home resale advice needed (Durham, Salem: sales, foreclosure, countertops)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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We plan to list our home in two years. The kitchen was poorly (and cheaply) redone by the previous owner. The designer we consulted quoted $60k-$70k for a kitchen remodel. We'd like to spend closer to $30k. Additional factors: Home was purchased for $550k five years ago. We've put close to $60k into it and still need to paint several rooms and replace carpet. The realtor we contacted recently suggested a list price in the mid-$600s based on current comps. Are there any kitchen designers out there who work with clients to get the most bang for their buck at resale? Any advice would be appreciated.
Did you buy a foreclosure? 5 years ago was 2008. The market had not declined enough by then (nor has it appreciated dramatically since) for me to imagine that a home would have appreciated to the tune of 100k.
Is your home in an area that suddenly became popular but was not in 2008???
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Not a foreclosure. Just a large home with good potential in New Hope Valley in SW Durham. This neighborhood has been fairly solid--it's safe and conveniently located--but it may be seeing some revived interest with a number of young families moving in. The house had been neglected for some time when we bought it. In fact, we may have overpaid considering what we've put into it, what still needs to be done and what the market may or may not yield two years from now. We don't expect to make a profit but don't want to lose a lot. That's why I'm seeking suggestions about the kitchen.
I'm not a realtor, but my inclination is to say if you can't fix the kitchen properly (meaning: competitive with the market in your area and price range), don't do it at all. Sell it the way it is, with a lower cost that reflects the bad kitchen, and let the new buyer do what they want.
I also kinda think that when the realtor uses current comps to come up with a list price for a home that's not going to be listed for TWO years, he/she is using a technique called 'I see in my crystal ball.'
I'm not a realtor, but my inclination is to say if you can't fix the kitchen properly (meaning: competitive with the market in your area and price range), don't do it at all. Sell it the way it is, with a lower cost that reflects the bad kitchen, and let the new buyer do what they want.
I also kinda think that when the realtor uses current comps to come up with a list price for a home that's not going to be listed for TWO years, he/she is using a technique called 'I see in my crystal ball.'
Hey! Don't mock my crystal ball! I have two that came directly from Salem, Mass.!!!
When "I" do a market analysis or an appraiser does an appraisal, it is good for THAT DAY ONLY.
If a home in that n'hood sells the very next day and it is $10,000 more and considered to be a good comp, your house just went up $10,000! Same for going down in price!
So, two years out just isn't possible. But...most Realtors can look at the kitchen and tell you what will get you back some money, based on what is considered desirable TODAY.
If you were to ask, what do most buyers want, granite or Corian countertops, I can tell you that TODAY, buyers want granite. I don't know what they will want in 2 years.
I had sellers that when they purchased their brand new home, they had the builder take away the downstairs guest room to make the family room larger. They didn't have a Realtor at the time.
They ended up having to sell in 2 years. That decision cost them about $10,000. They finally had to put the wall back in order to sell the home! Had they had a Realtor and asked about removing the wall, most would have told him to take away that room was going to cost them. Heck, most folks would know that!
We plan to list our home in two years. The kitchen was poorly (and cheaply) redone by the previous owner. The designer we consulted quoted $60k-$70k for a kitchen remodel. We'd like to spend closer to $30k. Additional factors: Home was purchased for $550k five years ago. We've put close to $60k into it and still need to paint several rooms and replace carpet. The realtor we contacted recently suggested a list price in the mid-$600s based on current comps. Are there any kitchen designers out there who work with clients to get the most bang for their buck at resale? Any advice would be appreciated.
Did the agent assume a renovated kitchen when proposing a sales price?
If so, how much additional value did the agent project for the kitchen renovation?
Usually, $60,000--$70,000 renovations are the "Heartbreak Kitchens," i.e., "We just got it how we love it and have to move."
