We all know – “it takes money to make money,” and getting a home ready to sell is a perfect example of this idea. The great paradox about needing to sell your home quickly because you need the money – is that you need to spend money that you don’t have in order to do it.
Buyers pay attention to carpets – and that can help you – or hurt you
There may be tile in the bathrooms and laminate in the kitchen, but carpeting is still what covers most of the floors in a majority of homes. Even though wood, bamboo, and laminate flooring is becoming more and more popular, bedrooms and living rooms are still carpeted in most homes around the country. This means that any buyers coming through your home are going to be paying attention to your carpeting – and its condition.
To sell your home quickly, your carpeting needs to look better than the “comps”
The national average is that a couple will look at 15 homes before they buy one. If they’re in a part of the country that has a lot of homes on the market, like Georgia, they might look at 20 or 30 homes before they decide. What this means is that most potential buyers have a basis for comparison – and they are measuring your home against every other home they’ve seen. If your carpeting doesn’t look as good or better, it’s an automatic deduction, and you can be sure they will automatically estimate the cost of replacing it, and deduct that from the asking price for your home. And if the carpeting is truly terrible, or worse – it smells, it can drive a buyer out of a home entirely.
Cleaning your carpets is absolutely necessary to sell your home
To sell your home in a timely fashion – clean carpeting is imperative, especially if it covers the majority of your home. When it comes to the psychology of selling and those all-important “subliminal messages” that make a buyer decide to write up an offer – we’ve already shown you how important cleaning is – and that certainly includes the carpeting. Carpeting needs to look clean and good at the very least; clean and great would be better. And, of course, installing brand new carpeting would be one of those “added value” upgrades that can tip a buyer’s “maybe” into a “yes.”
Some people try to clean their carpeting themselves to save money – but is it worth it?
When a homeowner is in need of a quick sale because they need the money, they don’t have a lot of operating cash to spare. Because they’ve been told that their home needs a lot of cosmetic “fixes” to achieve a sale, so in desperation the often try to take on as many of these “fix-up” jobs themselves jobs to try and achieve the effect the real estate agent – or the HGTV programs – are suggesting, especially cleaning the carpeting throughout their home. In this case, however – DIY simply isn’t the best idea when it comes to your mental or physical health.
Here are some of the disadvantages of the DIY approach when it comes to carpets:
- It’s hard physical labor; you have to move all your furniture around yourself and the machines are extremely heavy
- Even cleaning 1 or 2 rooms of carpeting isn’t a matter of hours, it can be a matter of days
- The quality of rented carpet cleaning machines and the job they will do varies wildly, and using an old/poorly cleaned machine can make carpeting worse
- The cost of cleaning solution can be high (as much as $100 for 1200 sq ft home); and different carpeting requires different solutions, need to know which ones
- You don’t have the products to effectively pre-treat and remove stains
- You need to move hot, hot water through the carpeting fibers quickly, and then suction it out thoroughly to get a carpet really clean, and rented machines cannot heat the water temperature water hot enough, or extract it powerfully enough, to do a good job
- You don’t have the fans/equipment to dry the carpet thoroughly
- You don’t do it for a living, so you don’t know what you’re doing
- Because you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s easy to damage your carpet; carpeting can be ruined by over-shampooing, overwetting, and/or moving furniture over wet carpet too soon
But here’s the biggest argument against doing the job yourself is: DIY carpet cleaning jobs are virtually never as good as having a pro do it. And you need people to see clean when they step inside your door.
Yes – DIY carpet cleaning is cheaper – how much it costs to clean your carpets yourself
Yes, the professionals can do a much better job of cleaning your carpet, yes, your carpets will look far better, yes, your beautifully cleaned carpet can help sell your house, but no – you don’t have to get it cleaned by a professional. In spite of the pros of a professional and the cons of a DIY carpet cleaning, doing it yourself is cheaper, and it is better than not cleaning your carpeting at all. Here is the approximate cost to clean your carpeting yourself:
- $25-$35 carpet cleaner rental 24 hours (1-2 rooms + hall)
- $35-$45 carpet cleaner rental 48 hours (3-4 rooms to whole house)
- $18-$75 cleaning solution
Why you should have your carpets professionally cleaned instead
In terms of renting a carpet and cleaner and trying to do 1500 to 2500+ sq ft of carpet yourself, the hard and simple truth is that you cannot possibly do the job on your carpets that a professional company can do, you simply do not have the expertise or the equipment. Period.
Here is one of the cosmetic upgrades where you really are better off having a pro do the job rather than trying to do it yourself to save money. You’re under enough stress; having a pro do it will save your sanity and your back. You will need both for other things.
