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Yeah, countertops aren't bad, they're just a PITA.
I agree with the Silestone and other man-made stone counters. Luckily our kitchen has quartz countertops already (Zodiaq, not Silestone). I have seen some AMAZING looking concrete counters, too. They are doing some really cool looking stuff with recycled glass countertops, as well. Bottom line is that if it looks good and is at least as durable and low maintenance as granite - you're probably good.
Flooring isn't as big of a deal, but if we're talking NEW and not just "new to me" house, it better have some hardwoods and real ceramic tile....
Seeing as Charlotte is so transient with such a variety of housing options, including plenty of new construction options, you've all likely shopped for homes several times over the years. In that process, I was wondering what you look for already done in a house.
The idea being that certain finishes would be prohibitively expensive to add after you bought, but others could be added somewhat cost efficiently later.
So, if you were shopping for a new house today - what finishes would you be looking for already done?
As someone who has tried (and failed) to sell my house and looked at others very recently, I would say this is very relevant to the price point of the house.
It would turn me off when a seller was asking low to mid400's and there wasn't crown in every room. Now, if that same seller was asking low300's, then I wouldn't care and I would install it myself (and yes, it is a PITA).
Granite/silestone in the kitchen seems to be a must these days with any house over 300k. My house doesn't have it and we were asking 300k and had at least 2 showings where buyers mentioned the lack of stone.
Likewise, I want solid cabinetry unless I am getting a steep discount to replace after closing. Carpet is the same deal, though I wouldn't expect as much of a discount.
Concerning those TV alcoves... I hate those things, not because they look bad, but because they are usually too small to handle anything larger than a 40 inch flat screen. If a house has one, and you have a large flat screen, then you could be looking at a fairly significant effort reworking the alcove. That said, if there isn't an alcove, I like to see a family room that is already wired to hang a TV on the wall, surround sound and all. I just did this project in my house and it was painful to say the least.
Other stuff:
Flooring in general: No linoleum... tile/wood/carpet only (preferably tile). Good laminate wood floors are ok, but strongly prefer site finished stuff.
Crown or finishing molding on cabinetry. Giant PITA to install and can be very pricey for solid hardwood.
For basements, no hung ceilings... prefer dry walled finish.
No popcorn ceilings.
No Brass door fixtures or faucets/shower doors... replacing every hinge and doorknob in a house gets expensive. Lights are easy to swap.
As someone who has tried (and failed) to sell my house and looked at others very recently, I would say this is very relevant to the price point of the house.
heh - you saw through to my ulterior motive! Not that I was hiding it or anything, but as I am continually looking at houses on the market and the finishes I'm seeing at certain asking prices is blowing my mind. I concur with you on so many points it's creepy - get outta my head!
Ooo! I'm so happy to see someone mention the brass knobs. We just replace all of ours with Venetian bronze levers. It looks so much better to me, so I'm glad it's on the list of important finishes!
...It would turn me off when a seller was asking low to mid400's and there wasn't crown in every room. Now, if that same seller was asking low300's, then I wouldn't care and I would install it myself (and yes, it is a PITA)...
I, personally, wouldn't want crown in EVERY room. In some rooms crown doesn't seem to look "right", IMO. Which, doesn't really have anything to do with price point.
There's no way to escape individual buyer preference, I suppose.
heh - you saw through to my ulterior motive! Not that I was hiding it or anything, but as I am continually looking at houses on the market and the finishes I'm seeing at certain asking prices is blowing my mind. I concur with you on so many points it's creepy - get outta my head!
lol, yes, I remember reading a lot of your posts in the "neighborhood" threads when we got serious about trying to sell our house. I still look a lot too despite not being able to make a move right now... stuff is addictive.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hooligan
I, personally, wouldn't want crown in EVERY room. In some rooms crown doesn't seem to look "right", IMO. Which, doesn't really have anything to do with price point.
There's no way to escape individual buyer preference, I suppose.
I guess I am a stickler for crown I don't completely disagree, i.e., I don't need crown in my laundry room or in a room with sloped ceilings. It can also be a challenge in older homes where 8ft ceilings are the standard and even a 3 1/4 inch crown can "crowd" the look.
...It can also be a challenge in older homes where 8ft ceilings are the standard and even a 3 1/4 inch crown can "crowd" the look.
Quite. This is the same thing that's keeping me from having a coffered ceiling in our bonus room. I'm afraid that it will make the 9' ceilings feel low...
I am afraid to post, b/c I am into 18th C Williamsburg decor, and so I pay a lot of money to buy Colonial Williamsburg reproduction brass hardware. My home is done in historic colors and all my furniture is period.
But every house I put on the market has sold within hours, so there must be folks like me out there. In fact, here in Charlotte, that is what natives typically have aspired to - Colonial Williamsburg homes.
Now you all have me feeling sick. All this work and it appears today's buyers are not into Williamsburg. (My house is a Georgian, all brick, typical hipped roof - so the decor matches the style of home). I bet you all hate hipped roofs and Georgians/Federalists, lol. Dear me.
Last edited by brokensky; 05-18-2010 at 02:14 PM..
I am afraid to post, b/c I am into 18th C Williamburg decor, and so I pay a lot of money to buy Colonial Williamsburg reproduction brass hardware. My home is done in historic colors and all my furniture is period.
But every house I put on the market has sold within hours, so there must be folks like me out there. In fact, here in Charlotte, that is what natives typically have aspired to - Colonial Williamsburg homes.
Now you all have me feeling sick. All this work and it appears today's buyers are not into Williamsburg. (My house is a Georgian, all brick, typical hipped roof - so the decor matches the style of home). I bet you all hate hipped roofs and Georgians/Federalists, lol. Dear me.
I love this look and seeing how so many builders in the area copy it, I'd disagree that people hate it... The only thing I don't like with the true "period" homes are how small the rooms can be. People were smaller back then and I'm a big guy!
I think all of what was already said are things I look for, but a big one for me is the wood floors throughout the bottom floor! yes you can replace them later but what a PIA.
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I don't completely disagree, i.e., I don't need crown in my laundry room or in a room with sloped ceilings. It can also be a challenge in older homes where 8ft ceilings are the standard and even a 3 1/4 inch crown can "crowd" the look.
