to try to get a better price for the sale of my home in Spring, 2010. I live in CT; horrible seller's market. Should I even bother spending the $1300?
I would first try deep cleaning the carpeting, if that's what you have now. Also do other inexpensive decorative steps-- fresh paint, draping fabric over a curtain rod, artwork (that you then take with you).
If houses similar to yours are selling with hardwood floors then you probably should put one in. Don't under estimate pergo flooring. Some of it looks pretty nice. If your carpeting is unappealing to the majority of people then you should replace it.
Just a guess, but my take is that you are unlikely to recover the $1300. What are the odds that a buyer would make the same choice of material? If you did the job with a really cheap material that may look good for a short time, that feels a bit shady. But that's me...
I think it depends on what is in there now if it looks bad then it probably would help. You could keep the price down by maybe getting laminate instead some of that stuff looks pretty good, or try a room size rug?
I live in a major metro area in PA and have a few friends in the real estate business -- they would all tell you to put the floor in. If your market is like ours, hardwood floors are one of the major things people look for. Just choose a fairly medium toned oak (nothing too dark or light or with an overly strongly grained pattern.) In my own experience, people are actually even more forgiving of a funky looking kitchen (where they are just as happy to remodel to their own taste) but they really would rather not put in the floors themselves, even though that is cheaper and easier than a kitchen remodel. People tend to be grossed out by carpeting in a house any more, even if it looks new. It doesn't feel clean to them. If it is old -- forget it. They will either nix the house or use the carpet as an excuse to beat you down on the price. I wish I had spent the money to have it put in my late mother's house before I sold it. I could have gotten double what I would have spent back on the sale, based on what I saw similar houses with hardwood go for in the neighborhood.
