When Buying a House, Pay Attention to Flooring

Often, buyers don’t pay much attention to what’s beneath their feet when they tour a house. Sure, sometimes, if there’s lots of dated carpet, a buyer might mention that he plans to remove it. I try to find out if the plan is to recarpet or to do something else. Why? Because “something else” can be quite expensive. For example, on the Main Line, many of our homes are older and have hardwood throughout. If there is carpeting, people often assume they will remove it and have beautifully preserved hardwood underneath. Well, maybe. And maybe not. They may not only require stripping, sanding, staining and finishing, but what if there are pet stains or other major damage?  It’s difficult to repair wood floors without having the repair show.

Even if there are just throw rugs or Oriental carpets on top of wood, once the seller removes them, buyers are often surprised during the pre-settlement walk through to discover how the sunlight has faded the wood around the darker area that has been protected by the rugs. The mismatched color may require refinishing, which is a cost that may not have been expected. So pick up some corners, if possible, when you’re touring the house.

How about cracked tiles? It’s nearly impossible to replace and match cracked tiles so that the floor looks uniform. Replacing ceramic or stone tile involves a lot of expensive labor. If those cracked tiles are asbestos, like many of our basements have? For safety, you can either remove it (which requires HAZMAT methods) or cover it. Again, you may not have planned for these projects.

Even wall-to-wall carpet may hide some surprises. While you will be able to see wear and stains, you may have pet or mildew odors that carpet cleaning services can’t remove. You may also have pet or other stains that have damaged the hardwood flooring beneath.

I’m not suggesting that flooring issues should be a reason you don’t buy a house; they are surmountable and very rarely structurally unsound, I wrote this post in an effort to minimize the surprise costs that new buyers encounter.