Hardwood under carpet... Refinish or re carpet over? Stairs too!

[Carson Wilcox]

OK... so I have found hardwood under my carpet in my current flip.  It is in the bedrooms upstairs, hall, landing and stairs.  the downstairs is a mishmosh of surfaces and we plan to laminate over them..

My first issue is obviously cost... the cost to refinish them vs the carpet...  any experience here?

2ndly what about having oak flooring on stairs leading off a downstairs in another color of laminate?  I think this is kinda fugly and mismatch... but i dont want to pass an opportunity to have the hardwood if I can make it work...

[JD Martin]

Refinish and add a runner - a cheap one if it's a low dollar house, maybe a little nicer if it's nicer.  Having the hardwood exposed on either side will make a big difference to buyers. It screams quality.