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What flooring increases value/makes easier to sell

marvelousmarvin
10 years ago

I know that wood floors are highly coveted by buyers and will increase value of home as well as make it easier to sell. But, due to the high cost of solid hardwood floors, it probably won't increase the value of the home enough to offset the cost of installing those wood floors.

But, what about cheaper flooring options like engineered wood floors and the laminates that look strikingly look like wood floors? Will they give you a similar increase in the value of your home even though they're not as expensive as solid hardwood? Some of the cheaper stuff out there looks so good that its hard to tell that apart from the more expensive solid hardwood

If you have engineered wood floors, can you just market them as 'wood floors' or do you specifically have to say they're 'engineered wood floors'?

Or, what if you used laminate flooring that looked like real wood throughout most of the house but you also had real hardwood flooring in one of the closets? Could you market the house as having 'wood flooring' even though most of it is actually laminate?

Comments (21)

  • weedyacres
    10 years ago

    You won't be arrested for marketing laminate as wood, but buyers will see what you've got and know that you lied in your listing. They're not going to buy because of what you advertised, they're going to buy because of what they see. So I don't know that you are any better off for false advertising.

    Not to mention the moral/ethical issue that calling laminate wood is lying.

  • lazy_gardens
    10 years ago

    If I walked into a house that advertised "wood floors", showed what looked like wood floors in the listing pics, and I saw laminate or those vinyl planks, I would leave immediately even if every closet had 3/4 hand-scraped walnut.

    Engineered planks are widely variable, and cost as much as 3/4 tongue and groove. If it was a good manufacturer with a good top layer ... probably no price hit. They are preferable in some areas fortheir resistance to warping, and for over in-floor heating.

    If they had advertised "wood-grain, low maintenance floors" I'd expect the imitations. Might not visit the house, but if I did it would be knowing what I was going to see. I would also mentally revise the price downward, unless it was a special case install, like basement or slab.

    So if you start with two houses @100K ... spend 8K on mid-range real wood floors (#2 prefinished red oak) and you might sell quickly at 105K.

    Spend 2K on vinyl plank from Lowes and you would be getting offers at $95K.

  • OttawaGardener
    10 years ago

    Agree with runninginplace. Engineered hardwood is a huge step up from laminate (which is a photo of wood) but I'm not sure how much less engineered hardwood costs compared to actual hardwood.

    Laminate is for mid- to low-end housing IMO.

  • nosoccermom
    10 years ago

    I actually got hardwood floor that was finished on-site for less than laminates or engineered flooring (about 6.00/sqft installed with several coats of Bona Commercial finish). And, it wasn't a huge mess either. Another good option is Costco bamboo flooring when it's on sale.

  • terezosa / terriks
    10 years ago

    I also agree with running. There is no problem advertising engineered wood floors as "wood floors", because that's what they are.

  • mnnie
    10 years ago

    Here is Minnesota, engineered wood is more expensive & more preferable than finished on-site wood, which warps due to our temp & humidity variations.

  • brickeyee
    10 years ago

    Visit the competition in your price range and see what they have.

    This post was edited by brickeyee on Thu, Jun 13, 13 at 14:21

  • nosoccermom
    10 years ago

    "Here is Minnesota, engineered wood is more expensive & more preferable than finished on-site wood, which warps due to our temp & humidity variations."

    Indoors? Can't imagine it would be more than in other parts of the country that get 90% humidity in the summer and snow in the winter.

  • littlebug5
    10 years ago

    I am a flooring snob. When we bought our present house last year, we had solid white oak floors installed and finished on-site. Approximately $10/foot.

    I would not look with favor on anything that looked like wood but was not REAL wood and would base my offer accordingly.

    Laminate? I would turn around and walk out. I would assume all other finishes in the home to be low-grade.

  • marvelousmarvin
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    How would you be able to tell apart real wood from laminate?

    Sure, the cheaper laminate is easier to spot. But, I'm talking about the better laminate which costs $6-$8 per square feet. I was looking at that laminate side by side with wood, and I really couldn't tell them apart.

    If I walked into a room that had good laminate that looked like wood, I don't think I would have noticed that it really wasn't wood.

  • brickeyee
    10 years ago

    "How would you be able to tell apart real wood from laminate? "

    It usually only takes a very few steps on the floor to tell.

  • lyfia
    10 years ago

    You hear it as soon as you walk on it. A hard plastic surface has a very different sound than wood.

  • nosoccermom
    10 years ago

    Some laminates are not made of individual "wood strips." Rather the plank has several strips imprinted on it, and you can feel and see that.

  • gmp3
    10 years ago

    I don't care for laminate, and eliminated one home because it was entirely done in laminate. I would not have eliminated it if a room or two was laminate though.

    The prefinished hardwoods are fairly affordable at places like lumber liquidators. Bamboo is inexpensive and would be good too because it is green so you could claim it as an enviromentally friendly plus. I just would get bamboo that was caramelized or stained, not the light natural bamboo.

  • Happyladi
    10 years ago

    Since homes are on slabs here in the Dallas area, almost no one has solid wood floors. It's almost all engineered wood around here. I don't think there is a basement in my entire town of almost 100,000 people.

    Laminate is different. One easy way to tell is that laminates have repeats.

  • Tmnca
    10 years ago

    It depends on your neighborhood and geographic area. Around here, laminate is popular and much more desirable in entry level homes than carpet. Vinyl plank is being used in high end homes now, too.

    Installed hardwood is at least $10/sq ft and engineered wood is usually more (and after having it in a previous home I would not choose it again - scratches and dents as soon as you look at it).

    You might get a quicker sale with better looking flooring of any kind, but you will not get back your investment in increased sale price with any flooring. Even the vaunted kitchen and bath upgrades only recoup about 80% of the money spent in increased value.

    The best thing you can do is ensure the house is clean, neutral, and staged well.

  • kats_meow
    10 years ago

    I would not expect any listing to distinguish between engineered wood and solid wood. Around here (houses on slabs almost entirely) pretty much everything is engineered wood and it is not considered a sign of low quality.

    I would expect that laminate floors would be referred to as such in the listing. There are certain situations where I think they make sense and they do have some advantages over wood. However, I wouldn't call them wood any more than I would call ceramic tile wood. They are a different product entirely.

  • graywings123
    10 years ago

    You could say nothing in the marketing about the flooring. Many people would not notice whether the floors are wood, engineered wood, or laminate.

  • azmom
    10 years ago

    If you have to talk about wood flooring, why is it so difficult just list what the flooring is made of, instead of using general "wood flooring" that may mislead buyers?

  • live_wire_oak
    10 years ago

    One point that marvelousmarvin omitted from this discussion is that the property in question will have to serve as a rental for 4-5 years before being sold. I'm sure that will impact many peoples advice being given, as the resale in question is not being contemplated for quite a while.

    My advice was to not do any flooring upgrade until the actual selling of the home was imminent because renters will most likely damage any upgraded floor over 5 years time. Flooring for a rental house is NOT the same choice as flooring for a home that is being sold. Unless you choose something indestructible like porcelain tile. Which is a popular choice in beach communities and many warm climate states.