Please don't use that cheap, fake wood for your floor replacement if you're selling.

[ryanshana]

Well, I'm not looking in that price point so I want to be able to eliminate cheap upgrades that I will have to tear out before I move in. I suppose no one is using granite in kitchen upgrades in Charlotte either? I've spent loads of time in Charlotte but in more upscale houses and I guarantee you-rarely do people use cheap laminate to upgrade bad flooring. While there are a few really good quality and pretty laminates, I'm talking about the laminates that have wood grain printed on them and they look like cheap linoleum.

Why do you guys hate me for wanting my home built of quality products? I don't care what you have in your home-just don't think cheap laminate is an upgrade or suitable in higher level pricepoint homes. It's just not appropriate and it wastes your time and money.

Anyway, I might have found a house. My resl estate agent just called me.
YAY!

I don't hate you for wanting your home built of a quality product. But saying that my home isn't built of quality product cause you feel that hardwood is better then laminate isn't rigth. And even in your heading you DO care what I have in my home cause you are telling people what they should and should not use. Just because you think that it is cheap doesn't mean that everyone does.

If you don't like it don't tell people what they should and shouldn't do....move on to a house you like.

 

[focusondisney]

Hi again! Now that I think about it, those home make over & flip this house type shows actually tell the sellers to do this. They are always having the sellers replace the kitchen floors with some type of do it yourself tiles to increase the sale price & move the home quicker. Maybe that's why some sellers are doing this.

 

[Angelhalo]

Well, I'm not looking in that price point so I want to be able to eliminate cheap upgrades that I will have to tear out before I move in. I suppose no one is using granite in kitchen upgrades in Charlotte either? I've spent loads of time in Charlotte but in more upscale houses and I guarantee you-rarely do people use cheap laminate to upgrade bad flooring. While there are a few really good quality and pretty laminates, I'm talking about the laminates that have wood grain printed on them and they look like cheap linoleum.

Why do you guys hate me for wanting my home built of quality products? I don't care what you have in your home-just don't think cheap laminate is an upgrade or suitable in higher level pricepoint homes. It's just not appropriate and it wastes your time and money.

Anyway, I might have found a house. My resl estate agent just called me.
YAY!

Who said they hated you? Simmer down honey

You made a blanket statement about people replacing flooring in their home. I'm just giving you real information based on price points and what is selling right now and why. And no, in median priced homes, no one is replacing old countertops with granite here.

I think you're getting very touchy over something and taking it personally. No one has attacked you or said that they hate you. If you want real wood and can afford it then good for you. But the truth is that some people might have horrible old dirty carpets that would keep their home from selling and they can't afford to dump a bunch of money into real wood just to sell their house. Especially when 99% of the time laminate will do the trick as far as getting the house sold. if you don't like laminate that is fine, move along, but it is rude and tacky to tell people what they can and can't put into their home in order to sell it.

 

[MrsPete]

It's not so much that people put in laminate wood floors, it's that they put in those floors and raised the price of the house thinking the new flooring raised the value of their home, when in your opinion, it does not.

I can buy that.

Adding a bathroom increases the value of your home.
Replacing worn-out flooring is a maintenance issue; it doesn't make the house more valuable. However, since so many people today prefer a wood look (hardwood or laminate), replacing carpet with wood flooring of some type will probably make the house sell faster.

Well, I'm not looking in that price point so I want to be able to eliminate cheap upgrades that I will have to tear out before I move in. I suppose no one is using granite in kitchen upgrades in Charlotte either? I've spent loads of time in Charlotte but in more upscale houses and I guarantee you-rarely do people use cheap laminate to upgrade bad flooring.

I've lived in Charlotte, and the vast majority of the homes there ARE NOT "upscale houses". Oh, Charlotte has its share of nice neighborhoods, but they're not a majority of the homes in that area.

Why do you guys hate me for wanting my home built of quality products? I don't care what you have in your home-just don't think cheap laminate is an upgrade or suitable in higher level pricepoint homes. It's just not appropriate and it wastes your time and money.

No one hates you, and in your first post you never gave us any indication that you were talking about "higher level pricepoints". Whether you meant it that way or not, you definitely did come off sounding snobby.

 

[Disney Doll]

Ah ha! I think I see your complaint now!!!!

It's not so much that people put in laminate wood floors, it's that they put in those floors and raised the price of the house thinking the new flooring raised the value of their home, when in your opinion, it does not.

Precisely! When DH & I were house-hunting, I can't tell you the # of houses that had something in them that the homeowners thought should absolutely add to the value (read increase the price) of their house, that was their taste but they thought that the potential homebuyer should pay for it.

