Q. We plan to sell our home, which has worn, stained carpet. Professional cleaning won’t remove the stains. A friend suggests we just clean the carpet as best we can and offer a credit to the buyers so they can select their own carpet color. But I worry that is not putting the best face on our house and the carpet might turn off potential buyers. What do you suggest?
A. You are correct. Replace that worn, stained carpet. Your friend is mistaken. Always get a house or condo into it’s best possible condition before offering it on the market for sale. Painting, cleaning and repairing are the most profitable.
Discounts don’t work. But don’t go overboard with major renovations. Spending a few hundred, or even a few thousand dollars on new carpet will pay off.
Most home buyers have zero imagination about how nice your home will look with new carpet. Be sure to install a good-quality, new rebond pad, which makes the new carpet comfortable to walk on to put your prospective buyers in a good mood.
Courtesy Robert Bruss; Charlotte Observer; Saturday 6/23/07
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Q. I am in the process of buying a house. The seller accepted my purchase offer. Now I can shop for the best mortgage. The first lender, the bank where I have done business at least 10 years, was very arrogant. They insisted on a $250 appraisal fee, which I paid. The appraisal came in at exactly the sales price.
When I questioned the loan officer, he said appraisers are instructed never to estimate a market value higher than the sales price (although I know I got a bargain price below market value).
I found a much better deal with another lender. But the second lender refuses to accept my copy of the first appraisal and insists I pay $300 for a second appraisal from a different appraiser. Is this legal?
A. As you have discovered, mortgage lenders hire the appraisers, not the borrower. A second mortgage lender will rarely accept an appraisal ordered by the first lender because of nonsense professional appraisal rules.
The result is you, the borrower, get stuck paying a second appraisal fee. However, if you found a much better mortgage, paying a $300 second appraisal fee is worthwhile.
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