Sell Your Home by Selling Your Kitchen

If you have heard it once, you have heard it a thousand times: the rooms that matter the most when you go to sell your home are the bathrooms and the kitchen. These are the rooms that will either have buyers placing their bid, or heading straight for the door. But, what does this mean? What does it mean to have a great, sellable kitchen? How can you make this space a focal point of your home? Do you need to shovel out big bucks on all new appliances, or should you simply replace the hardware on your kitchen cabinets? Of course, the answers to these questions are all dependent on your own, unique kitchen, but one thing is for sure—you can sell your home by “selling” your kitchen.

If you are getting ready to place your home on the market in the near future, you should consider the current look and condition of your kitchen and rate your space in these specific areas:

• Functionality
• Storage
• Updates
• Aesthetics

Does your kitchen rate well in these areas? If so, you might be ready to sell. If not, you should consider making some changes before you put your home up on the market. If you are concerned about the time, money and energy that it will take to make your kitchen more “sellable,” consider this an investment that is worth your while. Kitchen renovations could add value to your home and get you an even greater final price for your property.

A Functional Kitchen

Nine times out of 10, people have to “live” in their kitchens for an extended period before they are able to assess the true functionality of the space. However, this does not mean that certain factors will not stand out like a sore thumb to potential buyers who come to tour your home. For instance, if your kitchen is arranged poorly, with appliances or doorways in odd areas, it might throw off potential buyers. Other factors that affect how well your kitchen functions are the size of your appliances, the size of your sink, lighting, counter space, walking space and additional features.

How do you make your kitchen appear more functional? Of course, if your space has been strangely arranged, there is not much that you can do besides undertaking a major renovation project. You might even be moving out due to this factor yourself. Instead of rearranging the space, make sure that the room is completely free of clutter. Paint with brighter colors to make the space appear bigger and add additional features that will update your kitchen in a way that buyers appreciate, such as modern lighting or custom countertops. Using a professional construction company for remodeling services is a great idea too.

Storage Solutions

Many homeowners who have inadequate storage in their kitchen do not know a solution to fix the issue. Unfortunately, storage is a big deal to most home buyers. The first step that you should take in freeing up space for kitchen storage is to declutter your cabinets. There are quite a few tools and products on the market to help you get those cabinets as neat and tidy as possible. Clutter will make your kitchen look smaller and cause a homeowner to believe that the kitchen could never meet their needs.

Adding additional custom kitchen cabinets if you have poor storage in your kitchen is another great idea. Most home buyers love the idea of having a pantry or plenty of cabinet space. The investment on either would be worth it. There is also the option of having custom storage solutions built for your cabinets to make the kitchen more efficient. Your potential homebuyers will be delighted to pull open the cabinets and see that you cared enough about the home to add these to the kitchen.

Updates

As much as some people say that they would love to find a “fixer-upper” to customize, most people who are out searching for real estate still want a home that is move-in ready and requires little renovation work. If your kitchen is dated, it could turn away these types of buyers. Signs that you have a dated kitchen include:

• Old appliances
• Aged countertops
• Dated cabinetry and hardware
• Linoleum floors
• Poor lighting

Investing in updating any of these factors would result in your home being more sellable and possibly getting you a greater return on your real estate investment when buyers place their bids. One note on flooring; modern linoleum floors can be very nice. If you have older linoleum, it could turn away buyers who do not want the hassle of having to take it up and replace it themselves. There are quite a few flooring solutions that would update the room.

Aesthetics

This is, perhaps, the most important factor when using your kitchen to sell your home. If a kitchen does not look good, many buyers simply turn around and walk out the door. There are multiple components that go into the aesthetics. For starters, there should be no signs of damage or disrepair in your kitchen. Not only could this bring down the value of your home, but buyers will not believe that you took care of the property if there is visible damage. If your kitchen is a unique color or if it has not seen fresh pain in a few years, consider painting it to make it appeal to a wider selection of potential buyers.

Kitchen Renovations

There are so many steps that you can take to get your property ready for the market. Make the investment, and sell your home by selling your kitchen. A kitchen renovation might seem like a huge undertaking, but it is a price that will yield you a great return. After all, when it comes to selling a home, the most important rooms that buyers focus on will be your kitchen and your bathrooms. If you would like more information, visit our kitchen remodeling page or contact a representative with Kitchen Solvers today.

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