I looked at a house with knotty pine panelling everywhere. In a den, OK. In a finished basement, OK. ALL over the house...livingroom, kitchen, bedrooms. The bath had tile but a knotty pine vanity. All this knotty pine was "handmade" according to the owner...I guess the husband fancied himself a woodworker. And they expected everyone to pay a premium for the "handmade knotty pine" woodworking that I would have torn out the second I owned the house.

Then there was another house with the bathroom with the lilac tile from 1960. I happened to think the color was pretty (when I finally bought my house, I actually ended up painting my master own bath lilac because of that bathroom), but they were calling it "retro"...it wasn't retro...retro is new stuff stylized as something from a while back. This was actually the 1960 tile. But they were adding a premium onto the cost of ther home for this "retro" look...trying to pass it off as redone in retro style.

If you want to put in cheap flooring to spruce the place up, that's fine. The fact is that even cheap flooring will look OK for at least a few years until the new homeowner has some time to catch their breath and regroup enough $$ to start making their own changes. But don't advertise "insert flooring style here flooring" as if it's something special, unless it really is something special.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

The only way anyone will be 100% pleased with a home is if they build their own. Even then, people have things they want to change. I'd rather see a nice, new laminate than a nasty, old floor any day. Most people I know would agree, as well.

 

[AftertheSunset]

Well, that's true. You did put it in to please yourself. Just don't expect the buyer of your house to pay a premium for "laminate" floors if they are cheap, because that won't be happening either.

The rules of the game work both ways. You don't have to put it in to please me and I don't have to pay a premium for what you put in that you like that I don't.

Pay a premium?

Our neighbor is actually a real estate agent and she said it was a smart move to put in ANY type of wood floors versus the lineoleum that came with the house. She said it WILL increase our value, by a few thousand dollars. If it does, great...if it doesn't, I don't really care. I love the el-cheap-o laminate wood floors. It looks great!

So what happens if a seller puts in granite countertops that I don't want? Should I say how dare they ask more money because THEY put in granite countertops that I didn't want?

 

[Disney Doll]

Pay a premium?

Our neighbor is actually a real estate agent and she said it was a smart move to put in ANY type of wood floors versus the lineoleum that came with the house. She said it WILL increase our value, by a few thousand dollars. If it does, great...if it doesn't, I don't really care. I love the el-cheap-o laminate wood floors. It looks great!

So what happens if a seller puts in granite countertops that I don't want? Should I say how dare they ask more money because THEY put in granite countertops that I didn't want?

Only if you consider granite countertops comparable to cheap laminate flooring.

 

[ryanshana]

Pay a premium?

Our neighbor is actually a real estate agent and she said it was a smart move to put in ANY type of wood floors versus the lineoleum that came with the house. She said it WILL increase our value, by a few thousand dollars. If it does, great...if it doesn't, I don't really care. I love the el-cheap-o laminate wood floors. It looks great!

So what happens if a seller puts in granite countertops that I don't want? Should I say how dare they ask more money because THEY put in granite countertops that I didn't want?

MTE!!!

And I guarantee that my house increase in value after I removed the 1950 linoleum and old 1970s shag carpeting (and the glitter popcorn ceiling but that's another story, )

 

[C.Ann]

Well, I'm not looking in that price point so I want to be able to eliminate cheap upgrades that I will have to tear out before I move in. I suppose no one is using granite in kitchen upgrades in Charlotte either? I've spent loads of time in Charlotte but in more upscale houses and I guarantee you-rarely do people use cheap laminate to upgrade bad flooring. While there are a few really good quality and pretty laminates, I'm talking about the laminates that have wood grain printed on them and they look like cheap linoleum.

Why do you guys hate me for wanting my home built of quality products? I don't care what you have in your home-just don't think cheap laminate is an upgrade or suitable in higher level pricepoint homes. It's just not appropriate and it wastes your time and money.

Anyway, I might have found a house. My resl estate agent just called me.
YAY!

There's an old saying: "You get what you pay for".. So if you're willing to pay more to get a home with only what you feel is the best quality, grab your wallet and go for it!!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

I just hate the real estate environment of today. We built our "dream home" seven years ago. We spared no expense in putting in the best materials, especially in the kitchen and bathroons. Five years later we had to relocate and put it on the market.

Immediately we were hit with comments from realtors about the need to upgrade our "dated" bathrooms and kitchens. Our kitchen was black granite and cherry cabinets. I was told darker woods were in and only light granite would do. Our bathrooms were granite with cut out sunken sinks. I was told that bowl sinks were now the style.

We couldn't see why we would destroy perfectly functional and beautiful rooms because they weren't as fashionable only 5 years later.

