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We are relocating and will be putting our home on the market soon (North Jersey). The price range will likely be $700,000 - $750,000. The house is in a pretty desirable neighborhood; prices here have slowed but have still continued to increase, even though inventory is up. We have a few "extras" over area homes such as an office or MIL apt, detached 2 car garage, slightly larger property, oversized driveway (approx 2 yrs old), fully fenced yard (vinyl fencing, 1 yr old), new roof and solar panels. The solar panels cover 60% of my electrical use (heat & hw are gas) plus return approx $200 per month from the sale of energy credits.
We also have fully renovated bathrooms (2 are floor-to-ceiling tile, whirlpool tub and heated floor in main bathroom, 1/2 bath has ceramic tile floors & 2/3 high tile walls, 3rd full bath has ceramic floors and wainscoting), ceramic tile floors in kitchen and foyer, hardwood floors throughout (BRs are carpeted over hw floors), updated windows, new energy-efficient furnace. Kitchen has upgraded oak cabinets with pull-outs, drawers have organizers, cutlery trays, etc. Wiring was upgraded as we did renovations, and elec service was upgraded to 200 amp svc. There is an in-ground pool with separate (chain link) fence, concrete patio all around, upgraded loop-loc cover, (I know pool can be a plus or minus, depending upon buyers), plus a 17' x 24' deck with access from both kitchen door and sliders from family room and a motorized SunSetter awning.
Some of these items may carry a value, some will just (at least hopefully) help marketability. Down sides are there are a couple of small cracks in the kitchen floor (been there since 1 mo after the install - has not changed/worsened since), deck is only in fair condition, and house is painted (1 1/2 yrs ago) but is also only in fair condition, and landscaping is incomplete (had old, overgrown shrubs & trees removed, but have only replaced with grass so far).
We renovated the kitchen approx 10 yrs ago. Cabinets are high quality, oak in color, current laminate counter is a small speckled pattern, primarily teal in color, ceramic tile backsplash, basically white in color with a teal & grey diamond graphic in center of accent tiles, and appliances are black. My appliances are dying; at a minimum I must replace my microwave (built in over stove) and my refrigerator. Dishwasher is not washing as well as it should and obviously new appliances would be much more energy efficient. Just before we decided to move, I was going to update my countertops to granite - cost estimates are approx $2,000, and rweplace my front doors (2), for approx $2,000 - $2,500 for both.
Now, my questions: now that we are going to sell sooner than originally anticipated, do I (a) install the granite countertops (or possibly the granite overlay product) (b) also replace the backsplash with a more current tile (cost will be minimal, as we can do the install ourselves) (c) replace all the appliances to the more popular stainless (can do all 4 in Kenmore brand for ~$2,000 + tax; most other brands will be at least $600 to $800 more) or just replace the absolutely necessary ones? Also, I can replace the cracked tiles in the kitchen, but I am concerned the new tiles will be as obvious if not more so than the hairline cracks. Q (d) is do I replace the doors and (e) do I plant a few shrubs/plants, etc or just keep the yard "neat"?
My thought is the kitchen updates will go a long way in helping the sale and may even help the price, especially considering the price range. However, I know curb appeal is important, and thus perhaps the doors would be a better investment. I'm not so sure doing all five renovations would be cost effective.
Can someone give me some feedback on the advisability of these possible updates? At an absolute minimum I need to replace the microwave; even the refrig is not "required" - it works ok (not great), except the water supply line to the front supply is cracked, but NJ does not require a refrig to be included.
I'm sorry if this post is too long, but I didn't know how to describe the relative issues otherwise.
Each market is different as to what you expect for $700-750k. You should first compare your home to the last couple of homes that have sold in your neighborhood for this price range... do they have new appliances, granite, etc. in order to get a benchmark. Without knowing this, I'd first say that you need to update your kitchen, especially if the appliances are in poor condition. Also, the exterior grounds need to be appealing and inviting or else potential buyers will just drive away and not come in. I'm not sure why you want to replace your front doors... can you paint/stain them to save some money? Also, I'd try and find a good replacement for the floor tiles unless the hairline cracks are not noticeable.
kdzgon give us some pics and we can advise properly. Kitchens & bathrooms are number one to buyers along with landscaping, curb appeal is a major factor in landscaping & it isn't that expensive.
I would address the outside first-curb appeal still counts you have to get them interested enough to want to come inside and it speaks to your good stewardship of the home! Next, do the kitchen in your price range that is almost an expected feature. If the countertops look good then leave it, if not consider the silestone-no staining! overlay. There will be a REALTOR in this process? then get the advice from everyone you speak to about the listing and take the neighborhood consensus into consideration too. After all they know the market better than we do. Also I highly recommend a visit to the competing houses. Get a feel for what your property is up against and act accordingly. Some of that can be done by simply asking the agent to send you an e-mail with all of the houses that are currently on the market. Most mls's will let them set this up so that you get an e-mail for every new house that comes on the market. One e-mail with all of them, updated as they appear on the MLS. Then you can stay priced right and watch the condition at the same time. Great luck with it!
Thanks for the quick responses - I posted pics of the main bath, and I'll post some pics of the other bathrooms, kitchen and outside in the next day or so -
The price range comes from the realtor, btw. The homes in the price range vary somewhat as to what is included re: countertops, etc. I am having a little bit of a problem finding similar homes available for sale to compare - mine is a split colonial, but the larger model of two styles that were built at the time. There are a number of the smaller ones listed, but few if any of my home's size & floorplan. I also have an office (add'l sf) that the other homes don't have.
