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As a buyer with options, tile countertops in kitchen and bath will put a home right off my possibilities list. I'm just not going to deal with the nightmare of grout and would actually rather go one piece laminate thantile on those surfaces.
As a buyer with options, tile countertops in kitchen and bath will put a home right off my possibilities list. I'm just not going to deal with the nightmare of grout and would actually rather go one piece laminate thantile on those surfaces.
Good point. I wouldn't buy a house with tile on the countertops either. We rented a place shortly after we were married that had tile countertops and NEVER again. Everything that fell out of a cabinet broke, grout, etc. No thanks.
I've always heard you never put high end stuff into a home in a community that has very inexpensive homes because you can't get that back. Isn't that true?? I mean, right now the kitchen counter is the one piece laminate stuff from probably 40 years ago. There's a monster crack at the edge of the sink, so if it's not replaced that sink is just going to go right through it one day. The kitchen isn't even currently set up for a place for the fridge, so it's in the mud room off the kitchen. There's no dishwasher. The cabinets are super old and warped, just plain plywood grade wood so they've been painted. It's a horrible kitchen. I can't stress that enough. In my eyes the house loses a good ten grand in value just because of how horrid that kitchen is. So if I sink 2k into it and don't get more that recovering that ten grand loss, I've still come out ahead. It may not make the house more than the estimate 160k or so that the realtors have quoted, but it will keep it from getting no more than 150.
Does that make sense? To me, it comes down to making it a functional kitchen, which currently it really isn't. And it's a matter of doing it cheaply because I won't make money off it, I'll only keep from losing money. People won't pay more than 160 for this house even if I go very high end because of the area. So why sink more than that into it?
Mrs.1885 - I agree about making the kitchen functional, in good repair and newly painted - in its present condition it would be a real turn-off for buyers. I would not sink a lot of money into a house you hope to sell.
You asked why kitchen repairs are reported to be so expensive and people told you why. It isn't about what you should or should not do in your own kitchen. People were just pointing out that you are doing a low end remodel. If that is what works for your neighborhood, great, do that. I think you would be better off with a nice looking laminate vs tile though. Also, if your countertop isn't very large, granite might be a nice attractive feature for a potential buyer vs one of the 100's of other homes on the market. If you install $2000 worth of granite you probably won't sell your house right away for $2000 more but it might make the difference between selling your home quickly and having it sit on the market for a year.
Does that make sense? To me, it comes down to making it a functional kitchen, which currently it really isn't. And it's a matter of doing it cheaply because I won't make money off it, I'll only keep from losing money. People won't pay more than 160 for this house even if I go very high end because of the area. So why sink more than that into it?
It sounds like whatever you do will be 100X better than the mess you've been living with and hopefully will help you sell the house. If you are comfortable with what you are doing, go for it.
Just an opinion though, for someone spending 160K, they would be thrilled to find a kitchen with stainless and granite- regardless of the quality of those items. It makes the kitchen more current. You may want to check into purchasing a remnant piece of granite or quartz. Your kitchen is small and I would not think it would be very expensive. A bonus for you is as you show the house, it is much easier to keep clean than a tile and grout counter.
Granite can really add value and I think most buyers now expect to see it in a kitchen. There are so many colors/patterns that are more mass produced and those are very affordable.
Some good suggestions on options, need to focus a bit on who is likely buyer...
The costs of $10k or more for a moderate kitchen overhaul assume that your competition is similar. I have seen some rural areas that rapidly shift toward suburban and the couples shopping have been "conditioned" to expect a nicer level of finish.
If the reason folks are shopping for the bigger lots is becuase they have bigger families it is a good bet that those familes will need to be fed and kitchen that has an easy to maintain prep surface, whether that is a nicer laminate or a some kind of natural or synthetic stone will go along way toward checking the list of buyers expectations.
Similarly people may not be well versed on the various brands of cabinets but they will feel the lack of solidness in the bottom-of-the-line cabinets and drawers. Just like car shoppers slam the doors and can tell that a Yugo is junk and a Caddy is solid they will jiggle the doors and know that low end stuff won't hold up to family use / abuse...
If prices od RECENTLY SOLD homes in your area are such that $140k is a realistic price for your home I would try to keep the spend around $5k-$7k, as in my experience unless you are repairing something that is so broken down it would make the house unsellable (like a failed roof or furnace) it is best to stay with 5% on projects.
I also think you need to set a realistic price -- going much more 8-10% over expected selling price is likely to actually drive away shoppers. When you "shoot for the moon" buyers tend to ask "where is the beef"???
If all your labor is self supplied you still need to be realistic about materials costs. Just becuase the cheapest store bought cabinets are much better than the worn out stuff you are replacing does not mean you should use 'em. Even in rental homes that I fixed up I would not use bottom line cabinets if they were so low quality that they would not be durable. Buyers will see the lack of quality and worry about where else you may have cut corners. Don't be "penny wise and pound foolish" -- if your real competition is only $30k that is VERY different than $170k, and you want to attract the buyers that find your place a good value alternative to TOP not some overpriced wanna be that really belongs at the BOTTOM!
I had intended to paint them, strictly for ease. Think it would be better if we just do a clear coat on them? They're oak.
Clear, or stain + clear. As I said, when folks see painted cabinets, they're thinking they're painted because they were crap before.
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I'll have to look at the cabinets again. Just said oak.
Style notwithstanding, a deeper stain can let it pass as a more contemporary cabinets than just the standard golden oak, which was commonplace in the 80's and 90's.
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The other homes I've been in here have had that one piece laminate countertop. Even the one next door, which is a fairly new log home had that. In green at that. *gag*
To each and everyone their own for style, I guess. Still, IMHO, laminate ranks as a more practical surface over tile.
Granite tiles ... it doesn't cut it. Around here in SoCal, prefabricated 8' slabs can be had for under $100. It's not as DIY friendly if you'll be doing an undermount sink, but it's not impossible either - you'll just need a wider variety of tools/polishing pads.
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This post does answer my question though, so thank you. In other words the average kitchen remodel isn't plain Jane, basic off the shelf stuff. That's what I was wondering. Between that and the cost of having someone do the work, that's where the money is.
Correct. Most folks doing kitchen remodels do it as an upgrade (meaning more money), not just as a replacement.
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Some good suggestions on options, need to focus a bit on who is likely buyer...
