Kitchen Renovations Before the Sale

The average American moves several times in his or life. If you are renovating a home that you know you will not live in for the rest of your life, every decision you make regarding the renovation...

The average American moves several times in his or life. If you are renovating a home that you know you will not live in for the rest of your life, every decision you make regarding the renovation can make or lose money. The room that sells a home more than any other room in the house is the kitchen, so this is the place to renovate if youre going to renovate anything. In this article youll learn how to choose the materials to renovate your home with the most profit in mind.

You cant go wrong by improving an outdated or nonfunctional set of appliances, but you can go wrong by over improving your home compared to others in your neighborhood. You lose money improving your home when you add expensive features that may make you happy, but are not what the average homeowner in your neighborhood is look for. For example, if you live in an average American home in an average neighborhood with homes priced around $200,000, and you choose to add a $60,000 gourmet cook's addition, you will certainly lose money on the renovation. On the other hand, if you choose to spend just $5,000 improving what you have, you will almost certainly make money on the renovation.

When renovating your home choose materials that are typical to homes in your price range. For example, when you bought your home, did most of the homes have expensive custom cabinets and granite countertops? Or did they have standard cabinets and Formica countertops? If you are not sure, visit your neighbors or neighborhood open houses to see what most kitchens in the area look like. By using materials that are too expensive for your neighborhood thinking it will add value, you lose money because the added value does not make up for price of the renovation or improvement. On the flip side, by adding in materials that are too cheap for an area, you hurt yourself twice again. You end up not adding value, and you can even end up detracting value because the new homeowner feels like that have to pull out a renovated kitchen to make it of the same quality as others in the neighborhood. The bottom line is, if you are planning on moving in the next few years, do your homework before you renovate to make sure youre not over or under spending.

Another tip when planning on renovating your home to sell is to work with what you have. For instance, if you have nice solid wood cabinets with an outdated color and hardware, consider refinishing the cabinets, changing the hardware and improving the countertops. You will end up saving thousands of dollars that stay in your pocket, plus if the cabinets are in good shape, you might even make the same amount as if you completely replaced them. If you have a neutral color ceramic tile that isnt your favorite color but looks good with your new refinished cabinets, consider keeping it. Youll never recoup the expense of pulling up the tile and laying a new floor. Its always better to improve what you have in a kitchen to make it up to par for the neighborhood than to completely replace something.

Its good practice to consider resale value when improving your home, especially in the kitchen where the stakes are higher because renovations cost more and can add a ton of value or very little value. With a little research and proper planning, your new renovated room can add value to your life while you live in it, and value to your home when you move.
Kitchen Renovations Before the Sale