Monday, February 08, 2010 finds the skies clear and the sun shining in Bellingham, WA. The sailboats and pleasure craft are sitting idle on a calm bay this morning beckoning their seaworthy owners to take them for a spin. J

Ericka Pizzillo Cohen, a writer for The Bellingham Herald, has compiled a list of tips gathered from local real estate agents and inspectors and included them in her July 23, 2009 article, Dealing in Details. These tips will prove valuable for buyers who want to look beyond the surface of a home and for sellers who want the best sales price.

• Outdated tile that a buyer wants to replace is typically the toughest flooring to remove and is likely to involve the most expense to change.
• Look for cupping in wood laminate flooring, which can indicate previous water damage.
• Bumps and creases in carpeting are easy, inexpensive fixes with carpet stretching by a flooring professional.
• Vinyl flooring should be flat, with no humps, bumps or divots.
• Check for slopes in interior floors. It could indicate normal settling in an older home or foretell costly foundation damage. 

TIPS FOR SELLERS:

• Old hardwoods can be “freshened” with a professional screening and coating, a fix that’s less costly than a full refinishing.
• Consider professional grout cleaning and sealing on tile.
• Steam clean carpets no matter how old they are.
• If the carpets have any pet or smoke smell, remove and replace them.
• Use a vinyl refresher product to spruce up aging kitchen and bathroom floors.

“If I walk in and see a severe slope to the floor, we’re going to check underneath to make sure something is not rotting or that someone tried to level the house and didn’t do a good job,” said Richard Pen, owner of Dependable Home Inspection and an instructor at Bellingham Technical College.

 “Hard surfaces, such as tile and hardwood are generally more sellable than carpeting,” Greg Neufeldt, owner of Lynden Flooring and Design on Front Street.