? for those who have recently househunted

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leonie

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I’ve been watching House Hunters on Hulu

hulu.com/search?query=House+Hunters

and, I’ve noticed that all the people house hunting seem to want hardwood floors, new stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops. They like tile, and hate linoleum. They like storage and garden tubs.

Are most prospective buyers looking for those things?

We won’t be in a position to sell for a couple of years, but the house needs some work and I’d like to do it with selling in mind.

What kinds of things do you look for?
 
leonie said:
I’ve noticed that all the people house hunting seem to want hardwood floors, new stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops. They like tile, and hate linoleum. They like storage and garden tubs.

Are most prospective buyers looking for those things?
QUOTE]

Yes, these are classic upgrades that prospective buyers love. House hunters want durable, good-looking homes and that what stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors provide.

I read somewhere that if you’re goint to be renovating a house, you’ll get most return for your money when it comes time to sell by adding a wooden deck. Prospective homebuyers also really like updated kitchens and master baths.

My husband and I will be looking for our first home in a couple of years and although we probably won’t be able to afford evrything we’d like in a home, a modern, spacious kitchen with lots of counter space and a finished basement will definitely be on our wish list.
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leonie said:
I’ve noticed that all the people house hunting seem to want hardwood floors, new stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops. They like tile, and hate linoleum. They like storage and garden tubs.

Are most prospective buyers looking for those things?
Click to expand...
Yes, these are classic upgrades that prospective buyers love. House hunters want durable, good-looking homes and that’s what stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors provide.

I read somewhere that if you’re going to be renovating a house, you’ll get most return for your money when it comes time to sell by adding a wooden deck. Prospective homebuyers also really like updated kitchens and master baths.

My husband and I will be looking for our first home in a couple of years and although we probably won’t be able to afford everything we’d like in a home, a modern, spacious kitchen with lots of counter space and a finished basement will definitely be on our wish list.
 
nodito said:
Yes, these are classic upgrades that prospective buyers love. House hunters want durable, good-looking homes and that’s what stainless steel appliances and hardwood floors provide.

I read somewhere that if you’re going to be renovating a house, you’ll get most return for your money when it comes time to sell by adding a wooden deck. Prospective homebuyers also really like updated kitchens and master baths.

My husband and I will be looking for our first home in a couple of years and although we probably won’t be able to afford everything we’d like in a home, a modern, spacious kitchen with lots of counter space and a finished basement will definitely be on our wish list.
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Well, spacious we can’t do in a kitchen, but we could update it. What would you look for in a kitchen aside from size?

In our area, a finished basement isn’t a good idea because they flood around here.
 
leonie said:
Well, spacious we can’t do in a kitchen, but we could update it. What would you look for in a kitchen aside from size?
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Hmm, if I could design a new kitchen from scratch and money was no object? You’ve probably heard it before: Stainless steel applicances, or new, sleek, matching appliances. Updated cabinetry. Recessed lighting. New floor (wood? slate tile?) Granite counter tops, lots of counter space, if you can build an island or something. No wallpaper, just a nice coat of paint.

Wow, if money were no object…
 
My husband and I bought our first house in November. Because of the limits in our budget, our main concern was a good neighborhood and a solid home with not too many or no problems we’d have to put lots of money into. Although hard wood floors and stainless steel appliances would have been ideal, it just couldn’t be a must within our budget. We only had a month to look for a home because our one-bedroom condo sold almost immediately. We put it up Friday night and by Sunday it was sold. The place we bought had updated bathrooms, which was HUGE plus for us. The kitchen had pergo floors, which looked like hardwood. I don’t mind them. It didn’t have granite countertops, stainless steel appliances or updated cabinets, but it’s still a nice kitchen.

But I will say, that most of the people we know who make more money than us and have recently house-hunted, do look for the major upgrades - especially in a kitchen.
 
Kitchens sell houses. (We bought not too long ago, and will be upgrading the kitchen, which is quite large but has the original countertops.)

I am concerned about the radon that some granite emits, so may look at one of the engineered stones (Silestone and similar.) Concrete countertops are becoming popular (they don’t look like concrete.) I got some samples of a high end “stone look” laminate countertop material; much better looking, but it still looks and feels like laminate.

I love hardwood everywhere, but a stone (travertine, slate, etc.) floor would look wonderful and be fairly timeless in a kitchen. I’ve seen some good looking stained concrete floors, as well, but they can be hard on anything you drop. We had Pergo in the kitchen in our previous home, and it looked terrific, but it had a funny, hollow sound (maybe they’ve come up with a way to change that…) It was pretty indestructible, though.

Serious cooks seem to prefer the precision of cooking with gas. Built-in microwaves and double ovens are desirable. Stainless appliances are the way to go, and probably have some staying power. There are “stainless look” appliances that save you some $$$ but look great.

