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Well I'm asking this question because my other half thinks I'm overpaying on buying expensive appliances. Are buying top brand appliances worth the cost? I'm looking at replacing some ancient appliances with Bosch and maybe Fisher & Paykel (Bosch is backordered everywhere). Personally I just like the aesthetic of them over anything that's your standard brand appliances brands.
I live in North Jersey where most homes are 100 years old, small old vacation homes on a lake, many are out out of date, however its a very high cost of living area (house sales $320 sq/ft) and luxury items are nice but not always expected. My kitchen needs an upgrade, but its not in the budget this year and I think new appliances will make it look nice for the time being instead of doing a 40-50k update. Probably will be selling because of work in the next 6 months - 3 years.
Think will be able to recover the cost when selling versus just going with medium grade appliances?
Upper end appliances are probably expected in multi-million dollar houses. Other than that they are nice, but aren't going to affect the price of the house.
If you are redecorating for yourself, get the appliances that you want to use. I think the Bosch appliances are mighty nice. Myself, I have a spendy refrigerator and I love it. It makes me happy, and I consider that to be worth a couple thousand extra it cost. I like it so much I bought the matching dishwasher, which works really well, but it is a dishwasher so I don't pay much attention to it beyond that it works well.
If a person cooks, a good stove and oven are worth the money to have and enjoy, not to be bought for future resale value, but to use right now,
Just a caution, some of the really expensive fashionable appliances do not have good customer reviews. Check reviews before buying.
Unless the floor plan is hopeless, you can get a very nice kitchen update by simply paying a qualified painter to spray paint the kitchen cabinets. That makes it look like you have brand new cabinets and the cost isn't too bad.
I have a Bosch dishwasher and would never buy another brand - for myself. But to me, if the kitchen needs upgraded, not doing the full upgrading but putting in nice appliances is putting lipstick on a pig. I would not waste the money, it's not going to come back to you in selling price. At best it may make it a little easier to sell, but at least right now, that's a non-issue most places anyway.
If you're selling in 6 mos, I wouldn't splash for high end appliances in an otherwise outdated kitchen. If you're selling in 3 years, the enjoyment you'll get from them might make it "worth" the extra investment.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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In a buyer's market it might make a bit of difference, but today with so many offers over asking that's the least important thing to the buyers, the fact that it's for sale is all that matters. If you will be there a few years go for it and enjoy them. We are painting the outside of ours, almost $8,000 and plan to enjoy it until we sell in 2 years. Hopefully it still looks fresh then.
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