My kitchen was last remodeled about 20 years ago, and I'd like to avoid redoing it prior to selling house in 2 -3 years. The oak cabinets could definitely use refinishing, but I'm hoping that (as I read somewhere) a really thorough cleaning will pass muster. especially since I'll finish the oak floors. (That is, if please g-d, the water stains can be sanded out! Fearing they're too deep...?)

The fridge has been discussed in spades, and I guess I'll have to replace the dishwasher too. For one thing, it's not working (and doesn't seem fixable - a fair run for one nearing ten years of age). As serious, perhaps, it looks seedy.

Which brings me to the broader topic - how much do older appliances (even if working) matter in turning off prospective purchasers? My house will never be a showplace because it was a 1954 DIYers experiment, but it once looked quite attractive at the time of my original remodel and expansion. Now, far from.

(To repeat an old, sad story - I HAD to buy it. Really! After a two year rental, landlords' divorce meant buy or move. I had never liked it but originally figured so-what since it was just a rental (in what was then a tight market). When it came time to move, though, I ran into an insurmountable roadblock. Upon signing the lease on a brand new house, I looked up to see my young son turning blue. His life-threatening asthma and allergies - he required emergency medication against "essence of cat" at allergist's office! - meant we had to stay put in our "known evil".

There being no way to rent or buy a house on trial, I realized with horror, that since he was really deathly ill (pulmonologists and allergists gave him a 50% chance of survival ) I was stuck. He scored 5 (highest) on all but 3 of 50 allergy test pricks. The house I was forced to remain in, was a great money sink to make tolerable, owing to poor aesthetics, poor construction, and all the anti-allergenic remediations I needed to put into effect.

I'll resist giving more detail about what was a financial and medical trauma, but I'm still coping with its many flaws although I spiffed it up a good bit (at great expense) plus making changes to accommodate us - fully-fenced yard for dogs, built-in dream office, rugs tossed and all floors refinished (dust being one of the great enemies), whole house HEPA cleaner installed...Later, adaptations for my own mobility issues.

Now much later, I'm weighing how to make it marketable without spending more than a dollar to save a dollar. It looked pretty pretty when I first corrected as many inherent defects as I could (NO thanks to incompetent house inspector! Practically as soon as the deed changed hands, I had to construct a French drain around the garage, and completely rebuild a tall, 40' retaining wall - for starters ) Both were structural necessities - plus all new double/triple pane windows and as much new insulation as was easily put-in-able and more.

So, back to the appliances and the present tense.

Much of the now needed work (considerable) is remedial maintenance I'm finally able to attend to now that difficult sons are grown and no longer the focus of my life. I want to minimize expenses as much as possible while hoping to return house to its optimal condition (after remodel #1). Hope to get away with deep scrub of oak cabinets without refinishing them so they will again match the oak flooring, if please g-d, their water stains will sand out (worried).

Those kitchen appliances (apart from dishwasher and fridge) work but are not beautiful. A friend advised me to buy all new (bottom of the line) appliances, saying they would easily pay for themselves.

What do you think? I've done my best to clean the ones I have to a T (razors, Q-tips, in every little nook and cranny) but no one would mistake them for new, to say the least.

The worst may be the smooth top range, whose oven door window is nasty inside. (Do they ALL get that way?) I certainly can't reach inside to clean it, and so I'm wondering again about my friend's suggestion - getting all new, economy model appliances - maybe stainless, if that's what the market cries for.

How much does appliance newness matter to prospective purchasers? Maybe Steve as a house flipper, would have an especially informed opinion much as the local housing market is priced far below LA environs (and the purses of buyers).

Do not replace your appliances to sell your house - as long as they work, don’t worry about them. Clean and declutter.

Agree with jodi 100 percent.

I wouldn't spend time and resources trying to spruce up the kitchen; the chances of redecorating it to someone else's taste is low, and you'll spend a ton of money in the process.

True story....A friend of mine completely remodeled her kitchen in her condo shortly before selling, including all new appliances. Cabinets were neutral, gorgeous granite countertop. New floor. All in current color palette.

If kitchens sell a house, it should have been what sold the unit. Turns out she would have done much better had she left it alone.

The buyers tore out literally everything and even convinced the appliance store to take back the (stainless steel) refrigerator for a unit they preferred. And we're not talking million dollar house here; it was a condo that sold for a little over $300K.

I suspect (from your description), that your kitchen is like mine. It's from another era. You don't see oak these days. And while I've seen black stainless steel, I'm not seeing a lot of plain black appliances. Clear off the counters and clean it all, but that's as much as I'd do.

And of course do the same for the whole rest of the house.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
Do not replace your appliances to sell your house - as long as they work, don’t worry about them. Clean and declutter.

What th? CAN YOU SEE THROUGH THE MONITOR?

Ahahaha!

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
Agree with jodi 100 percent.

True story....A friend of mine completely remodeled her kitchen in her condo shortly before selling, including all new appliances. Cabinets were neutral, gorgeous granite countertop. New floor. All in current color palette.

If kitchens sell a house, it should have been what sold the unit. Turns out she would have done much better had she left it alone.

The buyers tore out literally everything and even convinced the appliance store to take back the (stainless steel) refrigerator for a unit they preferred. And we're not talking million dollar house here; it was a condo that sold for a little over $300K...

OUCH! It would have been less painful if she'd never known.

Guess, I'd best buy CHEAP black replacement fridge and dishwasher (neither one working, I might as well match the rest of the appliance color scheme).

You may have saved me a bundle on counter tops. All mine are white tile with black grout, oak trim with enough cracked or broken to require replacing.

Anybody have any idea about the relative cost of redoing such a tile job versus granite? (Bear in mind, the overall color scheme is black and white, with oak where there's wood - cabinets and floor - and bright splashes of color here and there. red teapot, etc.

