Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do NOT put granite in. This is a huge turnoff to a lot of buyers now. But in a neutral countertop - quartz, soapstone, something with low visual impact.

Floors - I would still do wood-look tile. It's trendy, but it's not going out of style in the next 5 years. I don't think many people would be turned off by it yet. I am personally turned off by any tile kitchen floors - they look cheap and like an afterthought to the rest of the house. So wood look tile is a nice way to bridge these concerns.

If you do countertops, many sure you do an undercounter sink and replace the faucet. Also replace cabinet hardware. And voila, you have a pretty new looking kitchen without spending too much!

Plenty of people still like granite. Soap stone is more of a niche product, it would turn me off as would many quartz counte rtops.

You may like granite, but the reality is that it is considered very early 2000s. If OP is trying to update her kitchen for resale purposes, she shouldn't put something in the kitchen that makes it look dated. That would defeat the point of the update. It would be like a homeowner in 1994 wanting to update their kitchen to make it look good for resale, taking out the 80s white appliances and putting in vintage avocado 1975 appliances. They might be cool looking, but it's not helping your resale.

I am closing on a house today, so I think my opinions are relevant as someone who was recently in the market. You apparently consider yourself an expert on what buyers want, but like me, are just one person. I know people who are unhappy with the durability of their quartz. What matters is the pattern.

But it doesn't matter what one particular person wants. That's called an anecdote. Frankly, the kitchen I described above isn't what I want either. But if you're trying to take a mediocre house and update for resale, you shouldn't put things in that turn off a lot of buyers. You should do neutral updates that are slightly trendy without being "trendy". If you put in granite, you will turn away a large number of buyers. If you put in a neutral quartz countertop, yeah maybe 5% of buyers have some weird personal experience with quartz that turns them off, but most buyers will either see "new quartz! ohhh!" or not notice the countertop at all and just think "the kitchen looks newish, which is good".

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do NOT put granite in. This is a huge turnoff to a lot of buyers now. But in a neutral countertop - quartz, soapstone, something with low visual impact.

Floors - I would still do wood-look tile. It's trendy, but it's not going out of style in the next 5 years. I don't think many people would be turned off by it yet. I am personally turned off by any tile kitchen floors - they look cheap and like an afterthought to the rest of the house. So wood look tile is a nice way to bridge these concerns.

If you do countertops, many sure you do an undercounter sink and replace the faucet. Also replace cabinet hardware. And voila, you have a pretty new looking kitchen without spending too much!

Plenty of people still like granite. Soap stone is more of a niche product, it would turn me off as would many quartz counte rtops.

You may like granite, but the reality is that it is considered very early 2000s. If OP is trying to update her kitchen for resale purposes, she shouldn't put something in the kitchen that makes it look dated. That would defeat the point of the update. It would be like a homeowner in 1994 wanting to update their kitchen to make it look good for resale, taking out the 80s white appliances and putting in vintage avocado 1975 appliances. They might be cool looking, but it's not helping your resale.

I am closing on a house today, so I think my opinions are relevant as someone who was recently in the market. You apparently consider yourself an expert on what buyers want, but like me, are just one person. I know people who are unhappy with the durability of their quartz. What matters is the pattern.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please let the buyer do the updating! I hate nothing more in a house than a hastily updated kitchen or bath with finishes to please a generic buyer that I will want to rip out but can't justify to do so.

This!

Each house we've purchased, we buy for bones.

Our current house was priced at about 100k below thr updated comps and I sunk 130k into the kitchen, baths, flooring, and basement. I love every square inch of my house and got to select really nice finishes.

Nothing worse than ripping out new granite.

I'm not sure OP wants to sell her house for $100k below the updated comps. Although this worked out well for you as buyer, it's probably not the outcome a seller is hoping for.

Make what you do reversible. Opinions here are going to run to extremes on wood vs tile in the kitchen, but it is a lot easier to replace wood with tile than to rip out tile and put in wood. If you already have hardwoods, just match the kitchen to them.

For counters, a neutral quartz is up-to-date and livable, even if someone eventually decides to replace with soapstone/granite/concrete.

I have white cabinets and love them, but a light neutral wood is probably a safer choice. People who don't like white are a lot more vehement than people who prefer it. You can get cabinets refinished/painted, but you aren't going to strip the paint to get to the wood.

