was our forever home, we'd have chosen hard wood.</p> <p>The previous owners took some steps to update this home before it sold. They replaced the orange shag carpet in all the rooms except Chloe's bedroom, and installed WHITE carpeting throughout. I cannot tell you how many times we spilled coffee on the carpet, so.. it had to go no matter what. We replaced Chloe's carpeting three years ago. </p> <p>Our bedrooms are on the small size, so it won't be a substantial financial impact if we do replace the flooring in there. My realtor, though, said, "If it isn't broke, don't fix it."</p> <p>I wish I could share links to the comparable homes for sale in my neighborhood! Homes similar to ours (when we bought it) are selling for a good amount, but the two homes that are more "updated" like ours are selling for even higher. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397317 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:36:31 +0000 Mae 1397317@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Maybe you should do a poll on whether people think replacing in-good-shape carpeting with laminate is a plus, a minus, and/or something worth paying more for? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397314 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:35:44 +0000 pui 1397314@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I personally would not change the flooring as you likely will not see that money back when you sell the home. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397307 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:33:42 +0000 Sammyfab 1397307@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I agree with @Mae. Laminate is a negative selling feature for me (because we really love hardwood), especially if you've used it to replace carpet that is in good condition. I don't think I've ever seen laminate that I've mistaken for quality hardwood. Plus, I personally love carpet in bedrooms!</p> <p>And, to answer your question, I don't think you'd see a ROI by replacing the carpet. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397282 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:25:05 +0000 Bao 1397282@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would save your money towards your new potential home! It sounds like you've got a great house and will probably have a lot of interest selling as is. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397273 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:20:29 +0000 regberadaisy 1397273@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>And honestly if you're able to get it at cost without having to pay for installation I might do it just because you want to. Who knows you can be in that house another year or two. Most people will look at three bedrooms of laminate and estimate it cost about 2k material and installation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397261 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:16:07 +0000 LBee 1397261@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our realtor worried that we were going to need to change our flooring in my townhouse that I sold a few years ago (2 ninety pound dogs had worn it down). We opted not to and it still sold in two days. We were the only townhouse in our area on the market, so we didn't need to "stand out." I would start watching the listings in your neighborhood and looking at the pictures / upgrades in terms of how long they are on the market / what price they end up getting. That will help you gauge what upgrades, if any, are selling in your neck of the woods. For all you know, floors don't seem to be a huge selling feature, but your unrenovated X (which may be an easy fix) seems to be a big one. </p> <p>With that said, take this advice for what you paid for it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397256 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 09:13:50 +0000 regberadaisy 1397256@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@spaniellove: that's a good point. Considering the updates jump jump Rope has already made she might'very capped out the asking price for the neighborhood. </p> <p>@Mrs. Jump Rope: my DH has also been in the flooring business for almost 20 years. People do NoT buy hardwood often despite what we see on hb. To be honest I think most people don't know the products that are out there. Engineered laminate looks so much like hardwood now that to the layman they will not know the difference. And laminate is way more durable than hardwood. I would never put hardwood down with kids. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397235 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 08:57:27 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1397235@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: we considered hardwood. My dad works in that industry and could have gotten us materials at cost (and free labor for him/DH to install) but it would have cost us thousands of dollars. Our neighborhood is not a hardwood floor kind of neighborhood, and we never would have seen an ROI. </p> <p>@locavore_mama: same level. There is currently white carpet in the three bedrooms. They're on the smaller side, so we are looking at about $400-$500 in material. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397234 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 08:57:24 +0000 Mrs. Jump Rope 1397234@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: we considered hardwood. My dad works in that industry and could have gotten us materials at cost (and free labor for him/DH to install) but it would have cost us thousands of dollars. Our neighborhood is not a hardwood floor kind of neighborhood, and we never would have seen an ROI. </p> <p>@locavore_mama: same level. There is currently white carpet in the three bedrooms. They're on the smaller side, so we are looking at about $400-$500 in material. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397225 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 08:50:10 +0000 spaniellove 1397225@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wouldn't do it if you're not going to live in the house long enough to enjoy it. If your house is already going to be priced higher than others in the neighborhood because of improvements you've done, then you're probably not going to be able to get more or sell faster because of laminate flooring in a few rooms. If you added square footage that might be another story, but you've probably hit your max for what buyers are looking for in that neighborhood. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/would-you-update#post-1397214 Tue, 04 Feb 2014 08:42:26 +0000 Mae 1397214@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would replace only if you are doing it for you and not expecting a return on investment. Clearly your realtor (who is the expert on your area!) doesn't think you'll get a return on investment. </p> <p>Particularly with laminate, I would NOT do that unless you're doing it just for you. We were recently home shopping and I saw laminate as a big negative in any home we looked in. I knew we wanted hardwood in any house we looked in so laminate to me still means I have to replace all the floors, like I would with carpet or vinyl flooring, except houses with laminate are usually priced a little higher because the owners THINK its a selling point. </p>