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Fully renovated houses are currently selling for $560K (give or take) in my neighborhood. Partially renovated (a few upgrades but nothing major like a kitchen) like mine sell for about $525K. The old rentals that were never renovated sell for about $500K.
About a year ago, I priced out getting my kitchen renovated. The lowest price I got (Home Depot) was $31k for new cabinets and countertops. I wasn't changing the footprint or even looking for new appliances (mine are already newer). I've never priced updating my bathrooms, but let's low ball it at $5000 per bathroom keeping in mind the national average is about $10k ($15k more added). So that puts my costs at $46K to upgrade those four rooms only. By the way, it's labor that's killing me. The cost of the materials isn't a lot. I thought about doing my own demo to save money, but I can't lift the granite countertops that are there (the previous owner put granite over builder's grade cabinets).
The base cost I can probably sell my house as it is now is $525k plus $46k in upgrades is $572k That is more than the average asking price of fully renovated houses in my neighborhood and I haven't even touched ripping out the carpet upstairs and replacing it with hardwood or redoing the patio to match the other $560k homes. And those nicely renovated houses didn't just get new cabinets and countertops like I was looking at. Most were major renovations with walls torn out, lines moved, etc.
If I could get double my money back or three times my money back, I would definitely do it. But I can't. I would think if most people could get double their money back, most people would do the same.
In your market, renovations do not pay. $560k vs. $525k.
If I were a seller, I would not upgrade.
If I were a buyer, I would only buy an upgraded unit.
$31k for cabinets and countertops? That seems like an insane quote. Shop harder and there are solo guys who do good work. Basic kitchen can be done for materials plus a few days of labor.
Having just lived through a complete kitchen gut renovation - there is definitely a premium I would pay to not have to go through it again, provided the renovation suited my tastes.
Before/after of our kitchen.
Sorry, but I don't like either of those kitchens at all, both of them would be ripped out if I was buying the house, and I wouldnt pay $25,000 more because the kitchen was "updated" to a style I cant stand!
As someone who's been househunting for a year, a fully updated house that is turnkey condition, meaning you can move in on day one and not have to do anything
And I do mean updated. All brand new kitchens, bathrooms (or very nicely restored), painted, new systems and all that.
Most kitchens are more similar than not, as I'm discovering in my research into kitchen renovation designs. It seems like 90%+ of cabinets are variants of the Shaker look,
Regarding the appliances, in my house the stove was deemed unsafe to use by the inspector (a very experienced man) and can only be turned on with the aid of a lighter. The fridge has mold. I do know people with 1940s Chamber stoves that are still going strong, but your standard General Electric of 1980 is not in the same category.
You may not want to pay for the renovations but you are not the market.
When I bought my 2 bedroom full basement 1930 farmhouse on 1/2 acre of rural land in 1998 I paid $7,900 for it, the annual taxes on it was around $100. It was in liveable condition but needed a lot of work- every bit of which I did myself, I didn't hire any contractor types even once. I redid the plumbing, electric, roof, replaced most of the wood floors with ceramic tile, replaced the 1950's built-in tub with a clawfoot tub, the toilet and sink I replaced too. The kitchen had NO cabinets at all and never did, the sink was a 1950s sheet metal base unit with a cast iron sink whose enamel had been worn inplaces to the iron- all replaced along with the single hung windows.
I didnt want to buy crappy commercially made junk cabinets made out of OSB and covered with veneer, or have a contractor install that junk, I built my own cabinets to suit my use, mainly with 3/4" thick cabinet quality hardwood plywood and solid oak, the drawer fronts are solid 3/4" oak.
The stove you mention sounds like the PILOT LIGHT system is bad, that's not really a safety issue- I have my pilot lights turned OFF on my stove on purpose and always use a lighter for it. Mold in a fridge can be cleaned out.
It really depends on what you are looking for. When I house shop I look at things like does it have vinyl siding, central air, natural gas heat, ductwork, copper or PEX in good shape, a PVC sewer line, Electrical that's in good shape, and the overall cleanliness level of the house.
The last thing I look at is cabinets and countertops but I'm not into super customizing my home for my "personality" because my personality is pretty bland and conservative. I probably don't fit the bill of the typical HGTV home buyer who thinks all those shows are not scripted.
Don't people just buy a house to LIVE IN any more these days? Ive lived in the same house for almost 23 years and I have no intention of moving to another house, but it's like I read comments all over and it's like people go to all the trouble and expense buying a house and moving in and 2,3,4, years later sell and move again! skrew that! moving is a super pain in the ass, so is having to pay closing costs and a mortgage, I bought my house almost 23 years ago and paid it off in 5 years- DONE with mortgages AND packing and moving trucks!