The house was on the market for almost a year before we switched realtors. We hired the first realtor stager and had it staged, with new paint, furniture, etc. We did it all over again for the second realtor's stager. It sold 6 months later.

The money we poured into that house to stage it was incredible. What happened to people's imagination where they can't see past your furniture or choice of wall color?

Now we have been asked to relocate again. It is a great opportunity for our family, but I absolutely HATE the prospect of having to sell our home. It's been almost 2 years since the last house and I still have post-tramatic stress over it. lol

 

[SC Minnie]

I kind of see where the OP is coming from. If the median home price in your area is $175 and you are looking in the $300's or higher you expect to see higher end flooring like real hardwood, solid surface countertops, stainless steel appliances, etc.

Maybe the title should have been worded a little different.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

People tend to put when they like and can afford in their homes.. If you don't like it, move along to another house.. Someone else will come along and buy that home who isn't quite as particular..

Amen!

 

[Angelhalo]

I kind of see where the OP is coming from. If the median home price in your area is $175 and you are looking in the $300's or higher you expect to see higher end flooring like real hardwood, solid surface countertops, stainless steel appliances, etc.

Maybe the title should have been worded a little different.

I can understand how people might see it that way....I think the thing that people forget to think about though is other people. They have no idea why the seller is selling. Perhaps they are on the verge of bankruptcy and they can't afford to replace the flooring with real wood in order to sell their home.

It may seem crazy to those who hate laminate but, homes even in the higher priced range really do sell more easily with wood laminate than with old grungy carpet. I can understand that some people do not want laminate, do not like laminate etc. But, those people simply need to keep moving to the next house.

To try to make the ssumption that because they are selling a fancier house automatically means that they can afford to redo the house with real wood floors is quite presumptuous. Just because they are trying to sell a nicer house doesn't automatically mean they have buckets of money to pour into the home in order to sell it. Many people opt for the wood laminate over leaving their floors in nasty condition, because it really does help the home sell, while not costing them a fortune.

 

[SC Minnie]

I can understand how people might see it that way....I think the thing that people forget to think about though is other people. They have no idea why the seller is selling. Perhaps they are on the verge of bankruptcy and they can't afford to replace the flooring with real wood in order to sell their home.

It may seem crazy to those who hate laminate but, homes even in the higher priced range really do sell more easily with wood laminate than with old grungy carpet. I can understand that some people do not want laminate, do not like laminate etc. But, those people simply need to keep moving to the next house.

To try to make the ssumption that because they are selling a fancier house automatically means that they can afford to redo the house with real wood floors is quite presumptuous. Just because they are trying to sell a nicer house doesn't automatically mean they have buckets of money to pour into the home in order to sell it. Many people opt for the wood laminate over leaving their floors in nasty condition, because it really does help the home sell, while not costing them a fortune.

I agree but if you are have check list on what you won't settle for (which is personal taste) then it is what it is. I just think the OP could have worded her title and post a little different and got different responses.

We have real hardwood and engineered wood (laminate) in our house. I really don't care what other people think about it. If I could have afforded to replace the vinyl and carpet with real hardwood I would have but.... Then again we don't have a high end home. If we ever had to sell it will have to sell with what is in there.

 

[barkley]

I kind of see where the OP is coming from. If the median home price in your area is $175 and you are looking in the $300's or higher you expect to see higher end flooring like real hardwood, solid surface countertops, stainless steel appliances, etc.

Maybe the title should have been worded a little different.

it depends, with the way the market is right now a buyer can be much better off telling a realtor what they are looking for IN a house as the first priority vs. a price range as the first priority expecting that since it's in what they consider to be at the higher price end of the area and expecting it to have what they want in it.

as an example-when we sold at the end of the sellers market in 2006 you could'nt touch a home in our very (for our region) middle class neighborhood for less than $600,000. the homes that people had upgraded to hardwoods and granite, with swimming pools and such of course went for much more but just the basic with builder grade carpet, some tile flooring, original builder flat white paint, and tile countertops were still going for around $620,000. now in that neighborhood today the houses that are selling are going for as much as 50% less-with the average price around $350,000 for one with all the top upgrades, a big price reduction yes-but if you were an original owner in our neighborhood it still makes for a significant profit. a person who went to a realtor with a price range of say $500,000 is'nt going to be shown homes in that neighborhood, they are going to be shown a much smaller pool of homes that are a few years newer but the owners paid much more than those of us that bought originaly in our neighborhood (our homes originaly sold for the high 190's)-and those homes because they were much more expensive in an inflated seller's market have often not been upgraded to the extent the much less expensive homes have been. if they told the realtor they were looking for x,y, and z in a home and were open to look at a variety of price points they could potentialy find a home with all the bells and whistles they wanted but at a much reduced price.


