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Focus on CLEAN and functional.
Let the next owner remodel and redecorate.
eta: If the stove is really broken... then fix it.
If items are broken that are visible, then many buyers will run! They will wonder what else is broken and see that the current owner doesn't maintain their property. Who wants that headache?
To the OP, white appliances are fine. It looks best when all appliances are the same color. Unless you're planning on replacing ALL of the appliances, stick to whatever color you have now. Now if you had avocado or harvest gold appliances, I'd be telling you replace everything.
Whoever buys the place will very likely redo the kitchen cabinets. One of the small upper drawers is broken (missing part of the bottom) and my handyman won't fix it without doing major work on all the cabinets.
So, back to the question of getting a new oven/range - I just realized that my kitchen sink is not white, it's steel. Would white appliances look better or worse with the rest of the kitchen being old, not updated, and the kitchen itself being quite small? I just think that stainless steel appliances, if I actually end up spending over $1000 on oven, refrigerator, over-the-oven microwave, and dishwasher, would emphasize the age of the kitchen and it's being so out of date, at least a little more than white appliances (including at least two new ones) even if I repaint the walls white (which they currently are, but dingy looking, since the paint job was nearly 10 years ago).
My condominium is a 3-bedroom in a very desirable semi-urban location near Boston and near three hospitals. I inherited it when my mother passed away in 2013. Unfortunately, she had left things in not so great condition, though I plan to put the condo on the market in clean and safe condition. I've already cleared up and cleaned the balcony. I might get the matching white sofa and chair re-upholstered; they look kinda dingy. And I have to get the flooring replaced and the icky ancient carpeting in the two bedrooms removed.
The photos I've seen in online real estate ads for higher-end condominiums and houses for sale in my area often feature stainless steel appliances paired with granite counters in updated kitchens, but there are some nice-looking kitchens with white appliances.
I just thought that spending $700-2000 (eventually) on new kitchen appliances, beginning with the gas range, would present a slightly better appearance in the kitchen than if I didn't do so. (particularly since the oven doesn't work) I can afford that much, though I can't afford to do a complete renovation of the kitchen.
So if you can tell the people moving in are buying vulcans you don't want to bother with replacing the gas oven.
A thought. Have you measured and gone shopping? Sometimes it's difficult to get an appliance to fit the very spaces the older appliances did in the older kitchens.
I have checked out several stores online; and spent an hour at the closest Home Depot. The Home Depot seems to have the best prices (through Wednesday) on the few models that I prefer.
I doubt that the oven I hope to buy will be the exact same measurements as the current one. I can find one with the exact same width, or close enough to fit, but all the ones I've seen will either stick out slightly from the counter (the depth being a bit longer) or the opposite, the edge will be less long or not level to the counters (in terms of depth) - would this be a problem in terms of eventually selling the condo? From what I've seen in online photos of kitchens in homes for sale, the ovens are not always perfectly aligned with the counters. Right now, my old oven does exceed the depth of the counter by about an inch.
I wish the sales were going on for another week, I am finding these decisions difficult.
Another example: N i g g a rdly - 1325-75; Middle English nyggard, equivalent to nig n i gg ard (< Scandinavian; compare dialectal Swedish nygg; akin to Old English hnēaw stingy) + -ard
What about: honky ? As one, I am happy to see it not censored.
I have checked out several stores online; and spent an hour at the closest Home Depot. The Home Depot seems to have the best prices (through Wednesday) on the few models that I prefer.
I doubt that the oven I hope to buy will be the exact same measurements as the current one. I can find one with the exact same width, or close enough to fit, but all the ones I've seen will either stick out slightly from the counter (the depth being a bit longer) or the opposite, the edge will be less long or not level to the counters (in terms of depth) - would this be a problem in terms of eventually selling the condo? From what I've seen in online photos of kitchens in homes for sale, the ovens are not always perfectly aligned with the counters. Right now, my old oven does exceed the depth of the counter by about an inch.
I wish the sales were going on for another week, I am finding these decisions difficult.
I don't think sticking out matters.
Similarly, we could not find a refrigerator to fit the space of the old one. We actually felt we required a much bigger one being used to the modern much larger refrigerators. Then we realized we could make one that was smaller than we wanted work. It was still larger than the old one but we noticed in cutting away a lip of molding that extended downward, we could do this, push the fridge in and put up a flush molding on the cut part.