At $30,000, you may help sell the place, and take the smallest hit on your costs. My approach would be to avoid tearing out walls or investing in a lot of plumbing and electrical work, and to stay with freshening, mid-grade cabinets, lighting, updating electrical, granite counters, appliances, flooring, backsplash.
But, costs vs. payback are hard to assess without seeing it.
If you work with a designer who also sells you the cabinets and labor on a commission basis, probe hard to get confident they are taking care of you more than just building a bottom line.
Most of your cost in a kitchen is going to be cabinets, which can get pricey very quickly. You might want to consider a cabinet re-facing. I'd do that and stone countertops, possibly new appliances (although I'm not sure what conveys with a house here - our sellers left everything) so maybe not even that. We just put new lighting in our kitchen, not very pricey and makes a big difference.
As Mike noted commissions are in play here. When we re-did our kitchen in NY, we went to the plumbing supply house to look at stuff. Kitchen faucets, the woman started off with $600 models - my DH says "are you seriously telling me we have to start by paying nearly $1000 for a kitchen faucet?!" THEN she got out her American Standard book. It should be noted here that although everyone "in the know" will tell you not to buy this stuff at Home Depot or Lowe's, we've had far better luck with things we've purchased there for renovations than going to high end shops.
1. Get at least two more realtors to give you a price and make sure they give you 2 years of sales and pictures of the houses that sold. Look it over carefully. Tell them you are thinking of listing..a couple months from now. Never tell them this is a long term plan.
2. That estimated cost for the kitchen? Way too much for even a Martha Stewart kitchen. I agree with the earlier commentor, wait til you see what you can get for it as is. And wait til you do item #1 first.
3. Shop cabinets and contractors carefully and diligently. I had a kitchen redone a few years back. I got 7 contractors in to look it over, and got an estimate from each (and checked them all out) and guess what...had the job done for less than 40% of the highest bid. They did fine work. Neighbors had that high bidder do their kitchen and guess what..they got screwed at resale time!
4. Always opt for "cosmetic" things if you are gonna sell. Its way more profitable. Look around and see what you can do. Look carefully at that kitchen. Maybe some "partial" renovation will do the trick. Remember, this isn't for you. Visit similarly priced houses in the area and get some ideas.
5. Start cleaning out the place NOW! Get rid of anything you haven't touched for 6 months. Empty houses that are clean and not cluttered in any way sell faster, and, as such, get more money.
Last edited by TwinbrookNine; 11-03-2013 at 12:04 PM..
if you've lived with the kitchen for 5 years, I'd live with it 2 more years if your plan is to sell. Then, I'd go into research mode as noted - go check out open houses in your price range and watch those homes. See what different houses sell for and their given state of remodeling.
If the designer was told "and here's our budget", then they would have lived to that budget. I'd ask what is making it cost so much - as noted, moving things around (ex. plumbing - sink, dishwasher, or even the icemaker connection) is costly. Most folks don't know/care the difference between 5K and 15K cabinets, but there are definitely some 5K cabinets that look a heckuva lot better than others.
Thanks everyone for your input. Your questions and comments are helping me understand why we are having a hard time deciding what to do. I inadvertently misrepresented what the realtor said. When we contacted her initially we were thinking of listing this spring. So the mid-600 price she mentioned was based on recent sales AND on our changing a few things (adding a closet in one room and a door someplace else plus some sprucing up in the kitchen--not a major redo). She could not advise us exactly what to do in the kitchen (besides going with a lighter granite) and referred us to a stager, who charges $350 for a two hour consult. That's when we contacted the kitchen designer who didn't charge to come over and take a look. And THAT's when we decided that if we're going to try to fix up the kitchen--with even a small renovation--we might as well stay put a while to enjoy it and hopefully recoup at least some of the cost. So now we are looking for a flexible, understanding kitchen designer. This seems like a happy medium--between doing nothing (and having a house that may sit for while on the market) and investing in a major overhaul. Or...maybe we should cough up the $350 for the stager after all. VickiR, may I please borrow one of your crystal balls?
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