In your market, renovations do not pay. $560k vs. $525k.
If I were a seller, I would not upgrade.
If I were a buyer, I would only buy an upgraded unit.
$31k for cabinets and countertops? That seems like an insane quote. Shop harder and there are solo guys who do good work. Basic kitchen can be done for materials plus a few days of labor.
It was the cost of labor that was killing me on the quote. It seemed insane to me too. I shopped around, but it was mostly at box stores or cabinet supply stores. They were all about the same. Then again, I live in a very high cost of living area. So I think it comes with the territory. The cabinets themselves were only around $10k, it was the labor that was killing me. I just don't know where to find these solo guys who do this kind of work. I would still have to call in a granite company though to remove the countertops. No one else will touch them (the previous owners put granite on top of builders grade cabinets).
Asking on the neighborhood FB page yields nothing by "kitchen design companies" or the local box stores (which is where I got the quote I got). I asked a Realtor in my neighborhood and she told me not to worry, I didn't need to update my kitchen. My house would sell.
I guess we shall see in a year and a few months when I put it on the market. If it doesn't move, then I will consider doing something. But if it sells in a week like everything else here, I won't worry about it.
It was the cost of labor that was killing me on the quote. It seemed insane to me too. I shopped around, but it was mostly at box stores or cabinet supply stores. They were all about the same. Then again, I live in a very high cost of living area. So I think it comes with the territory. The cabinets themselves were only around $10k, it was the labor that was killing me. I just don't know where to find these solo guys who do this kind of work. I would still have to call in a granite company though to remove the countertops. No one else will touch them (the previous owners put granite on top of builders grade cabinets).
Asking on the neighborhood FB page yields nothing by "kitchen design companies" or the local box stores (which is where I got the quote I got). I asked a Realtor in my neighborhood and she told me not to worry, I didn't need to update my kitchen. My house would sell.
I guess we shall see in a year and a few months when I put it on the market. If it doesn't move, then I will consider doing something. But if it sells in a week like everything else here, I won't worry about it.
I would take that poster's comment with a huge grain of salt.
Nobody who's actually done a kitchen remodel would agree that it takes "a few days."
I would take that poster's comment with a huge grain of salt.
Nobody who's actually done a kitchen remodel would agree that it takes "a few days."
Good point. I don't remember how much time they told me in my quote, but I want to say it was more than a month. I since got rid of the quote. I decided not to do it and it wouldn't be good by now anyway. I am choosing to believe the agent who told me I shouldn't have trouble selling. My neighborhood is a very high demand neighborhood. While most of the houses here are remodeled out the wazoo, I think if I price my house accordingly, someone will buy it for a fair price.
When I bought my 2 bedroom full basement 1930 farmhouse on 1/2 acre of rural land in 1998 I paid $7,900 for it, the annual taxes on it was around $100. It was in liveable condition but needed a lot of work- every bit of which I did myself, I didn't hire any contractor types even once. I redid the plumbing, electric, roof, replaced most of the wood floors with ceramic tile, replaced the 1950's built-in tub with a clawfoot tub, the toilet and sink I replaced too. The kitchen had NO cabinets at all and never did, the sink was a 1950s sheet metal base unit with a cast iron sink whose enamel had been worn inplaces to the iron- all replaced along with the single hung windows.
I didnt want to buy crappy commercially made junk cabinets made out of OSB and covered with veneer, or have a contractor install that junk, I built my own cabinets to suit my use, mainly with 3/4" thick cabinet quality hardwood plywood and solid oak, the drawer fronts are solid 3/4" oak.
The stove you mention sounds like the PILOT LIGHT system is bad, that's not really a safety issue- I have my pilot lights turned OFF on my stove on purpose and always use a lighter for it. Mold in a fridge can be cleaned out.
Good for you.
The stove is rusty and missing two of its knobs. Perhaps you can live with it, but I won't.
Back to the thread. I'm in the middle of gathering quotes for just about everything and I can really see the advantages of paying premium for turnkey and not having to deal with the hassles. It's time consuming and distracting and will be very expensive. I'm glad I got a good price for the house and may have lucked out in that regard (sellers were out of state heirs looking for a quick and uncomplicated sale and I had the best financing but not the highest offer), which helps me sleep at nights
Sorry, but I don't like either of those kitchens at all...
Cool.
The fact is that the material is substantively better in the new kitchen, plus there are more cabinets and more counter space. I.E. it's worth more.
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