KB Homes (Raleigh, Durham: hardwood floors, for sale, countertops)

[RaleighBound]

Help everyone I need some input on what NC buyers look for in their home. First I am in the process of purchasing a KB Home. I have an upcoming appointment at the studio next week. Problem is I don't know what to put in my house so that I will be able to sell it in a couple of years. What are the things that you must have in order to buy a house?? Please help, the things i'm undecided on are the fireplace, kitchen island, double sinks in master and upgrading the stair rail to this wrought iron one they have. I am putting in a garden tub and hardwood floors throughout the first floor. I also have the best elevation for my plan which includes a brick front and columns on the porch. My thinking is if I give them hardwoods maybe they won't care that i'm leaving out the fireplace. What do you all think? Please help......

[elle67]

I will be doing the same thing in a few weeks. Please let me know how your experience works out.

[AmyK]

We are shopping for a house right now, and I'd be happy to give you my opinion about what I'm looking for, but it might not help much to just tell you what is important to me in a house, in our particular time of life and price range. I can give you a better answer if I have an idea first about who you're going to be selling to... It will depend on what kind of house (size, price range, even neighborhood) you're talking about. When we were looking to buy our 1st house in 1989 for under $65k, certain things were important, 2nd house when we had kids starting school, looking for different things; 3rd house, etc. etc. You know what I mean... So, who do you think your "target audience" will be?

[jmeraleigh]

For resale purpose...everyone is looking for a nice kitchen and master bath. Next on the list..Fireplace. I have noticed that the price they quote for hardwoods can be a bit high...so call around and ask a few companies what they charge for hardwoods. Things like tile in the kitchen or granite etc, can easily be done down the road..but plumbing set up and fireplaces will be a pain to do down the road.

[RaleighBound]

Originally Posted by AmyK

We are shopping for a house right now, and I'd be happy to give you my opinion about what I'm looking for, but it might not help much to just tell you what is important to me in a house, in our particular time of life and price range. I can give you a better answer if I have an idea first about who you're going to be selling to... It will depend on what kind of house (size, price range, even neighborhood) you're talking about. When we were looking to buy our 1st house in 1989 for under $65k, certain things were important, 2nd house when we had kids starting school, looking for different things; 3rd house, etc. etc. You know what I mean... So, who do you think your "target audience" will be?

The house i'm building is 2220 sq. ft. I'm thinking my target audience would be first time home buyers in about 5 years or less.

[leighbhe]

I am going to be honest, and this is just me.............although, yes I like a fireplace, and I have had one in every home we have lived in, I rarely use it!!!! But, hardwoods throughout the first floor is a nice touch, it will stay maintained much longer than carpet (provided you don't have a dog like mine!!!), the trend now is stainless appliances, I personally get irritated about mine because they are always streaked with fingerprints, but that is what is hot right now. I think granite countertops are nice, but you don't want to price yourself out of the neighborhood, so maybe solid surface? Garden tub in bath is a must, people love them regardless of weather they use them or not.
wrought iron is also nice, but if you are the only house in the neighborhood with it, it is not the best.

I have a client who built a new house, and they didn't do many upgrades, now they are having trouble selling it because people are looking for those upgrades!

If you are buying knowing you are going to sell (which I have done!), do the upgrades now, because you won't end up doing them later!!!! We painted our rooms after we bought the house, and did it in neutral colors. If the builder will paint (at least some of the rooms) that also helps in resale (as long as they are not crazy colors).

Hope this helps
Leigh

[AmyK]

Remembering what we were looking for in our first home, I agree with jmeraliegh's reply -- nice kitchen and fireplace are important. Flooring or railings (at least for us) are things we wouldn't mind replacing or updating when buying a house that was 5+ years old.

[robin from Oregon]

I'm looking online at houses in NC now, and I enter options to narrow the choice. I always enter fireplace as an option - I have one where I live now and absolutely love watching a fire. I won't buy a house without one. Other than that, the master bath is very important (garden, preferably jetted tub). I don't care if appliances are stainless steel - personally I think that's a fad that may go the way of avocado green and harvest gold, in a few years. One thing I've noticed online is that ALOT of houses in NC don't have garages. I don't know what's up with that, but a garage is a must for me. I need room for my "stuff"!

[PDXmom]

I agree with Leighbe about the hardwood floors over the fire place. I truly hate carpet and would much rather have hardwood floors over a fireplace. But someone else made a good point about it's hard to add a fireplace later.

In regards to iron railings over the wooden ones, is the look classic or is it kind of trendy. I saw some iron railings in a model home in Durham this summer and liked it but knew I would grow tired of it in a few years. Will it begin to look dated in 2 years?

Also, if you plan to resale don't wall paper your house! I've looked online at alot of homes for sale in the triangle and I'm always amazed at how much wall paper I see. I hate removing wall paper, thus that will affect how much I'll pay for a house.

Remember, ultimately you have to live with this place for the next 2 years so make sure you pick something you can live with and enjoy! Have fun!

[fuquaybradley]

We found a KB Home online and bought it AS-IS. Someone slipped out of their contract and we couldn't change any of the options. My advise would be to spend plenty of time picking out the options, and DEMAND to see the prices of each option before you pick it. I have no patience for pushy sales folks (I'm in sales myself!). The folks that picked out OUR home's options did precisely what JMERALEIGH suggests... that is, decide upon the fireplace, plumbing and other options that will be nearly impossible to change later. For example, we have the 9' ceilings upgrade (an absolute MUST, by the way!) and central vacuum. And the 1/2 bath was upgraded to a full bath - awesome! Yet our carpet & padding is cheap, the kitchen & bathrooms have vinyl flooring, and all the light fixtures were standard brass crap - those can be easily changed later... and for WAY less than what KB Home charges you! Hope that helps.