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One home selling “tip” that trips up many home sellers (and Realtors) and that I believe just doesn’t work is the idea of offering a carpet or decorating allowance.
I won’t say that this doesn’t work at all, but it doesn’t work as well as actually dealing with the carpet or decorating issue yourself if you’re selling your home.
If you ask anyone who knows anything about sales psychology, they’ll tell you people make buying decisions based on emotion. If a home has new carpet, people will see it, smell it, and feel it, and that will elicit a lot of emotions. A $3,000 carpet allowance won’t have nearly the same effect of you yourself actually spending that $3,000 on that carpet.
“If you have ugly or worn-out carpeting, it’s worth the money to replace it.”
If you’re afraid of getting new carpet because you think the next person will just rip it out anyway, I can tell you from experience that if you have ugly, old, worn-out carpeting, it’s worth the $3,000 just to remove the problem. I’ve had buyers buy a home and change the carpet, but the paid a premium for that home in the first place because of how good it made the home look.
If it’s possible for you, it’s worth replacing your old carpet before listing your house instead of offering a credit. If the whole house is a fixer-upper, on the other hand, smaller modifications like carpet replacement might not be worth the money.
If you have any questions about this topic, you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, or you know someone who’s buying or selling a home, give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to talk with you.