we did this to some extent when we found our current home-we were from out of the area and i contacted realtors to have them send me information on the type of home/property we were interested in. i told them i wanted to see what kind of price range these homes were in and did'nt get specific about what we were willing to pay top dollar. as a result we were sent listings all over the board-but they were tailored to what we wanted in a home. when i traveled here to look i was surprised to see that some of the much more expensively priced homes were substandard in quality to some priced much more reasonably. i think the key elements with those homes were they were either new construction with smaller builders who realy did'nt have much wiggle room they could/would come down in price or they were homes where the owners simply could'nt afford to sell for what was truly the fair market value (had their mtg and the heloc's they used to do all those upgrades driving the price they were listing at).

 

[AftertheSunset]

Only if you consider granite countertops comparable to cheap laminate flooring.

I DO!! I wanted a marble or quartz countertop instead, which is much more expensive. How DARE the seller think they can charge more for a CHEAP upgrade like granite!? UGH!

 

[Disney Doll]

I DO!! I wanted a marble or quartz countertop instead, which is much more expensive. How DARE the seller think they can charge more for a CHEAP upgrade like granite!? UGH!

Well, then ask for a counter allowance!

 

[MrsPete]

Precisely! When DH & I were house-hunting, I can't tell you the # of houses that had something in them that the homeowners thought should absolutely add to the value (read increase the price) of their house, that was their taste but they thought that the potential homebuyer should pay for it.

I looked at a house with knotty pine panelling everywhere. In a den, OK. In a finished basement, OK. ALL over the house...livingroom, kitchen, bedrooms. The bath had tile but a knotty pine vanity. All this knotty pine was "handmade" according to the owner...I guess the husband fancied himself a woodworker. And they expected everyone to pay a premium for the "handmade knotty pine" woodworking that I would have torn out the second I owned the house.

Then there was another house with the bathroom with the lilac tile from 1960. I happened to think the color was pretty (when I finally bought my house, I actually ended up painting my master own bath lilac because of that bathroom), but they were calling it "retro"...it wasn't retro...retro is new stuff stylized as something from a while back. This was actually the 1960 tile. But they were adding a premium onto the cost of ther home for this "retro" look...trying to pass it off as redone in retro style.

If you want to put in cheap flooring to spruce the place up, that's fine. The fact is that even cheap flooring will look OK for at least a few years until the new homeowner has some time to catch their breath and regroup enough $$ to start making their own changes. But don't advertise "insert flooring style here flooring" as if it's something special, unless it really is something special.

Similarly, it's funny when people advertise their "custom home" for sale. That just means it's been done according to their particular taste. You can BUILD a custom home, but you cannot BUY one ready-made.

 

[AftertheSunset]

Precisely! When DH & I were house-hunting, I can't tell you the # of houses that had something in them that the homeowners thought should absolutely add to the value (read increase the price) of their house, that was their taste but they thought that the potential homebuyer should pay for it.

I looked at a house with knotty pine panelling everywhere. In a den, OK. In a finished basement, OK. ALL over the house...livingroom, kitchen, bedrooms. The bath had tile but a knotty pine vanity. All this knotty pine was "handmade" according to the owner...I guess the husband fancied himself a woodworker. And they expected everyone to pay a premium for the "handmade knotty pine" woodworking that I would have torn out the second I owned the house.

Then there was another house with the bathroom with the lilac tile from 1960. I happened to think the color was pretty (when I finally bought my house, I actually ended up painting my master own bath lilac because of that bathroom), but they were calling it "retro"...it wasn't retro...retro is new stuff stylized as something from a while back. This was actually the 1960 tile. But they were adding a premium onto the cost of ther home for this "retro" look...trying to pass it off as redone in retro style.

If you want to put in cheap flooring to spruce the place up, that's fine. The fact is that even cheap flooring will look OK for at least a few years until the new homeowner has some time to catch their breath and regroup enough $$ to start making their own changes. But don't advertise "insert flooring style here flooring" as if it's something special, unless it really is something special.

I thought what I underlined in red what interesting...

How do you know that the actual homeowners thought their changes should add value? How do you know it isn't the realtor selling the property that knows for a fact that it adds value?

If I would sell my home today with it's "cheap laminate flooring" and the realtor I chose TOLD ME it adds value, why wouldn't I believe them?

You make it sound like every house you went through had pushy sellers that thought their cheap floors were worth something. Honestly, have you ever thought maybe it was the realtors?

Here's an article I thought you'd enjoy reading...

http://ezinearticles.com/?Laminate-Flooring-Can-Add-Value-For-Less&id=1939506