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I rejected a 35 year old house that had been recently updated. I didn't like the new kitchen cabinets or bathroom fixtures. Since the price included the recent updates, I wouldn't make an offer - I'm not going to pay for new things I dislike and are of poor quality. This is especially true for houses that are being flipped. Flippers tend to update with cheap, but attractive looking, items.
I bought another 35 year old house in the same neighborhood as that house but that had the original cabinetry and was priced to reflect that. I updated the house with my own preferences and got the kitchen and bathrooms I wanted - not what the flipper put in the first house. My total expense for the house and updates was just slightly more than the price at which the first house had been listed. But I now had MY house; not someone's elses idea of updates.
I sold my 40 year old house without any updates in one day. It was meticulously maintained and immaculate. The buyers came with their general contractor and planned to update the kitchen and bathrooms in the house. I am confident that they are as happy with their updated house as I am with mine.
There will always be people who don't understand quality and buy the glitter. There is a audience for HGTV.
I rejected a 35 year old house that had been recently updated. I didn't like the new kitchen cabinets or bathroom fixtures. Since the price included the recent updates, I wouldn't make an offer - I'm not going to pay for new things I dislike and are of poor quality. This is especially true for houses that are being flipped. Flippers tend to update with cheap, but attractive looking, items.
I bought another 35 year old house in the same neighborhood as that house but that had the original cabinetry and was priced to reflect that. I updated the house with my own preferences and got the kitchen and bathrooms I wanted - not what the flipper put in the first house. My total expense for the house and updates was just slightly more than the price at which the first house had been listed. But I now had MY house; not someone's elses idea of updates.
I sold my 40 year old house without any updates in one day. It was meticulously maintained and immaculate. The buyers came with their general contractor and planned to update the kitchen and bathrooms in the house. I am confident that they are as happy with their updated house as I am with mine.
There will always be people who don't understand quality and buy the glitter. There is a audience for HGTV.
I agree with you, but a lot of people just want that "ready to move in" look, and are too damn dumb to realize the carpet is new but won't last a couple of years, that all sorts of cheap faucets and appliances are again new but poor quality.
Unfortunately in America, catering to cheap and poor taste makes money. Consider any of the several "burger in a bag" drive through lunch chains.
In my neighborhood, an elderly homeowner had not updated a single thing in his 30 year old home. The home was custom built and he was the sole owner, so it was a time capsule for the early 90s for sure. It was the anti-HGTV. But it was clean as a whistle and clearly showed that the homeowner took care of the home. He just didn't see the need to update, what he had installed in the home suited his tastes quite fine.
The realtor priced it about $150k lower than the other homes because of the extensive renovating. Got an offer in a couple of days. Probably sold for more than asking.
People just want to buy into the neighborhood, and this was a perfect entry point. It was a family who bought it, not an investor.
The home was totally paid off, so knocking off 100k didn't really hurt him and he didn't have to go with the hassle of contractors. Not to mentioning, remodeling (thanks to supply chain) is expensive as hell now.
If you have a lot of equity in the home and really don't want the hassle, you may not really need any updating. If your lcoation is good, you don't need to update to sell either. "freshening up" is good advice. Just not worth spending lots of money on flooring, kitchens, etc. If the market is hot, it will sell and you'll make money
Is it worth the hassle or investment to remodel an older home before selling it if you don’t have time or knowledge for such project?
No. Leave it for people like me who like outdated-looking homes so that they can remodel it themselves. Not everyone is looking for an updated-looking home. And some might just like the style that you have. That's my opinion of course (if the house looks remodeled recently, it's probably not something I'm going to buy).
That's why you go neutral. People don't object to new and neutral in general. Flippers make profit. How do you explain this as it contradicts your post?
"Flippers make profit." Yes, but how much is the pertinent question. If they put fifty thousand into a basic flip and get back eighty thousand on the sale they may very well have been better off just getting forty or fifty over what they paid with minimal investment and very little time wasted. When you use the term "in general" that's generalizing and that's not how to optimize. "Neutral" is not one size fits all; they can be grays and they can be tans - there are people who don't like one or the other so they immediately get cut out of the buyer pool.
There's the old flooring question - every choice is going to reduce the pool of buyers. Sure, there are some buyers who get blinded by the new and don't care what anything looks like but it might take longer to find that buyer; time is money - and the OP said they didn't have the time or the interest.
"Flippers make profit." Yes, but how much is the pertinent question. If they put fifty thousand into a basic flip and get back eighty thousand on the sale they may very well have been better off just getting forty or fifty over what they paid with minimal investment and very little time wasted. When you use the term "in general" that's generalizing and that's not how to optimize. "Neutral" is not one size fits all; they can be grays and they can be tans - there are people who don't like one or the other so they immediately get cut out of the buyer pool.
There's the old flooring question - every choice is going to reduce the pool of buyers. Sure, there are some buyers who get blinded by the new and don't care what anything looks like but it might take longer to find that buyer; time is money - and the OP said they didn't have the time or the interest.
Bottom line, more people like new, updated, and good condition over dated and needs repairs and they'll pay for it. While not every buyer likes gray walls and beige carpet or whatever flooring goes in, fact remains more people would pay more that house than the dated home. Dated homes that need updating usually sell for significantly less even if in good repair than an updated home. So yes, there is a return on investment.
No. Even with an expensive home, maybe especially with an expensive home. I can't tell you how many houses I remodeled for a customer getting ready to sell, and then here comes the new buyer and does it all over again because they don't like the countertops or colors or whatever. Just make it look as nice as possible and price accordingly....
Do you have an agent? This might be a good time to interview agents do that kind of foot work, and ask them. Because every market is different.
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, and I would say out here every micromarket is different. I was terrified I was going to have to repaint and do some fixes, and my heart was not in it. Especially because I was pretty sure anybody that moved into this house was going to get it and rehab it and flip it. Because that’s what’s been happening to all of the houses for sale in this area.
My real estate agent told me to clean, keep it clean, and take down all the personal stuff, and clear it out as much as possible — pack everything you can. I did leave some pictures up, generic kind of poster prints.
I have another friend who lives in a really expensive part of town, and she had an agent in who is actually a friend of hers. Came over for dinner. And because I’m selling, they got into a discussion about her house. Her kitchen is circa 1970s. The house is well over 100 years old. And they did a great remodel that needed to be done, but they didn’t do the kitchen because they ran out of money. The agent said to her if you redo this kitchen, spend $75,000, top-of-the-line appliances, custom kitchen cabinets, everything in white, which fits because she likes that, she could probably get her an extra 1/2 million for this house. The house itself would sell for over 5 million.
So that’s why I say, ask your agent. The agent will know the right thing to do. And if the agent tells you you have to dump $100,000 into the house to make it sellable, you might want to check another agent.
__________________ Solly says — Be nice!
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Solly says — Be nice!
