Remodel kitchen to improve sale-ability

irishguy

We were thinking of remodeling the kitchen in our house (spending around 4k) its about 12 years old and getting a bit tired, but still quite nice. We live in quite a sought after area where the house would fetch around 450/500 (even in the current climate). My question is would the cost of the refurb improve the sale price of the house? Or would it just be a waste of money.

The_Conductor

There really isn't a yes-no answer to your question. In general people like to put their own mark on a property when they buy it- and there is nothing to say that were you to spend 4-5k on a new kitchen that it would be to the taste of your potential purchasers.

If it is looking tired- look up some of the companies that do a cheap kitchen refurb- even painting the walls, revarnishing cupboard door and replacing any missing handles etc- will make the place look a whole lot better- and not cost 4-5k.......

So- your refurb might make a person fall in love with the kitchen, whereas on the other hand- it might make a potential purchaser want to rip it out and redo it from scratch- who knows.......

Cash is king these day- the price is going to sell the property- not a top-notch kitchen........

Will the 4-5k be reflected in the price. Almost certainly- no. Will it make the property sell more quickly? Possibly- if a potential buyer is able to line up their ducks in a row.

Also- I'd be seriously suspicious of your price expectations- do you know that property has sold at this price very recently? Keep in mind- property in Dublin fell 5% in January alone- and a further 3.8% in February. Just because something was worth x at Christmas- does not mean that a reasonable expectation just two short months ago is a viable proposition now........

the_syco

irishguy wrote: »

My question is would the cost of the refurb improve the sale price of the house? Or would it just be a waste of money.

IMO, no the both. I doubt it'll improve price, but it may be "that thing" that makes someone pick your house over a similar house a few doors down (provided the rest of the house is decent). If it's a sh|thole of a kitchen, maybe look into a cheap Ikea kitchen. If it's decent, and everything works, maybe some new doors for the presses will do.

But yeah, I doubt it'll help price. But how is the rest of the house? If you're selling it, there's not much point in doing it up as I doubt you'll get the cost back. My advice; look at a few houses that are for sale nearby you, and see how their kitchen (and the rest of the house) are compared to yours.

irishguy

Well we may be selling in the next few years (not 100% sure), a lot of the houses in the area that are owner occupied have quite high standards as they would be more expensive than ours. Rest of the house is in very good condition. House price would be about right ~60% under what they were selling for at peak.

Marcusm

Some friends of mine recently had their kitchen units painted cream - previously just varnished wood. Also added new handles and changed the tile splash backs. Gives a completely different look to the kitchen for a lot less money. Key was that they had a decent layout and decent units to start with.

The_Conductor

If you're looking longer term- aka sometime in the next few years- to be honest with you- whether or not you get a new kitchen now is 100% irrelevant. If you'd like a new kitchen for yourselves- go for it, but its an investment that is not going to be a factor in either saleability or price, years down the road.

Also- 60% down from peak- perhaps- but its entirely plausible that property prices have fallen a lot more than this- esp. if its in Dublin (prices outside the greater Dublin catchment area have not fallen to the same extent). Price falls have accelerated again, and while I wouldn't say property prices are in freefall- falls of 18-25% per annum in the Dublin area (higher falls for leasehold rather than freehold property- and greatest falls if there is a management company involved).

60% is a nice figure that the government like to bandy about- but you have to remember that this year so far- we're already down another 8.5-8.8% in the Dublin area- and its only the start of March.........

If you'd like a new kitchen- go get one. a hypothetical sale at some vague point in the future has nothing whatsoever to do with this decision.......

Diddler1977

It may make the house more saleable but it won't make the house sell for anything extra.

daltonmd

irishguy wrote: »

We were thinking of remodeling the kitchen in our house (spending around 4k) its about 12 years old and getting a bit tired, but still quite nice. We live in quite a sought after area where the house would fetch around 450/500 (even in the current climate). My question is would the cost of the refurb improve the sale price of the house? Or would it just be a waste of money.

From your description of the house and it's location, that should be enough to secure a sale, of course your chances will increase if the house is in good condition, but houses in good locations are normally snapped up regardless of their condition (at the right price of course). If you "invest" 4/5k on a new kitchen then by how much do you feel it should improve the price by?

In regards to your pricing, we could be talking about Foxrock here, 4/5k here on a property is not a deal breaker, more a negotiating strategy.

irishguy

daltonmd wrote: »

From your description of the house and it's location, that should be enough to secure a sale, of course your chances will increase if the house is in good condition, but houses in good locations are normally snapped up regardless of their condition (at the right price of course). If you "invest" 4/5k on a new kitchen then by how much do you feel it should improve the price by?

In regards to your pricing, we could be talking about Foxrock here, 4/5k here on a property is not a deal breaker, more a negotiating strategy.

Its in the D6 area. I was curious if the cost of it would be recouped by the future sale price, otherwise I would feel it would be wasting money (if I sold in a few years). I was just assuming a lot of people would not want the hassle of remodeling works, as a number of people I have spoken to who are looking at buying now want some place to walk right into. I just dont want to feel I am wasting money

Cheshire Cat

We are currently looking for a house and I prefer the houses with the old and tired kitchens, because they would give me a reason to pull it out and get my own in.
I am a keen cook and know what I want and would prefer to have it just so.

We recently looked at a house were the owners had put in a new and very good quality kitchen, but it was impractical and it was quite obvious that they didn't do much more than shoving ready meals into the oven.
But it would still feel bad to pull out a newish kitchen, so I would prefer the one where I could do it "guilt-free" - just my personal take.

irishguy

Cheshire Cat wrote: »

We are currently looking for a house and I prefer the houses with the old and tired kitchens, because they would give me a reason to pull it out and get my own in.
I am a keen cook and know what I want and would prefer to have it just so.

We recently looked at a house were the owners had put in a new and very good quality kitchen, but it was impractical and it was quite obvious that they didn't do much more than shoving ready meals into the oven.
But it would still feel bad to pull out a newish kitchen, so I would prefer the one where I could do it "guilt-free" - just my personal take.

Ya I see your point alright. We love to cook too and newish kitchens that are very badly designed/installed are a bit of a put off as you say, as I too would feel a bit guilty about replacing a new kitchen.

We would be going for a modern well laid out kitchen (similar to whats on offer in the area). Nothing too crazy style wise.

daltonmd

irishguy wrote: »

Its in the D6 area. I was curious if the cost of it would be recouped by the future sale price, otherwise I would feel it would be wasting money (if I sold in a few years). I was just assuming a lot of people would not want the hassle of remodeling works, as a number of people I have spoken to who are looking at buying now want some place to walk right into. I just dont want to feel I am wasting money

You could well be right, I really think that it depends on the market at the time you are selling. Maybe look at it this way, if you are happy with your kitchen then leave it be, if you want to change it then do so and enjoy it but don't bank on seeing the price reflected in the sale. I mean if you bought a new car then in 4/5 years it's going to be worth less, so will the kitchen.

If you choose to leave it then the best advice would be, when you put it on the market see what attention it gets - if you get viewings, get feedback and if the kitchen is the problem then invest the money - many people (inc myself I have to add) would have no issue with a lovely house in a desirable location where the kitchen was a bit tired, if they have to money to buy the house in the first place then they'd have to money for their own remodelling.

Edit to add: In full agreement with Cheshire cat - I hope to buy in the next few years and as I am a keen cook I really wouldn't care what state the kitchen was in, because I plan to rip it out and insert my own fully functioning and practical kitchen, to my taste and design :-)