Makes sense to renovate?
Does it make sense to renovate our kitchen if we need to sell, say when the RE market improves in some years? Right now, the place has not been touched for let’s say, 50 years. There are no cabinets or countertops (only shelves), walls are a patchworked mess, appliances are worth only as junk, no…
Does it make sense to renovate our kitchen if we need to sell, say when the RE market improves in some years? Right now, the place has not been touched for let’s say, 50 years. There are no cabinets or countertops (only shelves), walls are a patchworked mess, appliances are worth only as junk, no proper outlets, ceiling was taken down to the beams, electrical is ancient, floors are old plastic tile, plumbing lines are exposed, etc.
I am making plans to renovate, thinking that in the current state, this kitchen (and adjoining bath, laundry, dining area) would bring down the value of the house, just because it makes the house a fixer-upper (the other floors are in much better shape). It’s going to cost an arm and a leg (150K maybe). Is it wise to go to this expense or better to save and sell as is down the road?
I find this post confusing — are you living in the house now and using the kitchen as you describe? It doesn’t sound like a usable kitchen. If you plan to live there for 2 or more years, you should definitely do a very inexpensive renovation in order to simply make it a proper usable kitchen.
When we did our brownstone renovation in 2001 I read alot of renovation magazines, and the common wisdom was that you never get your money back in a renovation, but that kitchens were one of the items in which you got a higher % of expense back (maybe 75%). It’s only in this heated NYC bubble market that people expect to get their money back plus more when they renovate.
Why not assume that what you like is what an eventual buyer would like and make your home your own? If it is attractive, it will sell and people often renovate kitchens to their own taste anyway.
Why not assume that what you like is what an eventual buyer would like and make your home your own? If it is attractive, it will sell and people often renovate kitchens to their own taste anyway.
Why not assume that what you like is what an eventual buyer would like and make your home your own? If it is attractive, it will sell and people often renovate kitchens to their own taste anyway.
I can give you a direct comp: We bought our current 3 br floor-through in spring 07. It was mostly renovated, save the kitchen (which was much as you describe) and the utility/maid’s room. Coincidentally, just after we moved in our new neighbor’s job was relocated, and they sold their fully renovated (low- to mid-range kitchen cabs/appliances) IDENTICAL unit for 85K MORE (about 10% premium over our unit) a month later.
We’re about to start gutting our kitchen and expect to spend about 30-35K for a mid-range job. So we figure we’ll be getting a free $50k out of the deal when we sell.
In short, I’d renovate, but don’t go crazy on fixtures/appliances etc. There’s a lot of people who want to move right in, so why automatically rule them out as buyers?
$150k?? Are they making 24-caret gold Subzeros now? Seriously, you should be able to do a bottom-up kitchen reno for less than half that cost. Mine cost me less than $20k and that included a new 150 s/f kitchen extension. But I built the cabinets and did everything except the extension construction and granite installation.
http://www.brooklynrowhouse.com/house/kitchen
we gut rennovated a four story brownstone including installing 3 kitchens and four bathrooms for $250K. for the money you are talking about you can get a lot more than a kitchen and some infrastructure. i’d definitely say do the work but you might want to do it on a more careful budget. i don’t think very high end kitchens attract buyers more than a clean, simply designed budget option
don’t YOU need a kitchen tho?
I guess I’d do the demo, spend some money to bring the place up to code (upgrade elec, etc), put in Ikea kitchen and a “suite” of appliances (standard GE oven/dw/fridge from lowes can be done for 2K).
It depends too on what this is: a studio? a brownstone?
I’d put some money into it — there are a lot of people who would run from a house that screams “needs everything”.
It really depends on what sort of buyer you are looking for – one who wants to renovate, or one who wants something done and livable.
I’m with Mrs. Limestone – can’t imagine doing it just for resale – it isn’t an easy process, even if it is what you do for a living. aggravating as hell.
and, in this market, are you sure you would make more than you put into it? no way to know. Different from doing a quick reno that you know will bring up the price dramatically in a seller’s market that is rising.