Small carpet damage in house we're selling - what to do?

SuseOrm

I put down brand-new carpets to sell our previous property cost me over £2000 went back to pick up something I forgotten after they moved in and they ripped up everyone of them. I won’t bother again

BikingBud

SuseOrm said:

I put down brand-new carpets to sell our previous property cost me over £2000 went back to pick up something I forgotten after they moved in and they ripped up everyone of them. I won’t bother again

Perhaps better to spend it on improving the energy efficiency.

Herbalus

alibean121 said:

I don't really agree with the other posters. I'm buying a house right now and 100% expect to find damaged/stained areas that were hidden under/behind furniture etc. I wouldn't be pleased about the moths though... On reflection, it's a bit odd that there's no question on pests on the property information form, it would be helpful as it's hard to tell while viewing.

This. Houses are rarely perfect and I imagine a lot of homeowners will actually cover up blemishes to hide them from themselves. Case in point is a dodgy wall we have, structurally sound but very old and the paper is cracking quite badly in one small place. The only solution really is to strip and re plaster the whole wall, but that’s something we don’t want to do so we’ve just put a wardrobe in front of it. That’s how we live with it - are we supposed to remove the wardrobe or tell prospective purchasers about the blemish? We’ve lived with it like that for 7 years now. 

macman

No, you do not need to tell the buyers about any blemishes. It's up to them to make their own inspection, and ask the right questions.

TheJP

macman said:

No, you do not need to tell the buyers about any blemishes. It's up to them to make their own inspection, and ask the right questions.

This is hardly a blemish. Carpets in 2 rooms have been destroyed by moths. The owner has purposely then covered this up, they will have to disclose the moth information in the forms prior to exchange. 

If i was a buyer and found this myself rather than the seller be open id be wondering what else they are hiding.

Skiddaw1

The OP said there are two theadbare patches, both about the size of a paperback book. It's hardly the same as the carpets being destroyed by moths. In addition, from what the OP said, the moth problem has been resolved so it isn't likely any further damage will occur. 

I shall bow out at this point but to my mind, the OP has done nothing to be ashamed of.

TheJP

Skiddaw1 said:

The OP said there are two theadbare patches, both about the size of a paperback book. It's hardly the same as the carpets being destroyed by moths. In addition, from what the OP said, the moth problem has been resolved so it isn't likely any further damage will occur. 

I shall bow out at this point but to my mind, the OP has done nothing to be ashamed of.

I guess whether they are deemed destroyed or not will be up to the buyer. We know the moth problem has been resolved but the buyer doesn't and could cause issues if they then find out it was a pest issue. As a buyer i would be more at ease if it was pointed from the start and made clear the issue has been dealt with. Not everyone changes carpets in the house the buy, i haven't in the 2 i have bought.

AliceBanned

When I moved in to my flat last year, I found similar large carpet moth patches but I know they had been hidden under the sellers' furniture, which judging by the marks on the carpet they didn't move for years so couldn't have known about. This was a lesson for me in carpet moths, as my friend told me what the patches were and then found some live larvae under the carpet lol. It was a bit gross but I really don't think the sellers knew, they just weren't very interested in spring cleaning, or any renovations/refresh at all really and I could see this when I viewed. It was a doer upper that I wanted so I was prepared to ignore a few things. I also didn't get a survey done as money was tight which in hindsight was a bit silly. Carpet was wool and probably nearly 30 years old, and scruffy.

As an aside, I treated the carpet moths with rentokill powder but it takes a while. In case anyone needs to know this. I then bought new moth-proof carpet just in case, as the larvae can survive in the floorboards I think or new adult moths come in and lay 1000 of invisible eggs and the carpet is eaten again. Funnily enough my friend who spotted the moth patches went home and checked his Axminster wool carpets and found he had small eaten patches too under furniture. With wool they may well get in there and it isn't known until you see a bald patch, the critters! 

I would neither cover it up nor point it out. It is up to the buyer to look in as much detail as they wish. When I viewed I also didn't look under a mat that had been placed by a bedroom balcony door but after I moved in it was clear that it was covering damaged carpet, looks like by condensation or a leak. 

I knew when I bought the flat that the carpets were old, so I was already prepared to replace them and put an offer in to reflect this. Just be transparent but you don't need to tell them the negatives, as long as you aren't actively hiding them. I did think it sneaky of my sellers to have the extra mat hiding the stains but it wasn't a major issue, I was just glad to have the move over with and that I had bought a do-er upper anyway. It can be tricky doing viewings as I am over-polite, respecting the seller and their home rather than checking everything, so I never do the things like run the shower, which you are supposed to do. Maybe my next move will be a bit more strategic but then as mentioned I was personally happy with the discount I got on the property as it was in a location I really wanted and hadn't thought I could afford. 

Mrs_F_2017

As a buyer. I think it would make me worry about what else you might be covering up! 

trakky14

Interesting discussion, we have an area in our downstairs loo that previously had a shower. Its a tiled floor. We took the shower out but it left an area of untiled floor, approx 1-2 square meters. We filled it with concrete and made it level as we were unable to find a good match for the existing tiles, we have a book case and small rug over the top of it so it isn't seen. I never even thought about declaring this to be honest until I saw this thread! I guess once we move out and take the bookcase with us our buyers will see the untiled area, they've been twice now to view. 

I don't think something like a fraying carpet would bother me, they obviously need replacing anyway. How many cupboards/sofas/pictures hide a multitude of sins when people are house buying?