Another note. Be sure to be aware of the requirements for a gas range and any microwave above it, if you have one. The burners can be different heights. Not positive but I've been told one measures from the top of the burner. Seems reasonable. 18". We have to work on that one ourselves. Electric would work fine but we prefer gas.
By the way, if you know someone with a disabled vet card, they can get a discount at Home Depot (I think it's 10%) and also Lowe's with restrictions. It adds up.
Looking again at several realtors' online ads for homes (condos and houses) in my town, almost every single one has the steel-colored or actual stainless steel kitchen appliances. Maybe I should go for the steel and replace all three (oven, fridge and dishwasher) though today/tomorrow I'll just get the oven.
Wish I had more time before the prices revert to pre-sale...
I personally don't like the stainless ones. I'm with others in suggesting to get used appliances in white. Let the new buyers be the ones to decide if they want stainless and what level they want if/when they redo the kitchen. Just now, you need a working oven. Use the $700-2000 in other areas of the house. When people redo kitchens, they usually pick new appliances and it doesn't matter if the ones there are 1 year or 10 years old.
I just thought that spending $700-2000 (eventually) on new kitchen appliances, beginning with the gas range, would present a slightly better appearance in the kitchen than if I didn't do so. (particularly since the oven doesn't work).
Replace the oven only, especially if you want to use it until the condo sells. White is fine, especially since you don't want it to stand out from your white dishwasher, as you said. Leave the rest of the other appliances.
Once you get an offer, if during the inspection, it's found that one of your remaining appliances isn't working correctly, you can offer the buyer $. Let them replace/repair it themselves.
Whoever buys the place will very likely redo the kitchen cabinets. One of the small upper drawers is broken (missing part of the bottom) and my handyman won't fix it without doing major work on all the cabinets.
So, back to the question of getting a new oven/range - I just realized that my kitchen sink is not white, it's steel. Would white appliances look better or worse with the rest of the kitchen being old, not updated, and the kitchen itself being quite small? I just think that stainless steel appliances, if I actually end up spending over $1000 on oven, refrigerator, over-the-oven microwave, and dishwasher, would emphasize the age of the kitchen and it's being so out of date, at least a little more than white appliances (including at least two new ones) even if I repaint the walls white (which they currently are, but dingy looking, since the paint job was nearly 10 years ago).
My condominium is a 3-bedroom in a very desirable semi-urban location near Boston and near three hospitals. I inherited it when my mother passed away in 2013. Unfortunately, she had left things in not so great condition, though I plan to put the condo on the market in clean and safe condition. I've already cleared up and cleaned the balcony. I might get the matching white sofa and chair re-upholstered; they look kinda dingy. And I have to get the flooring replaced and the icky ancient carpeting in the two bedrooms removed.
The photos I've seen in online real estate ads for higher-end condominiums and houses for sale in my area often feature stainless steel appliances paired with granite counters in updated kitchens, but there are some nice-looking kitchens with white appliances.
I just thought that spending $700-2000 (eventually) on new kitchen appliances, beginning with the gas range, would present a slightly better appearance in the kitchen than if I didn't do so. (particularly since the oven doesn't work) I can afford that much, though I can't afford to do a complete renovation of the kitchen.
I bet I know where you are - is it a complex with a few different tallish buildings, with the initials BH?
In any case, I think buying new stainless appliances to put in a kitchen with broken cabinets and an older, non-stone/solid surface is kind of like putting lipstick on a pig. It's far more likely than not that a buyer would plan to remodel the kitchen, and you are going to have to price accordingly. Putting in inexpensive stainless appliances isn't really going to change that, and I think you'd be spending money with no return because if a buyer is going to spend the money for new cabinets and counters, they are probably going to buy new, higher end appliances too. If I'm right about your location, or even just in the same vicinity, you are looking at a pretty high price point for 3 BR, and those buyers will want high end finishes and appliances.
I would stay with white, buy used and replace only what is not currently functioning. So far, that's the range, although sounds like the fridge may be going as well. Try Craigslist or a discount appliance store for a scratch and dent model. Think clean and functional, period. You are not going to sell your condo on the strength of the kitchen, it's going to be the size and location. Just get it clean, do the painting you mentioned, repair and replace whatever is broken and non-functional, and then get it listed in the Spring, when the real estate market heats back up again.
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