Anonymous wrote:Please let the buyer do the updating! I hate nothing more in a house than a hastily updated kitchen or bath with finishes to please a generic buyer that I will want to rip out but can't justify to do so.

This!

Each house we've purchased, we buy for bones.

Our current house was priced at about 100k below thr updated comps and I sunk 130k into the kitchen, baths, flooring, and basement. I love every square inch of my house and got to select really nice finishes.

Nothing worse than ripping out new granite.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To others complaining that they hate seeing poorly flipped kitchens and to not bother -- I disagree. For retail purposes, you could spend $5000 or less updating the kitchen and "trick" many buyers into thinking the kitchen is updated. Yeah, some people don't want to pay extra for a redone kitchen, but you've only spent $5000, not $20k, so you're not necessarily asking them to spend extra for this kitchen. But let's be honest that the kitchen sets the tone for the rest of the house. if the kitchen looks old and junky and untouched, buyers will walk through the rest of the open house with a bias that the house hasn't been updated. If the kitchen looks updated on the surface (even if not the bones) then you can "trick" a lot of buyers into thinking your whole house is updated, with just a bit of fresh paint and staging. This only works to the extent your kitchen isn't totally fugly to begin with. But if it's functional, then I think there is lots of money to be made by minor updates.

I hate staging and if I look at a house where someone is trying to "trick" me, then I get concerned about what else they are hiding and run. Don't half do things. If you cannot afford to do it fully, let the next buyer do it. Our house was an estate sale. Cosmetically it was terrible and we did it over time (still are). I walked into many half done houses and ran. We DIY'ed a lot of the kitchen and I would not been happy with crappy cabinets with new counters.

You may not like it, but the reality is that cheap superficial fixes sell houses and add value. That's why realtors insist on doing superficial things when they prepare a house for selling: painting, purging, cabinet hardware updates, lighting updates. Yeah, sure lots of people aren't tricked by them. But the majority of homebuyers are. If your house is in mediocre condition to begin with, you have three choices when you sell: (1) do full updates, which is expensive and you'll never get your money back; (2) do superficial updates; and (3) do nothing. So #1 does'nt make sense financially. Yeah, you could do nothing under #3, but you'll get more $$ out of your house if you do #2. Sure lots of people would walk away from the superficial upgrades (like you say you would), but then you wouldn't have bought the house under category #1 either, because you've already said you don't want any unknowns. So under any scenario, this isn't the house for you. A seller should then target who this house is going to sell to, and superficially upgrade accordingly.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do NOT put granite in. This is a huge turnoff to a lot of buyers now. But in a neutral countertop - quartz, soapstone, something with low visual impact.

Floors - I would still do wood-look tile. It's trendy, but it's not going out of style in the next 5 years. I don't think many people would be turned off by it yet. I am personally turned off by any tile kitchen floors - they look cheap and like an afterthought to the rest of the house. So wood look tile is a nice way to bridge these concerns.

If you do countertops, many sure you do an undercounter sink and replace the faucet. Also replace cabinet hardware. And voila, you have a pretty new looking kitchen without spending too much!

Plenty of people still like granite. Soap stone is more of a niche product, it would turn me off as would many quartz counte rtops.

You may like granite, but the reality is that it is considered very early 2000s. If OP is trying to update her kitchen for resale purposes, she shouldn't put something in the kitchen that makes it look dated. That would defeat the point of the update. It would be like a homeowner in 1994 wanting to update their kitchen to make it look good for resale, taking out the 80s white appliances and putting in vintage avocado 1975 appliances. They might be cool looking, but it's not helping your resale.

Anonymous wrote:To others complaining that they hate seeing poorly flipped kitchens and to not bother -- I disagree. For retail purposes, you could spend $5000 or less updating the kitchen and "trick" many buyers into thinking the kitchen is updated. Yeah, some people don't want to pay extra for a redone kitchen, but you've only spent $5000, not $20k, so you're not necessarily asking them to spend extra for this kitchen. But let's be honest that the kitchen sets the tone for the rest of the house. if the kitchen looks old and junky and untouched, buyers will walk through the rest of the open house with a bias that the house hasn't been updated. If the kitchen looks updated on the surface (even if not the bones) then you can "trick" a lot of buyers into thinking your whole house is updated, with just a bit of fresh paint and staging. This only works to the extent your kitchen isn't totally fugly to begin with. But if it's functional, then I think there is lots of money to be made by minor updates.

