Westmoreland Hills homeowner seeking realtor advice

[Anonymous]

Our home's kitchen is okay but nothing special. Realtors, is it worth it to invest $100k to $150K on a new kitchen (removing a wall to double its size)?

By that, I mean, will we just get our money back or will it actually help the house sell for more than the renovation cost? The neighborhood is amazing and so is our lot and location. I just wonder if prospective buyers would pass us by because of the 90s looking granite and cabinets.

I'd enjoy it but DH doesn't see the point with kids out of the nest. The renovation itself is no big deal to me, so that's not a reason not to do it. I've done them with all our houses.

Thanks for any advice!

[Anonymous]

When are you selling? Soon or in another 5-10 years?

[Anonymous]

Non realtor here, just another homeowner. You never get back what you put in, ever. If you're doing this renovation just to sell your home, don't do it. Just adjust your price to reflect the current condition of the home. Most buyers in this area want to put their own stamp on their home and choose the materials they like.

[Anonymous]

Change out the countertops and paint the cabinets white. Minimal facelift can go a long way

[Anonymous]

Realtor here. I think you need to look at the homes in your neighborhood that were dated and sold vs homes sold with renovated kitchens. If your house is small and dated, it may be desirable to a builder in which case it probably doesn't make sense to spend the money on updates but you really won't know until you do an analysis of comps.

[Anonymous]

Minimal facelift at the most.

We had a early 2000's kitchen (black granite, maple cabinets, yellow walls, stone backsplash) and the realtor advised us not to even do a facelift. We cleaned like crazy, decluttered, changed light fixtures, and changed out the yellow paint color to a creamy white. We had an offer in 4 days. The new owners ended up gutting the kitchen so I'm glad we didn't do the facelift.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies.

The house is most certainly not a tear down so not sure it’s of interest to a builder. Unless that builder wants to do a renovation, and make money off of that, which is sort of what I’m suggesting to do ourselves.

But I appreciate the advice to do only minor cosmetics, if that.

To the person who asked how long will stay in the house, I think we might be in it as much as 10 years. Which is why I’m leaning more towards the renovation of the kitchen. It’s fine the way it is, especially if we do counter replacement and maybe new flooring and paint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the replies.

The house is most certainly not a tear down so not sure it’s of interest to a builder. Unless that builder wants to do a renovation, and make money off of that, which is sort of what I’m suggesting to do ourselves.

But I appreciate the advice to do only minor cosmetics, if that.

To the person who asked how long will stay in the house, I think we might be in it as much as 10 years. Which is why I’m leaning more towards the renovation of the kitchen. It’s fine the way it is, especially if we do counter replacement and maybe new flooring and paint.

DP: if you're going to be in the house another 10 years then do it OP. You should enjoy your home, and the kitchen is where most of us spend a good majority of our time. Or just use that money to travel.

[Anonymous]

As someone who lives in your neighborhood, I'm always surprised at homes that go for 1.5-2.5M that have very small/closed-off kitchens or even kitchens that are blatantly over 20 years old, just thanks to the overall size of the homes, lots and beauty/desirability of the neighborhood. Sure, you've learned to live with the space and style you've had all this time, but that doesn't mean you need to live with it another 10 years.

I would go for the remodel, not necessarily for the recoup on investment, but because you allude to grown kids (maybe coming back to visit) or perhaps empty nest opportunities to host more friends and visitors, and wouldn't it be nice to have the big open kitchen for everyone to enjoy?

Only caveat we found is when we "freshened" up one room, we suddenly had the urge to fix up everything else which now looked a bit shabby in comparison!

[Anonymous]

Thanks, 9:43. OP here again. That was my thinking. But also I wonder, how does it make financial sense for companies to renovate and flip houses, but I couldn't do the same with my own house? (Not that I want to flip it, but sure if someone else can get profit out of it, I can't lose money?) And I'll do a better job, not making the house sterile and gray, or anything out of character for the neighborhood.

With regard to your last point, yes! We've already renovated everything else in the house except the kitchen and adjacent dining room (which I want to join as one big kitchen since we have another space suitable as a dining room). So, it's the kitchen that seems shabby and it's driving me nuts!

[Anonymous]

Your situation is not analogous to a flipper. They buy distressed properties (very strategically in certain areas) and update most if not all of the home on an extremely tight budget. I dont think anyone can answer the question as to whether you'll get your Reno costs back when you sell -- even a top realtor in your neighborhood with a sell date so far in the future. However, if you want to do the kitchen for your enjoyment, do it!

[Anonymous]

If your kitchen feels dated now, imagine how it will be perceived by buyers in a decade when you sell. So renovating now will at least give you the chance to enjoy it.

[Anonymous]

10 years is like 1/7 or 1/8 of your entire life. Do what it takes to enjoy your house!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the advice! My research on a good design/build firm commences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Non realtor here, just another homeowner. You never get back what you put in, ever. If you're doing this renovation just to sell your home, don't do it. Just adjust your price to reflect the current condition of the home. Most buyers in this area want to put their own stamp on their home and choose the materials they like.

Yeah I don't understand what people mean when they ask whether they're "get back" their money on a renovation. It seems like they don't even know what they're talking about? A coworker pointed out how they sold their house for 250K more than they bought it for, 10 years after they did a 200K renovation. Don't seem to realize that they could invest that money and make interest off of it, that 200K 10 years ago had much more value than 200K now, that their equity was "invested" in growing house value rather than being invested somewhere else, that homes have other maintenance costs that aren't reflected in resale, etc etc.

OP, don't do it for the increased value. Due it for your own use. And please, dear god, don't talk to a realtor about this as they feed into the confusion about "getting back" money from a renovation through resale. Only minor cosmetic upgrades and standard maintenance matter for that.