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OP, you are in the minority about fireplaces. Most buyers want one and it adds value to your home. If you really don't want to use it just seal it up with a piece of metal. Don't do anything drastic like knock it down or fill it some how. It is a huge selling point so make sure it can easily be used again when trying to sell it.
So, shopping for a home, looking at places and thinking about things that really bother me in some of them. I'll be honest: I hate fire places. I don't see a use for them in 2014, but I know some people like the romance and nostalgia of one.
If I buy a home with a fireplace and renovate by sealing it up, will that be a big problem with buyers when it's time to sell? I just hate the wasted wall space, the gaping hole that's dangerous for children and animals, the flu which is a perfect place for rodents to invade and the overall ugliness of them. When these houses were built in the 1920s, people really used fireplaces. However, houses I see that are new construction don't even have one.
Don't destroy a functional fireplace. My house us from the 1920's and the fireplace has come in handy when we've lost power. We don't have critter issues with it, and no problems with two children who've been around it.
If you don't care for fireplaces, do yourself a favor and don't look at houses with them.
Don't destroy a functional fireplace. My house us from the 1920's and the fireplace has come in handy when we've lost power. We don't have critter issues with it, and no problems with two children who've been around it.
If you don't care for fireplaces, do yourself a favor and don't look at houses with them.
Every house, except for brand new constructions, has one. There are so many factors to take into account in finding the right place that it can't be the only thing. BTW, there must be at least one other person who agrees with me. See this column.
Every house, except for brand new constructions, has one. There are so many factors to take into account in finding the right place that it can't be the only thing. BTW, there must be at least one other person who agrees with me. See this column.
Plenty of mid 20th century development homes do not have fireplaces and plenty of new construction does.
Your post asks specifically about fireplaces and home value; now you add the other factors....
What I can tell you -- in several decades of construction business -- our clients want fireplaces, want to restore those closed up or walled in by prior owners, want decorative mantels or built in surrounds.
If you're looking at a ca. 1920's house with a fireplace, chances are future buyers will be familiar with the styles of homes from that era and expect a fireplace. Closing it up will cost you in the long run.
As for the article, right off the bat she's writing about west coast earthquake dangers.
Every house, except for brand new constructions, has one. There are so many factors to take into account in finding the right place that it can't be the only thing. BTW, there must be at least one other person who agrees with me. See this column.
This is when city-data comes in handy - you find out your taste/want/need in a home is quite unusual.
Nobody has come close to suggesting it is the only factor to take into account.
Re-sale/value perspective it is simple.
Fireplaces are standard on brand new homes here too - higher-end new homes often include one in the master suite (in addition to one/two on the ground floor and especially if gas is available).
This reminds me of a discussion with my neighbor who was looking for home without bathtubs (preferred showers, people drown in tubs, tougher to use as you get older, etc) and I failed to convince her that was an unusual want/need/desire. She did move to a house with a bathtub and I am wondering if she ripped it out. Apparently there is even a debate over that issue: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/...-value/482373/
Last edited by Quick Commenter; 07-08-2014 at 04:59 AM..
I grew up in a house built in 1933 and it had no fireplace. We all always wanted one. Especially my mom, and it's ironic that having moved twice since that house she has never ended up in a house with a fireplace! I've had them in both my houses as an adult and never use it.
Even my sister's apartments here have all had fireplaces!
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