During the current Great Recession, people who had plans to renovate their homes have put those plans on the proverbial shelf and are waiting for the recovery to begin. With all the politicians in Washington touting the recovery in progress, most homeowners and renters are simply wondering when, if ever, they are going to finally feel the effects of it.
As a result, many of these same homeowners have decided that they will continue to wait before they do anything to their homes, feeling that saving money is the safest bet. For those who are tired of dealing with the same old drab kitchen, or those who are planning to sell but feel as though the kitchen could use a little facelift, there are some simple things that one can do to increase the salability or value of their home, even if it is just aesthetics.
Not your cut of the mill real estate article
Yes, it's true that this topic isn't necessarily something that is discussing the real estate market, trends or hopes, but when you look a bit deeper than the thin surface, you might just see that under it all is a very important message to be shared with homeowners. It's about increasing the value of their home and helping them feel better about the one that they're in.
First three steps to a better home begins in the kitchen
Ask around and just about every real estate agent will agree that there two places within the home that should have attention paid to them if one is planning on selling his or her home. The first is the kitchen and the second is the bathroom. There are far too many homes that sell below what their fair market value is simply because the kitchen and bathroom are outdated, run down, or not appealing in a general sense of the word.
Three steps that anyone can do to help their kitchen avoid the label of 'awful' include changing old, outdated lighting, painting the cabinets and walls, and changing out the hardware, such as hinges and handles on cabinet doors and drawers. Most kitchens can be updated and cleaned up in this manner for under one thousand dollars. If the homeowner has a penchant for doing the work himself or herself, then the cost will be even less than that.
The $50,000 renovation is unlikely going to add that same value to the home when all is said and done, and for anyone looking at a major overhaul of this nature should be doing it only because they will be installing a kitchen that they want, one that they will be satisfied with in the long run. For the rest of us, however, doing those three things will go a long way toward displaying a kitchen that may still have the prehistoric appliances, but will have a modern and clean feeling.
Cleanliness is the key word of the day
When you meet homeowners who ask what they can do to help boost its salability in this market, the first thing you should inform them is to make sure their kitchen and bathrooms at least look clean and updated, even if they are not. The second thing that they should do is to get rid of the clutter that infests too many homes. As we should all know by now, homes that have too much furniture and a host of knickknacks lying around, collecting dust, appear smaller than they really are.
A kitchen is the first place that anyone should focus on for clutter. Most countertops have too much 'stuff' lying around and that gives the impression of too little space and a bit of an unappetizing place to cook a meal. When you share these little tidbits of advice, people will think of you when it's time to sell, or buy. Isn't that what we all want?
David
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