People here are pretty much over wallpaper, especially borders. There are so many terrific paint colors, and it’s such an easy fix, that it seems a no-brainer. (There is no more miserable job than removing wallpaper, I think.)

In bathrooms, walk-in showers with stone tile, or stalls with clear glass doors, are hot. Separate toilet rooms and double vanities are selling points. Big walk-in closets are practical and popular.

Good luck with your project!
 
Leonie,

The first thing to do when considering a renovation with an eye to selling is to sit down with a local realtor and understand the market in your neighborhood.

Granite, stainless steel, travertine, hardwoods, garden tubs, and built ins are all great-- except if they price you out of the market in your neighborhood or do not have adequate ROI within the timeframe you are looking to sell. The home shows make it look easy-- 30 minutes and voila… all under $2000. However, all the labor they are doing for free would cost a fortune!

Having just gutted and renovated our 100 year old farmhouse, I can tell you that the internet is your friend. If you can do some yourself, you can find great deals on the internet. If you get ready to do renovations PM me and I’ll give you some of my sites I found when renovating our house.

All the things you’ve listed are high end, and may not be *necessary *in your neighborhood. Or, they may be *very *necessary to compete. You need to get with a *local *realtor, have them run comparables and tell you what is hot in the market, to know for sure.

You do not get a 100% return on upgrades, but depending on what upgrades the realtor recommends you can try to do some of the work yourself (have any handy friends?) to save money.

Perhaps instead of solid granite countertops you can go with granite tile, or a granite-look laminate, or butcher block or ceramic tile. Solid surface materials are expensive but nice too.

Instead of hardwood, maybe go with a nicer laminate wood look, and ceramic tile in the kitchen/baths.

Small things like paint and new hardware on cabinets and new light fixtures can go a **long **way too in a kitchen or bathroom. And, some nice stuff from the big box stores can update a dated space.

Stainless steel is great, but if no one in your neighborhood has it, go with black.

When I was getting ready to sell my townhouse, I went to open houses in my neighborhood every Sat and Sun for months beforehand… that way I could see what was being offered in other homes, what price they were expecting (not necessarily getting) and then I paid attention to which ones sold and which ones stayed on the market. Then I updated my house with features I saw drawing attention at other open houses.
 
I agree with the suggestion to ask a realtor for suggestions.

When we were looking to sell/ buy (almost 4 years ago), we did not put a deck on our townhouse. We did paint, put in new carpet and a new roof at the suggestion of our realtor. We also put lots of stuff in storage to make the house look emptier and larger.

When we were looking for houses, we did not care about the things most people cared about. We had specific requirements in mind.

So . . . when the time comes, do all the things your realtors suggests, but most of all trust God, since he knows who the right buyer is 👍
 
KCT said:
I agree with the suggestion to ask a realtor for suggestions.

When we were looking to sell/ buy (almost 4 years ago), we did not put a deck on our townhouse. We did paint, put in new carpet and a new roof at the suggestion of our realtor. We also put lots of stuff in storage to make the house look emptier and larger.

When we were looking for houses, we did not care about the things most people cared about. We had specific requirements in mind.

So . . . when the time comes, do all the things your realtors suggests, but most of all trust God, since he knows who the right buyer is 👍
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This is true. Listen to your realtor. We were very happy that we did. As mentioned in a previous post, our condo was listed Friday evening and by Sunday it was sold and the buyer offered us $5000 more than our asking price. Our condo was about 40 years old. The realtor suggested for us to put a fresh coat of neutral paint and to carpet the entire place with neutral carpet. We also took his advice of clearing as much clutter as possible out of there, from taking down all personal items like photos, books, and little doo-dats. I did refuse to take down our crucifix, though. It was “staged” to look like a place anyone could live in. We just stored everything at my parents’ place.
 
1ke said:
Leonie,

The first thing to do when considering a renovation with an eye to selling is to sit down with a local realtor and understand the market in your neighborhood.
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I definitely agree.

I’ll expand on that to say that you have to “honor” the style of your house, if there is one.

Most houses are probably just houses. But the kind of things that you might want to do to a house if you live in a rainy, woodsy place are probably very different than those you would do in a very hot, dry location. Linoleum on the kitchen floor of a “farmhouse” may be a good choice while tile is probably the best for a Mediterranean style house. You probably want to consider the latest trends for counter tops, appliances and bathroom furnishings.

And remember, (as has been mentioned before), that you are unlikely to get much more for your house than what those in your neighborhood are selling for, regardless of how nice it is. So if you are making upgrades beyond what is typical for your area, accept that you are doing it for yourselves and not for investment purposes.
 
Most buyers are looking for those things. However, dh and I wouldn’t. I hate most of the kitchen and bathroom updates. It’s so bad, that I won’t even look at a house that looks too modern in decor. I can’t get past it. You aren’t selling to me, though. I’ve heard murmurings of granite being on the way out. I’m not sure if that’s true, though. It also depends on the price point of your house. Also, keep the integrity of your house. If you live in an old house, do not make it super modern. That turns off a lot of people.
 
