Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Who cares who built it. If it looks good and the inspection does not show any problems then you are fine. If your work was shabby it will show. If it is professional looking it will show. Pictures do not always show how the job was done. A seller that looks at the home will know though.
Ask yourself, would you rather buy a flip where the flipper made it look good but might not have gone to that extra level because they did not have an emotional attachment to the home? In both cases the job might look good but who knows what is on the other side of the wall. I have a tendency to think that most home owners will go the extra mile and most flippers will make it look good and walk.
True. We actually have no plan on moving anytime soon. We did not take any shortcut when doing this because we were planning to stay here for a while. I posed the question because we had dinner with a couple of friends and they suggested that if/when we sell the place this topic could come up.
I agree with the people who said that any savvy buyer or home inspector would spot immediately that this is a home hacker kitchen improvement. Whether that matters or not kind of depends on the local market and how the property is priced. You're selling against comparable properties in town. If they all look like that, no problem. If comparable properties at that price point have a professionally installed kitchen with a proper surface coat on the cabinets and the electrical outlets in the right places, you need to lower the price appropriately and you're not going to see a dime for the cash and sweat equity you thought you put into the kitchen.
I posed the question because we had dinner with a couple of friends and they suggested that if/when we sell the place this topic could come up.
That's probably not good. You might want to take a more honest look at how and what you did, because it sounds like they were warning you it's obvious that a professional did not do it.
I'm sorry but I don't even think they'd have to ask if you did the work. It looks like a DIY kitchen remodel and not a very good one. You may have purchased it with that outlet over the stove, but to me it looks like someone moved the stove out of it's original position and since they never bothered to move the outlet, I'd be concerned about the gas lines too. I don't care if that outlet is up to code or not.. It's not safe.
If you were really concerned about resale you should have had that outlet moved and added more if the box could handle it. Better cabinets would have made it more appealing too.
Did you check to see if the gas lines were leaking at least?
I'll be the voice of opposition here- after looking at lots of houses in an expensive neighborhood with old homes, I've seen hoardes of terrible kitchens (basically like the "before" pic in the OP). After looking at several horrible kitchens, I would welcome a DIY remodel over the junk that was on the market.
Everyone is being so nitpicky about the electrical outlet (a couple hour job to move it, or just never use it) and the condition of the cabinets, but I'm curious- did they see the "before" pic?! This kitchen is a beautiful upgrade compared to the way it looked earlier.
As a frequent home buyer, I would not pass on the house due to the DIY nature of the work. Also, in my state I've never seen anyone get a breakdown of costs that went into a remodel, so the fact that it was DIY wouldn't even come up. Buyers would just need to decide for themselves how much they feel the remodel added to the value of the home. It's definitely more than zero, and probably more than OP paid for the remodel, which is nice because if you pay for a professional remodel you definitely aren't getting all of that money back in the sale price. True- if you went high-end pro remodel you'd probably get more for the house, but not nearly as much as you'd have to pay for the remodel itself.
Let's just say the neighborhood isn't worth a high end remodel job. LOL
Yes, that electrical outlet can be moved very easily. In fact, I'm about to arrange for it to move.
Personally, I would never pay more than what I have put in for this kitchen. This house and neighborhood really isn't worth hiring a world class designer and a world class remodeler.
Let's just say the neighborhood isn't worth a high end remodel job. LOL
Yes, that electrical outlet can be moved very easily. In fact, I'm about to arrange for it to move.
Personally, I would never pay more than what I have put in for this kitchen. This house and neighborhood really isn't worth hiring a world class designer and a world class remodeler.
But anyway, continue to criticize away.
You tiled the back splash already so how are you going to move the outlet easily?
First, I think the remodel looks just fine. I am assuming it is a more inexpensive starter home so a remodel to that finish level seems appropriate.
permits can be tough b/c there are various jurisdictions with various rules. For instance, in my last home I had the basement finished. I did some work and farmed the rest out. For below grade improvements, my small township did not require permits. The buyer of my home came from an area where you need a permit to change an electrical outlet so wanted one for EVERYTHING including plumbing fixtures although they were simply connected to builder rough-ins that had already been inspected.
I've sold told homes where many of the improvements were DIY - mostly electrical and tile work. Some drywall. For instance, I moved an electrical outlet from its original area to a different area. I've added outlets to existing circuits. I've also added completely new circuits. None of these are difficult as long as you know what you're doing and they pass inspection. In my last home the buyer thought that perhaps there were too many outlets on a particular circuit - I had my local electrician come and do an inspection and sign off.
In my new house though, given the increased scrutiny of improvements as evidenced by this thread, I am less inclined to do work myself although I am entirely capable of running electric within code.
It's easier than you might think. It just didn't occur to me to move it when I was working on the kitchen.
I know what it takes to move an electrical outlet.
You're going to have to open up a wall somewhere to get access to it. How are you going to get to it without cutting into the back splash?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