I hate staging and if I look at a house where someone is trying to "trick" me, then I get concerned about what else they are hiding and run. Don't half do things. If you cannot afford to do it fully, let the next buyer do it. Our house was an estate sale. Cosmetically it was terrible and we did it over time (still are). I walked into many half done houses and ran. We DIY'ed a lot of the kitchen and I would not been happy with crappy cabinets with new counters.

To others complaining that they hate seeing poorly flipped kitchens and to not bother -- I disagree. For retail purposes, you could spend $5000 or less updating the kitchen and "trick" many buyers into thinking the kitchen is updated. Yeah, some people don't want to pay extra for a redone kitchen, but you've only spent $5000, not $20k, so you're not necessarily asking them to spend extra for this kitchen. But let's be honest that the kitchen sets the tone for the rest of the house. if the kitchen looks old and junky and untouched, buyers will walk through the rest of the open house with a bias that the house hasn't been updated. If the kitchen looks updated on the surface (even if not the bones) then you can "trick" a lot of buyers into thinking your whole house is updated, with just a bit of fresh paint and staging. This only works to the extent your kitchen isn't totally fugly to begin with. But if it's functional, then I think there is lots of money to be made by minor updates.

Quartz counters plain white or a simple quartzite, please no fake marble look though with the quartz. Or you could do a honed black granite. Painted white cabinets. Mid to dark wood floors. Those wood tiles are ok. Chrome or nickel fixtures. Many people don't have the time, money or inclination to do a kitchen remodel.

Anonymous wrote:Please give examples of "vanilla" kitchen... what type of granite? what type/color flooring? thanks

By vanilla I mean plain, neutral, clean, not trendy. Something a buyer can live with until they renovate or that the look at and have a non opinion. "Just fine".

Anonymous wrote:Do NOT put granite in. This is a huge turnoff to a lot of buyers now. But in a neutral countertop - quartz, soapstone, something with low visual impact.

Floors - I would still do wood-look tile. It's trendy, but it's not going out of style in the next 5 years. I don't think many people would be turned off by it yet. I am personally turned off by any tile kitchen floors - they look cheap and like an afterthought to the rest of the house. So wood look tile is a nice way to bridge these concerns.

If you do countertops, many sure you do an undercounter sink and replace the faucet. Also replace cabinet hardware. And voila, you have a pretty new looking kitchen without spending too much!

Plenty of people still like granite. Soap stone is more of a niche product, it would turn me off as would many quartz counte rtops.

Yup another misconception is that granite needs to be repeatedly sealed. I've had granite countertops for the past 15 years (two different houses) and other than the initial seal after installation, have never sealed. Neither set of countertops has ever stained.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree don't bother in less you are doing everything including the cabinets. I'd worry what else you were trying to cover up. I like granite. Easy to care for and ours does not show dirt easily. Do not do soapstone in a family house as it takes maintenance. I hate tile, especially that fake wood.

Not true about the soapstone. We've had soapstone counters since 2011 and do zero maintenance. They look great. You can choose to oil them if you want a darker look, but it certainly isn't necessary. And unlike granite, no sealing is needed.

It depends on the actual stone but most chip and you should oil them. They look crappy not oiled and just look trendy. Most people will to want them.

Hmm. We get compliments on our unchipped and unoiled counters all the time, so apparently many disagree with you on this point. Lots of misconceptions get promoted on this board by people who have no firsthand experience. But to each her own.

Anonymous wrote:Please let the buyer do the updating! I hate nothing more in a house than a hastily updated kitchen or bath with finishes to please a generic buyer that I will want to rip out but can't justify to do so.

+1

We saw so many of these when house hunting -- blah, poorly remodeled kitchens that added to the price of the home. We ended up buying a place with a so-tacky it's awesome kitchen that was priced accordignly and redoing it to our tastes. Sure, some buyers want turnkey, but others would rather put money into a remodel they want.