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Renovating to Sell - Top Things You Can Do To Help Your Kitchen
Sell!
The number one thing that any homeowner can do to improve the
appearance of the kitchen is to DECLUTTER IT! No potential homebuyer
wants to walk into your house and see so much of you and your stuff that
they cannot imagine their own stuff in the house.
Those wonderful family memories on the refrigerator door, such as
children’s paintings, magnets outlining your travels or notes reminding
you of your weekly agenda are great for the family. Not for the person
who wants to buy your house. Pack them away.
Simply scrubbing your kitchen can make another major difference. For
wooden cabinets that may be grease splashed or dirty, clean them really
well and polish them with a solid car wax, buff them out and you have
brand new looking cabinets. If they are simply too worn for that to
work, remove the faces and drawer fronts and give your cabinetry a new
look with a fresh coast of paint or stain. If your cabinets and/or are
way outdated (such as metal cabinets over brightly coloured benchtops)
you will want to invest a little bit of money and replace them. Nearly
100% of the investments that you make in your kitchen will be recouped
in the sale of your home. Just make sure that you do not over-do your
kitchen for the area you are in. For example, if you live in an area
where granite benchtops are not popular, you do not want to install
them, no matter how popular they may be.
One trick that will always help, take a look at the competition. Go to
the open houses in your immediate area and see what the kitchens in the
other homes for sale look like. Make sure that when you are finished
making your improvements, that your house has the best kitchen in the
community. It is not a myth that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses.
Update your appliances if it is financially possible to do. If it is
not, then make sure that your appliances sparkle. Clean the stove and
oven. Replace the little grease pans under the burners.
Address the flooring. If the linoleum is chipped, curling at the
corners, yellowed from age or just plain ugly – replace it. It is not
very expensive but is critical. Consider the cost of tile or even
hardwood, such as bamboo or a hardwood laminate.
You kitchen must be crisp, clean and sparkling. A great impression in
the kitchen will leave buyers remembering that wonderful kitchen and
much more likely to overlook other smaller issues throughout the house. |
