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I have a friend who is trying to sell his house in a VERY DESIRABLE and EXPENSIVE neighborhood in a DC suburb (500k and up). His Realtor is trying to tell him that without granite and stainless, his house is not gonna sell. Isn't it the job of the Realtor to sell the house as it is (it's very well maintained; poor him, he decided to spend 15k on new Trane A/C and furnace INSTEAD OF spending it on GRANITE!!??!!), without the owner having to incur 50k in costs??? I thought that's what you pay 20k to a Realtor for! If I had travertine bathrooms and a granite/stainless kitchen, I could sell it myself w/out a Realtor (assuming it was priced right, of course)!
You are both right. You are right that the Realtor should know how to sell anything thrown at them. Even if it is not up to par with the competition.
The Realtor is right in saying that without granite tops you will have a harder time selling. And that is mostly true if all of your competition has granite and you dont.
If every thing else is equal and you are not overpriced which 95% of the homes are, then chances are some buyer will come along and not care less about the lack of granite.
Lately I find myself not liking SS appliances. Every time I go to Sears/Home Depot/Lowes I go look at appliances and the SS appliances look terrible because of all the fingerprints and smudges. While the other appliances still look great. They probably both have the same about of gunk on them but the non-SS apliances just don't show it as well. I try to think about how MY family would actually use them and I keep coming back to the thought that we should probably not go SS.
I've actually been liking the Black appliances lately. It still gives the kitchen a different sort of look without costing any extra.
You raise a valid point with the maintenance of SS appliances. I would also caution you that black suffers some of the same issues (though it's easier to clean than stainless). I've got standard stainless now, and next time around I'm going to opt for brushed stainless. Brushed doesn't show fingerprints or smudges nearly as much as standard stainless, and I favore the look of brushed (personal taste).
Can I just say that I hate HGTV (and many Realtors) for promulgating the notion to America that if you don't have granite and stainless steel in your kitchen, your house is a piece of ***?
Perhaps in some parts of the country it is cheaper to buy and install these kinds of things. But where I live, in the DC area, it would cost UNTOLD TENS OF THOUSANDS to put granite, cherrywood and stainless steel in a 1953 kitchen. And of course there's other amenities that are now considered "standard", like rainforest showerheads, walk-in closets, 2-car garages, extra-deep soaking tubs, etc. I highly resent the fact that only two years ago, I could have sold my house in 24 hours, without a speck of granite anywhere in the vicinity. Now, I hear people saying that my house (which is immaculately maintained but modest) doesn't have granite, doesn't have stainless, doesn't have this, doesn't have that. Well, to those buyers I say: If it had that, trust me, it would be priced 50k higher, because that's what it would cost to GET THAT INSTALLED!
In addition, I think it's a travesty that in this age of dwindling resources, skyrocketing prices, inflation, recession, and on and on, people are insisting on raping a mountain and emptying our rivers and lakes in order to have granite and the water to fill a soaking tub in their home. People should just be thankful that they can buy a home in this market, and get a freaking grip!
GRANITE AND STAINLESS ARE NOT STANDARD!!!!!!!!! IT'S GLUTTONY!!!!!
Then consider me a glutton. I have granite, cherry cabinets and hardwood floors and the SS appliances. I love it. But it all comes down to personal tastes. I will say that the SS is a whats it to keep clean, esp. with a child. I agree that you also need to keep in check with the price point of your home and neighborhood. If most of the comps in your neighborhood are in the low 150's, then I would think it is silly to upgrade to that extreme.
Actually, in my market....granite, corian and other amenities are being thrown in free, by builders. Market conditions have made it possible to obtain all of these perks, if the public buys now.
In this market, the house that is in the best condition will sell first...period. People can be choosy and if one house has granite, hardwood, and stainless steel and the next one doesn't the one with the extras will sell first unless there is a huge price difference. Kitchens and bathrooms are very important. If you upgrade anything, do those rooms first.
Buying a house because it has granite countertops and stainless steel appliances is like buying a car because it has a fancy sound system.
It's all stuff you can put in yourself if you really want it, and has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the parts that really matter.
I could not possibly care one iota less if a house has granite or any other fancy countertops or not. What I want to see is a well-maintained house with the important systems updated as necessary. A buyer sure must feel numb if they end up with a house with a beautiful kitchen and failed septic just because they didn't ask the right questions.
I wouldn't end up with a beautiful kitchen and a failed septic because I would buy a house for both. There is nothing wrong with wanting granite and stainless and NOT wanting vinyl floors etc. It is a matter of taste and if someone wants a house with such features and are willing to pay for it, it's their right without being condemned. HGTV has nothing to do with. Where I live, most houses have granite or at least solid surface counters. Very few houses have vinyl flooring.
I also would never buy a home with carpet in the dining room. I think it's gross and that's just me. People have a right to their opinions...if your house doesn't have what a buyer wants, the buyer can look elsewhere. Not everyone likes these features and that's OK also.
I also would never buy a home with carpet in the dining room.
Me neither. I've been looking at a house that has a carpet dining area. I actually mentioned to the owner that it just would not work for me. I'd either have to ask for some sort of allowance to change it or I'd have to do it after the fact.
It's all cosmetics, and can be changed. For me, the important things are location, the property itself, enough square footage, and has the house been maintained overall. I saw a house boasting new granite counters, and they were green. Sorry, I don't like green in my kitchen, so I'd change them. What does bug me is mismatched appliances. I saw one with white, ss, and black. The floors were beige ceramic tile. Nothing matched, imo.
I don't like granite or stainless and they're both big turn offs for me. So are black refrigerators. I like simple corian countertops and white fridge. I like the homey look.
Whenever I see house online with granite, it looks like a flipped house and I pass over it.
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I have granite, cherry cabinets and hardwood floors and the SS appliances. I love it. But it all comes down to personal tastes. I will say that the SS is a whats it to keep clean, esp. with a child. I agree that you also need to keep in check with the price point of your home and neighborhood. If most of the comps in your neighborhood are in the low 150's, then I would think it is silly to upgrade to that extreme.
just because they didn't ask the right questions.