How much will a professional carpet cleaning cost
There are a couple of different ways companies will offer you the upfront cost of having your carpets professionally cleaned: per room, and per square foot. With the first kind of estimate, you can generally get a quote over the phone, but it won’t be as accurate, and it will probably be somewhat inflated to compensate for what they won’t be able to assess until they see the home. With the second kind of estimate, you will get a more accurate up-front cost, but the cleaner must come in and actually assess the job in order to give you the estimate on what it will cost.
For chemical cleaning:
- $124-$240 to clean partial home, living room, bdrm, hall (approx. 650 sqft)
- $186-$390 clean 1300 sqft house, 3 bdrms, livingroom, hall (approx. 975 sqft)
- $323-$600 to clean 2200 sqft house,3 bdrms, living room, family room, hall (approx. 1700 sqft)
For steam cleaning:
- $100-$208 to clean partial home, living room, bdrm, hall (approx. 650 sqft)
- $150-$304 clean 1300 sqft house, 3 bdrms, livingroom, hall (approx. 975 sqft)
- $180-$544 to clean 2200 sqft house,3 bdrms, living room, family room, hall (approx. 1700 sqft)
Additional costs can include:
- $2-$3 per stair for staircase carpeting
- $30 average for stain removal per 300 sqft of carpet (some companies will include for free)
- $10 average for deodorizing per 300 sqft average (pet urine will be more)
- each company has individual furniture moving policies; usually light furniture will be moved free
Cleaning your carpets will always pay for itself when it comes to selling a home
If you go the DIY route, the total cost to clean your carpets yourself averages approximately $78-$156 depending on the square footage of your home. If you choose to bring in a professional company, the total cost to have your carpets cleaned averages approximately $150-$600 depending on the square footage of your home, and which method is used. Either way, cleaning your carpet doesn’t just improve your chances of selling your home, it is virtually guaranteed to pay for itself when you’re trying to sell your home.
“But my carpets are ruined!” When its time to replace your carpeting instead of cleaning it
Sometimes, carpeting is simply in such disastrous shape that it’s a liability when it comes to selling your home. When that’s the case, replacing it may be necessary to help create the positive image you need to sell your home.
There is no point in sugarcoating it, dealing with your homes cosmetic challenges is going to be difficult and expensive, no matter what “fixes” you undertake. Cleaning your carpets is tough enough, but if you have to replace your carpeting entirely, your finances will take even more of a hit. If the carpeting in your home is in truly terrible condition it can discourage interest, and actually kill a sale. These are the signs that you have to replace your carpet, rather than simply try to clean it:
- serious, irreversible stains; bleach, paint, markers, nail polish, etc.
- damaged carpets, tears, threadbare, fading, unevenly colored carpeting
- carpet that smells, especially pets (urine)
- rippling, pulling away from walls and doorways
- dated, old carpeting – eg – shag, large patterns or sculptured carpet; an obvious sign carpeting is more than 15 years old & will need to be replaced
- allergens, dustmites; obvious from allergic reactions when someone enters the house
- mold; obvious from allergic reactions when someone enters the house
- unattractive colors; dark colors, pastel pinks or blues
- many different colors/styles; different kind of carpeting or different colors of carpet in every room
How much it costs to replace carpeting – one room – or a whole house
If you’re trying to sell your home as quickly as possible, it doesn’t make sense to put in anything but the least expensive carpeting option available, but if you are trying to bring in higher offers, it can make sense to put in a higher quality carpet, just be careful of your ROI (return on investment). Beyond a certain amount, you won’t recoup the money you put into replacing carpeting, though it will always up the appeal quotient in a buyer’s eyes.
If you’re considering replacing the carpeting, make sure to inquire about the carpet pad. If yours is in decent condition you can save money by keeping it and simply replacing the carpeting, but if it’s shot you’ll have to replace both. Some companies and types of carpeting will include padding, and while this is the most cost efficient, it isn’t going to be the best quality, but it will get the job done. Some companies will also include installation, but there are apt to be additional charges or fees for anything out of the ordinary, like steps or oddly shaped rooms.
Of course the cost varies considerably around the country, and is affected by any number of variables, but the average, approximate cost of replacing carpeting and padding – with labor – will run:
- $436.00 ($3.64 per sq ft) to $570.00 ($4.75 per sqft) for a 10 X 12 room (120 sq ft) using the most economical carpeting, padding, and installation
- $3,190 ($$3.27 per sq ft) to $4,160 ($4.27 per sq ft) for a 1500 sq ft home (appx 975 sq ft of carpet) using the most economical carpeting, padding and installation
