How much would you pay for hall and stairs carpet?

malteser

We are about to exchange on a property and the vendors want to charge us for the carpets. Its pretty unusual i think but if we don't want them then apparently someone else will have them and its on the fixture and fittings list as 'not included'. They are 6+ years old and look very thin but will do until we get round to changing them. Our surveyors report noted that they were in 'fair' condition. They want £400 and given they we have recently discovered that we need to do a lot of work on the place before moving in, lifting floorboards, removing fireplaces etc we have decided they can take them in all the rooms but my husband wants to keep the hall, stairs and landing carpet so what would you consider reasonable for a 3 bed semi. Personally i think its a bit of a cheek and and resent having to pay anything but thats besides the point now. So what would you offer for the carpet?

thanks
m

Norma_Desmond

The vendors are really taking the biscuit - greedy so-and-so's! Like you said, I wouldn't pay anything for a six year old carpet, but £400 is ridiculous - I'd offer them £100 if you really want the house and hope they'd be shamed into accepting it. It's amazing to think that whilst a house is the most expensive purchase most people make in their lives, some petty idiots will quibble over wanting money for an old carpet!

dougk_2

I would say not prepared to buy them. Are they likely to actually take them up? - i doubt it its not worth the effort.

A carpet is usually pretty useless when removed and unlikely to be suitable in a new house unless its the same. They are not really saleable secondhand.

What is under the carpets, might have nice wood floor or tiles - ask to view again and take a look!

Poppy9

Agree tell them no thanks. It is so much hassle on moving day that they will struggle to lift any carpets before completion as they will have to get all their boxes and furniture out. When we have completed on houses the completion has always been around midday. This means that the house is then yours and anything still in it at this time they have to get your permission to take. You could refuse them entry and say you will get someone to remove said items and they will have to pay the bill:D

We had one vendor try to take the TV aerial or us pay £75. We were about to exchange but were not in a chain so we told him to either leave the aerial or we would pull out. He left it.:p

frugal_dougal_3

Hi malteser,

Pleased to see you back here.

With regard to the carpet query I would tell them to take them. You will probably find that they won't !
It always amazes me when people get possessive over such things when they are practically worthless (well not worth £400 anyway).

As your husband wants temporary floor covering on the stairs, hall and landing (and I don't blame him) why not see if you can get a remnant that would fit?
Some of them are quite big so you might get something suitable.

Alternatively if you say you just want these ones and offer £100 you might find they leave the lot, but my guess is that they will leave them anyway.

Think how much room they will take up in the removal van !

garysletters

I agree with all the above. Tell them to take the carpet. I wouldnt pay £400 for a new carpet in my hall and stairs let alone an old one. did they have pets at any time, it could be flea infested??

Besides, if your gonna be doing lots of work to the place then its probably gonna ruin the carpet anyway with people walking in and out with boots on.

If it's left, all the better. If they take it, wait till all the work is done then get a new carpet fitted!

Spendless

Someone did a similar thing to me when i bought my first house, asked for £300 for curtains. It was a MTH and only had 5 small windows in total!

I said no so she removed them anyway and then gave them to one of the neighbours.
Ho-hum, i wasn't bothered i bought curtains for a lot less than £300!

I agree with the others- say your not interested.

pault123

My vendor said exactly the same but she wanted £800 for hall, stairs lounge, dining room, and two bedrooms.

They are not in the greatest of condition but it means we can move in with no hassle or carpet fitting involved till we get sorted.

Told him to forget it I didn't want them. If you've read my other posts you'll know how petty and greedy this vendor is. When it came to the final negotiation he ended up saying he'd leave them anyway - the £800 was him pushing his luck hoping I might lower him to still a high price.

My advice tell him to take every last one. If their foam back carpets they wont be able to do much with them anyway, overall its a lot of work for them to uplift it and move it.

Paul

theGrinch

its a cheeky. tell them to take them and remove all the nails. any damage will be noted. I doubt its worth their while. I recently recarpeted a staircase and 2 landings for £150.

financial_filly

Don't normally post in this section as OH would panic if he saw me reading a house selling section ;-) (we moved 2 yrs ago and he is currently doing DIY which he hates!!)

Thought i would share my experience of greedy vendors! A couple of years ago we found this house we wanted to buy and we offered the full asking price - even though it was in need of a lot of work..kitchen/bathroom etc.. The cheeky so and so's said that they would only accept the offer if we paid for the carpets and curtains around £500 ish (i think), I said i didnt want them but they refused to budge..they wouldn't accept the offer unless we paid the £500. Basically and as nicely as possible i told their agent to stuff their house as i would look elsewhere!

My advice would be to tell them that you dont want the carpets and let them go to the trouble of taking them up! In my experience you have enough to do on moving day just getting all your stuff out by midday without taking up the carpets as well. And if i was you i would make sure that you continue to check on moving day with your estate agent/solicitor etc. when all the money has been transferred and the house is yours and get round to the house asap - dont give them a second longer in YOUR house than is necessary!

Bottom line - Dont give in to the greedy vendors (you have paid a fair price for the house alread)

mrcow

I'd agree too. You don't really want their manky six-year old carpets do you? (I've got a real hygiene fix about what lurks around in other peoples carpet fibres :eek:). Imagine six years of all their old crud that's been festering - and they want you to pay for it!! - no thanks!

Even if they did take all the other carpets, it's very unlikely that they'd lift the stair carpet anyhow, as they are mostly cut to fit.

I amazes me how ridiculous some people can be.....if someone else really wants them - let them just take them.