Have plans for moving in the near future? Thinking of renovating your home? It’s one of the biggest reasons people cite when upgrading their homes.
When you’re looking at your home through the eyes of a potential homebuyer, suddenly those annoyances you’ve lived with look a little bleaker. Especially when it comes to flooring.
A worn hallway can lead a potential buyer right out of your home. Stained carpet is an immediate turnoff. Broken tiles, cracked stone, and warped hardwood all make potential homebuyers wonder what else is wrong.
If you see any of this in your own home environment, it might be time to upgrade your flooring for the highest ROI possible.
Hardwood flooring – it’s what people want
This probably won’t come as much of a surprise to learn that hardwood flooring tops homebuyers’ wish lists. In one study, results found that homebuyers are willing to pay as much as $2,080 to have hardwood flooring already in place. If you’re selling to those under 54, it’s considered a “very important” feature, one that can make or break the deal.
But here’s the thing: hardwood can take on many different shapes and sizes and suit a potential homebuyer’s needs.
If traditional hardwood isn’t your thing, or you worry about how well it will hold up in your busy household, many options give you the look and feel of traditional hardwood with easier maintenance. How about engineered hardwood? Bamboo is a sustainable choice with many of the features of hardwood. Cork is growing in popularity because of its eco-friendly materials and softer base. If you want something that handles better in high traffic areas, you might consider ceramic tile that looks like hardwood. It’s a great way to boost your ROI while giving you a surface area you can enjoy while you’re still living in your home.
Hardwood is still popular here along the Front Range; that isn’t going to change. But the good news is technology has kept up with demand, and offers you many different options. Even luxury vinyl planks can provide you with the look and feel of hardwood, only with waterproof features. That means your pets and kids won’t ruin the finish almost as fast as you have it installed.
The key is in finding what works well for your family life, and marrying that up with something that looks great now and holds up well as you inch closer to putting your house up for sale.
Carpet – make sure it looks its best
People often assume carpet is a turnoff to potential homebuyers. Not so.
What is a turnoff is old, worn carpet with stains and dirt marks.
Certain flooring options work well in different parts of your home. Carpet still has a place in bedrooms, playrooms, and media spaces. If you love your carpet and don’t want to move away from this flooring material, your best bet as you remodel is to upgrade with a high quality carpet.
As buyers walk through a potential home, they move through a mental checklist of projects they’ll have to take on. The more a home fits their needs, the greater chance it has of staying on the potential purchase list. If you’re debating how to make an old carpet look better, it might be worth the expense to install something new. But don’t look at the bottom line first. Instead, look at quality first. If you move in two to three years and it already is showing signs of wear, you’ll never get your investment from it. If you move to higher quality materials, it may look like it’s brand new.
Vinyl – it’s a popular choice in today’s market
If you’ve started looking at flooring, chances are you’ve looked at today’s vinyl products. Luxury vinyl planks and tiles are a hot item because of the benefits they offer.
Do you want hardwood without the high cost and maintenance? Luxury vinyl planks can give you the look you desire.
Want a luxurious bathroom with the look and feel of marble … without the cost? Luxury vinyl tiles may be just what you’re looking for.
While people love traditional hardwood, it’s not the best choice in rooms that see a lot of wear and tear.
Flooring in the kitchen goes through all kinds of messes – how about a broken jar of pickle? Or an overflowing drain that’s clogged from dinner the night before?
Bathrooms take a lot of abuse. Overflowing toilets. Humidity from your showers. Splash time when the kids are in the tub. Not every flooring choice can handle it all. Today’s vinyl is waterproof – yes, waterproof. That means it stands up to anything you can dish out, and looks good during the process too.
Colorado homes almost always have basements for extra living space. Below ground rooms present special circumstances that make certain flooring difficult to maintain. Not so with vinyl. It handles well in these cooler, moisture areas. Plus they continue to look good with pleasing aesthetics because of the wide variety of choices you have to choose from.
Bottom line – be mindful of the flow
Do you see potential in this post? Are you dreaming of what flooring you’ll install in your remodel, gaining a clearer picture of what can bring you the highest ROI when you list it for sale?
Before you begin, look at the big picture. Think of how someone will flow throughout your home.
Then choose flooring that follows that progression. The last thing any homeowner wants is to see transitions that don’t make sense, and a space that doesn’t flow. As a professional flooring company, that’s where we can help.
Whether you choose to have one flooring product throughout, or transition from one room to the next, flow through is everything. We can help you create eye-pleasing results as you move from room to room.
Not only will potential buyers love it, you’ll love it too. You’ll enjoy your new flooring for as long as you live in it, before you move on to your next new home.
How can we help you find the perfect choice when upgrading your flooring, to receive the highest ROI when it’s time to sell and move to the next phase of your life?