Well, we live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath 80 year old farmhouse on one acre. The county has it accessed at 110,000. But, I think it’s its current run down condition, we’d be lucky to get 100K. It’s kind of unique for our area, which is surrounded by new subdivisions with small lots, I’m not sure how to compare to others. I think the people who’d be attracted to an old house on a nice lot might be different from those looking at new houses?

So, maybe we just update and paint everything and that’s good enough? I kind of like the idea of adding on a deck, since we aren’t selling for a couple of years and we’d have the use of it.
 
Since it’s an 80 year old farmhouse I wouldn’t go too modern on things. People who are looking at that, especially one on land, typically want the feel of the house to be preserved. If you have carpet over hardwood, I would suggest seeing if you could take it back to the wood. Most people looking at a house such as that would want and expect hardwood. A deck is a great thing. People want that. It is best for it to be covered so that you can still use it in the rain. Since you have a couple of years you can pace the changes. That’s good. I wouldn’t do any major updates until closer to selling, though, since trends will change. For your house, I would just suggest keeping it updated in the style of the house. Let me know when you decide to sell. Maybe hubby and I will be in the position to buy then.

Are the electrical and plumbing updated? Also, is the roof? Those are the three biggest things that people tend to look for when buying an old house.
 
Leonie,
you could start going to the “open houses” in your area , especially the similiar homes and see what they have for the list price. Also , you could have a real estate agent come in and see what they suggest. They will know what the “comps” - the comparable sales show.
 
Just a random thought here–have you noticed that what was once the latest style becomes, after a few years, outdated? In the beginning there was formica, then everybody had to have Corian (or a similar surface) for counter tops, then granite became the thing to have, and now they’re coming out with quartz. Appliances once were all white. Then, they became bronze or avocado, then white again, and now they have to be stainless steel. When we were house hunting about ten years ago, Realtors said walls and carpets had to be in neutral shades in order to sell. All we saw were beige or off-white interiors–even the carpeting.
Now you have to have color! Bright, vibrant color!
It’s hard to keep up with the changes in style.
 
*I’ve always been impressed with the homes that add in recycled materials to kitchens, bathrooms, etc. If you can somehow incorporate that, that to me, is something that has lasting appeal. I love stainless steel, but it could be a passing thing…but adding recycled materials to counter tops and floors in bathrooms, is plus, and that is something I’ve noticed on those house hunter shows, too.

Good luck in doing your upgrades! :)*
 
I can look at a house color choice and paint and carpet and wallpaper and tell you what year they last decorated.

I’m with everyone that says to keep your interior matching the style of the house. No, not everyone wants granite countertops. I have the usual builder’s grade in tan with oak cabinets. You know what? I LIKE it! When a cup tips over or a glass slips from my hand it doesn’t shatter on my countertop. I don’t have to put polish on it. I don’t have to worry about plates chipping on it. Same for stainless appliances. FINGERPRINTS! I know someone who has one and she’s always wiping it off.

Not everyone likes a dark kitchen. I personally love all white cabinets and butcher block countertops. I like a clean look. And tile on a kitchen floor can be a pain to maintain… think koolaid spilled into grouting. Gaah!

Vinyl flooring splinters. I have to replace mine. I’m not sure what I’m going to do but I don’t want hard stone floors. They dont’ feel clean to me, and I like my kitchen floor to feel sanitary. Make sure you have a stainless sink though. People like those. Double sink.

I like neutral interiors. Neutral carpet, neutral paint. That does sell best. I’ve seen too many people have to repaint rooms. Your daughter may love pepto-bismol pink in her room, but a buyer will look at it and say Yikes. :eek:

The best thing for a house… clean, bright, airy, good-smelling. And some landscaping in the yard.

But I wouldn’t kill myself doing top of the line improvements. I’ve redone a kitchen and added to bathrooms and didn’t get nearly enough back to pay for it. It’s a difficult market to sell in now. Whatever you do for your house, do it for you. And I agree a nice deck out back is great But use quality wood. There are even some synthetic materials that don’t have to be stained and coated every year.

I’m a wood floor buff myself. They always make a house look nice.
 
Liberanosamalo said:
Vinyl flooring splinters. I have to replace mine. I’m not sure what I’m going to do but I don’t want hard stone floors. They dont’ feel clean to me, and I like my kitchen floor to feel sanitary.
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Have you seen cork flooring? We’re going to replace our laminate flooring with cork in both kitchen and dining room, and down the hallway. It’s supposed to be easier on the feet, more sound absorbing and looks pretty darn nice.

Our kitchen has solid surface countertops and white appliances. THe white isn’t my favorite, but I don’t hate it. Stainless steel is gorgeous but like a pp said, who wants to constantly be wiping off the fingerprints? I’d rather have white and keep my sanity!
 
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