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.
No. I remodel/renovate to suit MY needs. I also don't intend to sell my home, but if that would happen, I am
sure new owner would appreciate my taste ...
we still have 8 years here before we retire but im sure whoever buys the house will have their own ideas for what they want so im not putting thousand of dollars into this place whatsoever . It will be changed to suit my needs which I have done . The new owners can worry about changing it to their needs . I hope to sell to someone who appreciates gardens .
I personally don't understand the "update to sell" mentality. If you lived with an old kitchen or bath, why would you update and not have the benefit of it? I have timeless taste in terms of things that are "permanent". For example, I think the two tone cabs in the kitchen are too trendy and would never do that. I have seen many beautiful examples and I love the look in that case, but I would not do it in my own home. My taste is very traditional. So in my case, the only thing we did when we sold was to remove all personal items. I tend more toward the dark earthy tones. In my former home the living room and dining room were an eggplant in some light)(BM Aura Tea Rose) color and my kitchen was tangerine. Now most would have suggested that we repaint. Our agent said absolutely not necessary and that was wonderful, since I had no intention of doing so.
Recently a neighbor put her house up for sale and they asked me to look at it for them. Her comment to me was, I wish the house looked this good while we were here. They painted and new carpeted it and while it looks lovely, the home is 14 years old and there has not been one update other than this paint.
Back to the original question, if you are an "original" thinker and your home looks a lot different than others in the neighborhood you may have to renovate to get a buyer. However, if I live in that house, I have to be surrounded by things that I love or else I may as well live in a motel room. So, I say live with what you love and then worry about resale. Again, this is counter to my first statement, however, I am aware that often times buyers can't see beyond the colors on the walls and if you want to sell you might have to make some changes based upon your personal taste.
Well, the problem is that fads change frequently, as driven by the marketeers' need to sell more stuff. Things like paint colors can be changed pretty easily, flooring colors and wallpaper not so easily, floor plans only with great difficulty and cost.
For the last ten years the fad has been to rip out all the walls in the house and make everything grey. The grey paint is easy enough to change when the fad passes, but the grey tiles and kitchen countertops aren't, and you really have to consider that ripping all the walls out is essentially irreversible - especially since the room areas are usually changed to take advantage of the walls' not being there any more.
So if you try to trim your renovations to fit resale, you had better either know you're going to move in a couple years, or have a very precise crystal ball to tell what wil be the fad ten, fifteen, or twenty years from now.
Much better to just fix up the house to fit your own taste, as long as it's not going to render it totally unsaleable (for example, you might want to re-think that plan of taking out all the toilets and building an outhouse...)
Renovating is something you'd do to make yourself comfortable in your own home.
Remodeling is something you'd consider, with future resale in mind.
My opinion
In our 12 years in this home I've done very little reno (until recently) and no remod. But if I'd had the money (and energy) to remodel the kitchen I would have considered resale value in my choices unless I personally hated popular choice.
For example I would never put in dark cabinets even if that's what everyone looooved.
And I would not reno and overbuild for my neighborhood. Stopped planning an addition to add an art space to our home 2 years ago after realizing I would not get 50% of the money back on resale. Instead I bought a small property 10 minutes away and when I sold it (to buy a larger one with a garage) made 20% profit in 3 years. The only reno I did in that property was to tear out the kitchen which was slum quality, paint everything white and make it sparkling clean. Our realtor thinks it may be the only "kitchenless" sale.
Not really, except that it will be better than what was there before. I have good taste though, so most people really enjoy the look of the place when I'm done re-modeling it (it has wide appeal).
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinkletwinkle22
You just never see white or beige or gray walls in Architectural Digest where color and wallpaper runs wild.
I never look at any of that stuff or know what's the trend. I just have an instinct for what looks good.
Renovating: bringing it back to its original glory but adding all the mod cons. Remodeling: using the studs as the basis for a new aesthetic.
I would be looking toward the next buyer if planning to stay less than maybe 3 years. Otherwise I would use my better than average decorating sensibilities to suit myself. And we all think we are better than average.
I enclosed the screened-in back porch so it was a 3-season room- that cost $26K 4 years ago. I don't think I could possibly get that back at resale but it overlooks the lake and I love it out there. The house had loud wallpaper in a few rooms and I stripped all that off and painted them in colors that I liked- nothing extreme. That's about all I've done. Countertops are Corian. Quartz would be nice but it's darned expensive and I'd rather spend the money on travel or put it into the grandkids' 529s. Cabinets are white wood. They're pretty. I can't afford to keep up with the latest cabinet styles. Oh, yeah- when I replaced the windows in some of the rooms (condensation between panes), I had plantation shutters put in. Very happy with those.
I agree on the earlier comment on wallpaper. My previous house had a ton of ugly 1980s wallpaper. Some of it came off easily. Some didn't. Never again.
To answer the original question: I make changes for myself. Late DH and I didn't get back everything we put into the last place (especially considering all the DIY wallpaper stripping, painting and removal of popcorn ceiling textures) but we enjoyed living there and we cash-flowed it. Same will likely be true with this house.
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.