Oh! And what about a small seedy ground floor bathroom - grey is overall theme (grey, no-skid floor tile, large hand-painted floral tile around tub, and floral wall-paper in grey and floral design. Miraculously found colors and flowers in both that match.

Clear glass corner shelves (1/4 circle), and all metal fixtures are bright brass. Tiny pedestal sink opposite toilet - both barely allow passage in-between to tub (no choices here about size, but should the paper be replaced? It's peeling in a few corners.)

Make sure everything works. Declutter as much as you can and clean everything, especially windows.

Nothing else you do is going to make much difference as far as resale.

I wouldn't replace your countertop with granite. I have granite and love it, but it is going out of style.

I would remove wallpaper and paint, though. Wallpaper really turns a lot of people off.

Seriously, I wouldn't do anything but make your home look spacious. The buyers will rip out the bathrooms and kitchen anyway.

Cindy -- sad that no buyer is going to appreciate her formerly snazzy 23-year old kitchen with granite counters, maple shaker cabinets that won't wipe clean, and gun metal blue backsplash

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Make sure everything works. Declutter as much as you can and clean everything, especially windows.

Nothing else you do is going to make much difference as far as resale.

Re "nothing else making a difference" I presume you're excluding the desperately needed repainting of interior. (what colors??), replaced siding (don't ask) - most is brick - and repainting exterior trim.

A 10' sit-in bay window in LR, Andersen, was never properly installed. It sags slightly outward which prevents the two (side) single-hung windows from fully closing. Not hugely unsightly, but clearly a defect and requires sealing in Winter. Appears unlikely it can be fixed at this late date. (I still have the diagram that came with - think there are pulleys inside, above.) Could it be buttressed from below - all brick - without cracking the glass? Or can this kind of thing be disclosed and sold as-is?

And of course, there are other little discordant matters: a missing spindle on front porch, wobbly bottom post (needs concrete at base which must have rotted), my street lamp just stopped working (no, it's not the bulb), and then there are these two small super irritating issues. (They'd turn me off if I were house shopping. - at least, at this age and with the experience I've acquired after many years of home ownership.)

1) the one basement exterior window (single pane, crank-out) is cracked - as it was when the house was purchased! It's not going to be easy to replace as some previous owners put the whole house AC wire through it. Also, the dryer vent. There's concrete or brick above and below the window, so they must have been considered "better than nothing" solutions.

(Maybe it can be reglazed on site?)

2) a few electrically related annoyances:
the slob who put up the 200 amp box, made a complete hash of the what goes where chart.

Also, I'd like to make sure all the switches and plates are the same colors. (i.e., white not white AND ivory).

Yes, I'm a tad OCD. Why do you ask?

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

We're not even going to discuss what to do about that now-disconnected upstairs (turquoise) toilet. The exploding one. I'm still debating (need more expertise) whether to expand the mini 1/4 bath to a whole one, in a dormer.

And what to do about added rooms that were never properly insulated?...(I put up insulation a few decades ago - underneath the garage ceiling tiles). That stopped the rooms in the addition from being so cold the dog's water dish above it, froze.

However, since then, squirrels having hoe-downs appear to have reduced its R-value a good bit by trampling it. (Should I redo the insulation, tearing down the ceiling tile??)

Lastly, what ought I do about a roof which could last (so everyone says) several/a few more years? But what will that do to the house's resale value it it's marketed right at the edge of roof's lifespan? (Musing: there seem to be major differences in cost of roofing. If I have re-roofing done at a below average rate, will that be a big plus to a buyer?)

Sorry, Steve - feel free to ignore (or indefinitely delay) addressing these issues which got so out of hand.

They are almost entirely a casualty of not having "two heads to be better than one" - while living here and (necessarily) focusing on raising and salvaging two "problem kids" alone.

Walk away, Amanda.

Whoever buys your house is going to be someone who wants to make it in to an art project or a flipper who can get the work done at a fraction of what you would pay.

What you have there is a blank canvas. Any improvements you make are not likely to show a return.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Walk away, Amanda.

Whoever buys your house is going to be someone who wants to make it in to an art project or a flipper who can get the work done at a fraction of what you would pay.

What you have there is a blank canvas. Any improvements you make are not likely to show a return.

There ARE flippers making repeated inquiries, but I can't afford to lose the $100K+ I can make my house sell for, by indispensable repairs and basic up-to-snuffishness. (Not a few that need doing, would be immediately flagged as code violations and/or by an even halfway competent house inspector). Prospective buyers with their reps, would just deduct from the price, everything they'd claim (rightly) needs doing - and perhaps at even above cost.

I DO get the message not to spend on anything too trendy* (and certainly nothing extra pricy based on a personal sense of style.)

There IS a lot that is absolutely necessary, though, Steve, as the synopsis above indicates.

Which reminds me, I hear ALL the time people going for a house (indeed, I myself would) because it's "move in ready". Well, quite apart from being over-filled, as is, mine gives the opposite message.

Nope. Just walk away.

Start fresh.

What Steve said. Declutter and clean - you putting a ton of work and $$ into it won’t make you any more money (and might lose you money) and will definitely waste your time and cause you way more stress than necessary.

Boy. This is tough.

If you were experienced at repairs and had a lot of time and energy, I would say make the repairs. Then you could attract flippers and families and sell for more in a hot market.

But by the time you hire someone to do all of this work and declutter, you may miss the boom market. It is hard to find anyone to do a large, lucrative job, and that’s not what you’re looking for.

Unless your planning to gut the house and make everything gorgeous (thereby becoming a flipper yourself), then it makes no sense to do little stuff that is not going to bring in families.

I’m on Team Declutter and sell it as is. Life is short.