Selling your home quickly with a Kitchen Remodel

When preparing for your home sale, the number one area that can cinch the deal quickly during the home selling process is often the appearance and functionality of the kitchen in the home.  Outdated appliances, boring cabinets, and tired countertops are often the biggest turnoff in the marketplace.  Flip side to that is a kitchen that has been updated, which quickly communicates to the potential buyer that the home overall is welcoming, functioning, clean, and move in ready to accommodate their own lives in what was once your home.

A less successful approach in the real estate market is to just leave any changes to the potential new owners. I don’t think this is the best course of action if the opportunity exists to make a big impact with a relatively small investment.  Just as following the advice of most professionals is to remove personal items that indicate ownership and lifestyle, improve curb appeal with touching up landscaping and adding a fresh coat of paint in the home.  Keep in mind the kitchen is the workhorse of the home, and too often reflects that use and age quickly in the marketplace–and that is often the biggest detractor to an otherwise appealing home.

Of course in some cases the potential new owner will overlook these items and accept them, or perhaps plan for a new cabinetry and kitchen remodel themselves.  However, in most cases, this strategy  will frequently open the door to inviting lower offers to compensate for the substandard kitchen.  Instead, with a move in ready home, you are likely able to ask for and get back the cost of your freshening efforts when it comes to that kitchen remodel.

One of the best and affordable ways to accommodate the more sophisticated and selective real estate buyers market as well as your budget is to consider a kitchen remodel.  By utilizing your existing cabinetry, you can reface the frames and upgrade those dated cabinetry doors and finishes with a completely new look and don’t forget about adding new hardware as well.  This option provides important flexibility and value without breaking the budget or in many cases, potentially exceeding the marketplace values.  This is also an opportunity to adjust the kitchen design to the extent of being able to accommodate adding additional storage cabinetry if needed, or adding or replacing a complimentary island setup.

In the case of sales competition within your own locality, nothing helps sell a home faster than the fresh and clean appeal of a home that is ready to go without having the potential new owner face the challenges and unknowns that can come with evaluating a purchase and a kitchen remodel at the same time.  A recently remodeled kitchen that features fresh cabinetry, new appliances, solid storage options, and upgraded countertops and backsplashes present well in the marketplace and feature a beautiful kitchen design that is hard to beat.

With a fairly reasonable plan, it is not only cost efficient, but time efficient, and depending upon the extent of the remodel (or if flooring is also involved), within a fraction of the time of new cabinetry, downtime is reduced to a fraction of a standard remodel.   Check with your realtor in your specific area, but in most cases this will not only help you sell more quickly and closer to your asking price, but that kitchen upgrade will likely add value beyond the actual cost of the project.

Best part of all–if you don’t get the offers you were hoping for, you might just decide that the home you were willing to part with is now the home you want to live in!  And be sure to research Kitchen and Bathroom Remodeling Costs – Tips to Keep Your Remodeling Project Under Control if you do plan to do a kitchen remodel project.

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