So, my realtor suggested that we should replace the carpet in our house before putting it up for sale. They pointed out that our current carpet is pretty worn out and damaged, especially from our cats scratching at it. The realtor recommended focusing on replacing the carpet downstairs first since that’s the area that creates the first impression for potential buyers. However, most of the damage is actually upstairs and on the stairs.
I’m feeling a bit hesitant about tackling this task because moving all the furniture around seems like a massive job that I’m honestly not ready for. Plus, I’m worried that our cats might just end up damaging the new carpet anyway. I proposed the idea of offering a credit for the flooring instead of replacing it, but the realtor believes that replacing the carpet would be more attractive to potential buyers.
While I might be open to replacing the carpet downstairs, I really don’t think I can handle the project of redoing the upstairs. It would involve moving everything downstairs and then back up, which just seems like a hassle. It feels a bit pointless to replace the carpet downstairs when buyers might end up asking for a credit after seeing the damaged carpet upstairs.
Just to give you a heads up, the damage on the carpet is mainly from my cats clawing at specific spots, particularly a one-foot-wide threadbare area on the stairs and a three-inch-wide spot under a door where they scratched after getting locked in my office by mistake. The carpet itself isn’t stained or smelling of urine (I regularly shampoo it and always check with my guests about any odors in my house, haha).
Our house is quite old, over a century old in fact, and will need some work done upstairs that will involve removing the flooring anyway. Any potential buyer who goes upstairs will see this, regardless of the condition of the current carpet.