Want to Add Value to Your Home? Get Into the Kitchen and the Bathroom!

When buyers come to look at your home, they pay immediate attention to two areas – the kitchen and the bathroom. They know they’re heavily-used areas and also the most expensive to upgrade. Buyers want to know that they are in good in great shape or, at most, need only minor improvements. So, naturally, you want those two areas to shine because they can give you the greatest payback in terms of sale price. By some estimates, you can earn back 80 to 90 percent of your money in resale value! Depending upon the condition of these rooms, improvements don’t have to be all that expensive!

Making Your Kitchen Shine!

The first piece of advice for you actually applies to both the kitchen and the bathroom – use paint! In fact, use high-quality paint. It’s a fact of life that kitchen walls get spattered with grease and bathroom walls get battered with steam and moisture. So, the first thing to do is to take a look at the walls, clean them and then paint them. You should consider the color carefully, as it should be a color that’s relaxing and tends toward a neutral tone.

Once you’ve chosen a color, spend the money on good paint. It will look better and buyers will appreciate the fact that it is washable and easier to take care of and it will give the impression that you’ve taken good care of your home.

An inexpensive “fix” you can do yourself is, replacing the faucet. A visit to a “big box” store like Home Depot or Lowe’s will cost you little money and all you have to do is invest some “sweat equity.” In addition, updating the cabinet hardware can make a huge difference in the overall appearance. Of course, fresh curtains always spruce up a kitchen and warm, friendly lighting can also impact upon a buyer’s first impression.

Another area to look at is the kitchen floor. If it’s worn, I’d recommend that you replace it with a hard-wearing material. Everyone knows the kitchen is a high-traffic area so they’ll look closely at the floor to see if they’ll have to bear the expense of replacing it. Again, if you have handyman abilities, you can do this yourself. There are many inexpensive materials available today that are relatively easy to install, such as quality tile and/or laminate floors that clean up easily.

As for kitchen cabinets and counters, you may want to consider refinishing them or replacing them if they’re in bad shape. This can be rather expensive, of course, but it also might make the difference between a sale and your home staying on the market.

Moving on up in terms of expenditures, buyers today expect modern appliances in the kitchen – stoves, refrigerators and dishwashers, etc. These are big ticket items, of course, but if your appliances are worn or out-of-date, think about replacing them, especially if you’re having trouble selling your home.

Today’s buyers look for spacious kitchens that open on to another room and have a window over the sink. Obviously, if your kitchen doesn’t have these features, it would be far too expensive to put them in. However, you can make your kitchen look as open as possible by making sure the counters are clear, visible pots and pans are ordered neatly, and the floor is free of clutter.

Making Your Bathroom Shine!

If your bathroom is in good to great shape, then it’s a simple matter of paint, as I mentioned before, and a good all-round clean up. Since we’re dealing with sanitary issues, you want this area to sparkle as much as possible.

In addition to fresh paint, if the shower, tub or sink or are not in good condition, I’d recommend that you have them re-surfaced. It is probably not a homeowner job, but a professional can come in and get the job done in about a day and for less money than it would cost to replace them.

Another change that you can make is replacing the sink and tub faucets and update any hardware on the cabinetry, this can help to give an updated look and make the bathroom look as unified and appealing as possible.

Here’s one last suggestion. It’s an expensive one but it’s been proven to add value to your home – add a second bathroom! One-bathroom houses are simply harder to sell and sell for less than ones with two or three bathrooms.

So, if you have the financial wherewithal, consider adding one. A good place for a second bathroom is right off the master bedroom. This will appeal to buyers with children since they’ll have a space separate from the kids. Also, if for some reason, you decide not to sell, a second bathroom will ultimately make life easier for you.