I know I need to replace the broken/ailing appliances. The question is do I change the color, which means replacing a perfectly functioning slide-in range, and a perfectly acceptable dishwasher (all appliances were above-avg (residential) quality when purchased, not "builder grade, etc), or just replace the broken ones? ie, does the current "stainless steel" trend make that much difference (my gut says "yes", but I'm not sure).
The cracks are not really noticeable, so I hesitate to mess with it at this time. I figure I can always repair it if it becomes an issue, but I also know you only get one chance at first impressions.
There will be a realtor involved, but I want to finish my punch list and de-cluttering (at least the first wave) before calling him in (we have spoken on the phone already). I had a termite inspection done (no problems) and I am also seriously considering a home inspection.
I want to change the front doors because the existing ones are old and not in great shape. I figure it will help with both our current energy efficient improvements as well as curb appeal. (I forgot - we also replaced our leaky, log burning fireplace with a new realistic-looking, energy efficient gas-burning one - another "extra" over similar homes.)
kdzgon, bringing in a home inspector for a pre-listing home inspection is a good idea. Since you've got the time to fix up and de-clutter before listing, I believe this will save you time and enhance your chances of selling. It should also help with the price you get if things that need to be fixed are done before listing. I always recommend a pre-listing home inspection to sellers that I have if the house is over ten years old or if there appears to be problems that need to be addressed before listing. The home inspection report can be used as a good plan of action to get the property ready for listing. It's like the Midas commercial-fix it now or fix it later.
Thanks for the quick responses - I posted pics of the main bath, and I'll post some pics of the other bathrooms, kitchen and outside in the next day or so -
The price range comes from the realtor, btw. The homes in the price range vary somewhat as to what is included re: countertops, etc. I am having a little bit of a problem finding similar homes available for sale to compare - mine is a split colonial, but the larger model of two styles that were built at the time. There are a number of the smaller ones listed, but few if any of my home's size & floorplan. I also have an office (add'l sf) that the other homes don't have.
I know I need to replace the broken/ailing appliances. The question is do I change the color, which means replacing a perfectly functioning slide-in range, and a perfectly acceptable dishwasher (all appliances were above-avg (residential) quality when purchased, not "builder grade, etc), or just replace the broken ones? ie, does the current "stainless steel" trend make that much difference (my gut says "yes", but I'm not sure).
The cracks are not really noticeable, so I hesitate to mess with it at this time. I figure I can always repair it if it becomes an issue, but I also know you only get one chance at first impressions.
There will be a realtor involved, but I want to finish my punch list and de-cluttering (at least the first wave) before calling him in (we have spoken on the phone already). I had a termite inspection done (no problems) and I am also seriously considering a home inspection.
I want to change the front doors because the existing ones are old and not in great shape. I figure it will help with both our current energy efficient improvements as well as curb appeal. (I forgot - we also replaced our leaky, log burning fireplace with a new realistic-looking, energy efficient gas-burning one - another "extra" over similar homes.)
I might be a little late on this one, but I agree that you will want to add some bushes or something to the front yard. Color is always good but with the bad weather coming if you can find a way to even plant bushes without them dying then I would go for it.
For the kitchen, I personally don't think every house needs to have granite countertops and stainless appliances. If you don't want to go over the top on price look for a stainless look appliance that isn't really stainless, you may be able to replace all of the appliances in your kitchen for what it could cost to get just the microwave and the fridge in stainless. Then just have your realtor point out that it won't show fingerprints like stainless does. If your countertops are in good shape then I would leave them. You can always include a budget for that at closing, we requested that to replace a broken stove because we wanted to pick it out ourselves. I would also leave the cracks in the floor alone if you can't see them without scrutinizing, it would probably cause more trouble to change them out.
Also, if you think your front door really needs replacing try your local craigslist. In the materials section here in Atlanta there are a lot of beautiful front doors being sold at discounts because they were special ordered but never used. You could luck out and find something at half the price that will be just what you need.
Good luck, we just moved into our new house and bought one that needed renovation because it was the only one we could afford in the neighborhood... I'm gearing our renovations towards the fact that in 7 years or so we want to move and I don't want to do it twice!
Due to the time of year, the best way for me to get more color in my yard in time will likely be potted plants. Come early spring the view is nice anyway because I have a large magnolia tree centered out front.
I was thinking the new doors would draw the eye, plus the doors really need to be replaced anyway (one is so cracked you can see light through it, and the bottom draft is horrible). If I go for a glass panel an added benefit will be more light in the foyer. I can replace both doors for well under $1,000 as my SIL will be visiting soon and can install them for me, so I think I'll do that fix.
SaraSatin, my only advice to you is do some of the repairs in a time frame that you can enjoy them. By time we got around to finishing the renovations, we were deciding to move (sudden time acceleration)!
I wouldn't worry about stainless if I didn't already need to replace so much. I looked at one set of "stainless look" but it was really just grey appliances. If upgrading I was planning on getting (a better grade) imitation ss, as the fingerprints are a real nuisance!
FOr the price you are selling I would expect:
at least Corian, granite, or quartz
I would hate the backsplash so I would replace that with something that is neutral in color
I personally do not like Oak, so I would either let them alone for those who do like that look (i think it dates a home) or I would paint them or replace.
I would do stainless appliances
THis is what I WOULD DO...You have to do what you can afford...but I think you will be much better off in the long run to make the improvements. Kitchens and Baths sell homes.
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