What to Prioritize In a Kitchen Remodel
It’s often said that two rooms sell a home: the kitchen and the bathroom(s). It’s also a widely-accepted truism that most home buyers are looking for homes that are updated, because simply put, they don’t want to do the work of updating. Therefore, if the two most important rooms aren’t updated, many potential buyers will start adding up the cost to update the kitchen and the bathrooms, at minimum, and may not offer as much for those homes.
Therefore, if you are considering updating your home to maximize the sales price, as well as compete with similar homes in your neighborhood, there are ways to prioritize these updates, based on your budget:
- Paint. Painting your kitchen, especially if it hasn’t been painted in the past five years, is a simple, inexpensive and quick way to update this area of your home. Be sure to pick a neutral color that will appeal to the widest range of buyers, and that will coordinate with your existing cabinets, countertops and appliances.
- Stainless Steel Appliances. Buyers still want stainless steel appliances, and this trend isn’t likely to change anytime soon. After paint, updating your appliances is another cost-effective, yet simple way to quickly update your kitchen.
- Flooring. After paint and appliances, take a look at the flooring in your kitchen. Buyers prefer tile or other hard flooring in the kitchen. Eighteen-inch porcelain or ceramic tiles in neutral colors are relatively inexpensive, yet provide a lot of bang for your buck when it comes to updating the look of your kitchen.
- Countertops. Non-laminate countertops in kitchens are very important to buyers in today’s market. Granite or quartz countertops in the kitchen are upgrades that will quickly update the look and style of your kitchen. There are various levels (or pricing) of granite, and I would be happy to suggest which level of granite would be appropriate for the price range of your home.
- Cabinets. Assuming you’ve already implemented the above updates, when it comes to prioritizing updates in the kitchen, the last piece of the puzzle is updating your cabinets. Depending on the type of wood and the style of cabinet you currently have, simply painting or refinishing your cabinets may do the trick. If the interiors of your cabinets are in good condition but the style of the doors is not current, re-facing may be a better option to update your cabinets. With re-facing, the doors and drawer fronts will be removed, and they can be replaced with any style or finish. A finished wood veneer will be affixed to the cabinet sides, and new knobs and handles can complete the updated look.
Updating your kitchen with any of the above suggestions will be sure to help you maximize the final sale price of your home. We look forward to working with you to prioritize the costs of any remodel or update you plan to undertake with an eye toward maximizing the sale price of your home.
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Home security is a home upgrade that may not have any flash or cosmetic appeal as upgrades such as new kitchen counters or flooring, but it is an upgrade that matters in the long run. The most comprehensive upgrade one can make to increase home security is a good alarm system. The mere presence of such a system is a visible deterrent to any home intruder.