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Your thoughts if these two things are truly 'deal breakers'... we don't have granite/stainless steel in kitchen, no dual vanities in master. The house price is so low these things could be changed by a buyer tho.

In my mind no, but if you watch the dumb show Property Virgins it seems to be the mindset of the spoiled young 1st time buyers out there.

quote:

Originally posted by mamaspoon:
In my mind no, but if you watch the dumb show Property Virgins it seems to be the mindset of the spoiled young 1st time buyers out there.

Doesn't it make ya sick??? Most of them admittedly can't even cook, but they have to have a ??** *iking gas range.

Depends on the neighborhood, the comps, and the price range.

If the competition is priced close to your property and they have all those things - then you lose out. If it is not common for your neighborhood then - not an issue.

For what it's worth - I read folks on the boards complaining about what HGTV shows on their programs - but I've not encountered those buyers in real life.

If your house is listed for $150,000 in a neighborhood where the comps are $140,000 - $160,000 and no one has those perks then you should not have a problem. However, if your competition has all those perks then it will become an issue.

Here is the reality - a buyer walks in and likes your house. If the other 15 houses in the area and price range had all those things it will be noticed and missed. However, if the competition does not have all those bells and whistles, most buyers are not going to miss it. The average buyer will not go through the purchase process knowing they will have to immediately make changes to bring the house up to the same standards as the other properties they visited. unless you are significantly less than the other properties in the area.

It is not that buyers are lazy or want something for nothing - if they state up front they want to buy turn key with X, Y and Z features that is what they will negotiate towards. Even if your home is priced appropriately for not having those in a community that features those options - people will discount for those things being missing.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Charming,

The items in the original post are so affordable and easy to change on most homes...why on earth would anyone with half a brain consider them deal breakers? Negotiation items, perhaps.

Neighborhood, floor plan, the whole rest of the home is great for the buyer and these would be deal breakers?
Unless one is comparing identical condos or town homes in the same area and one unit has these things and the other doesn't?

We also have a 1958 galley kitchen with nice painted custom cupboards, and have decided not to put new counters and flooring, just updated the appliances to stainless. (which I am not thrilled with SS, btw) It gives the next buyer a good option to replace it all if they want, and not worry about tearing out granite and new flooring after paying for it with the purchase.

And similar to OP, we have one sink in the main hall bath with a 58 inch vanity top. I would rather have all the clear counter space than two sinks (someone else can change that if they like).

Unless, your counter top is offensive I wouldn't worry about it. Hopefully you have newer appliances and they match to offset the counters. I had a client with icky brown counters and she did a tiki feel in the kitchenbamboo placemats, Palm tree place settings on the breakfact bar, wood bar stools...etc. Total distraction. Totally worked!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: real estate lady,

OK - I had to change my user name, because my email account got messed up - BUT, I don't think those two items are deal breakers, because appliances are so easy to fix, and as long as the bathroom is a good size, you can get around the sink issue. As a previous poster said - it depends on your competition and your price (doesn't it always come down to price????) - and while I don't think either are "deal breakers", they might be if you're the only one that doesn't have it. Although, I have SS, and I REALLY don't like it..... would prefer pretty much anything else, but it's just not a factor in a house selection.... Good luck!!!

You may hear that all buyers want is granite, s/s appliances and double sinks in the master - and that is in large part true (at least here in my part of Texas) - but I wouldn't consider any of them dealbreakers.
Perhaps because I deal w/ design and granite and clients and "wish lists" on a daily basis, and know what is easy and what isn't, none of these things would keep me from buying a home that otherwise has space, is clean, well kept up, good layout, etc. I'd SO much rather go to the granite yards myself and pick out my own slab of fabulous granite than buy a house with so-so boring granite that the sellers slapped up just "to have granite". Appliances can be easily replaced to whatever a buyer wants - few people in reality are going to turn up their nose at an otherwise fabulous house just because of the color of appliances. As for the double vanity sinks - yes, for a busy 2-job couple this may be a problem and will take some finagling around with the plumbing to convert, but it CAN be done without the world coming to an end.
So - good luck on getting your home sold. Make sure it's spotlessly clean, smells fresh, is properly staged and is priced in line with other homes in the area and you should be fine.

Neither of those would be "deal-breakers" for me, CJO, but it depends on what is standard in your competition? Know you haven't posted your MLS or link so it is hard to qualify an opinion, but, from what I understand, you have a lake-front home with 5 acres out in the country ON A LAKE!

So why would anyone need or want granite counters or SS appliances for that type of house? Quess I just don't get it....

My honest opinion? I don't think SS/granite or double sinks in the vanity have anything to do with why you aren't getting showings and/or offers but I don't know what the problem is...

Once more, CJO, do you want to let us know what is going on by posting your MLS number? Okay, if you don't but do know that it just means we, along with you, will be stumbling along in the dark and making useless suggestions.

As always, best to you and here's to a sale soon!

Would NOT be a deal breaker to me at all.

You know, if you wanted, you could PM your MLS number to a few of the trusted people on the boards, if you're concerned about posting it for the masses here.

If the price of the house was low enough, these items would not be deal-breakers for ME. I understand/have experience with the cost of adding granite, stainless appliances, plumbing upgrades, etc. These buys are not INexpensive, so the price of the house would definitely be the determining factor.

However, these "missing amenities" will be enough reason for potential buyers wanting a turn-key property to walk away. There's just no way to please every buyer.

CJO, IMHO these are subjective determinations of the buyer so they frequently make no sense, i.e. don't seem rational. It's altogether possible that your home has similar finishes and is appropriately priced compared to its competition in the same price range. Unfortunately, buyers will continue to provide that same feedback as they reject it for some unknown reason.

One of the things we try to remember when working with clients to prepare homes for sale is that a buyer may accept or reject a home in as little as 8 seconds or up to a minute or two upon arrival at the home. Another benchmark we use is the rule of 8 showings. If you haven't received at least one offer after 8 showings, then it's time to take a serious look at the situation, starting with price.

Personally, I wouldn't consider the lack of those finishes as drawbacks b/c I have the means and opportunity to change them out relatively easily, according to my taste. For some/many buyers, however, that would be considered either extremely difficult and/or impossible. (BTW, I do make suggestions and recommendations to them but that doesn't always resolve the problem, in their minds. They simply don't want the hassle of a renovation or previously had a negative experience.)

When working w/clients, I do attempt (w/o being pushy) to point out the important attributes of a property, starting with location - the most important attribute (IMHO) and the major item that's impossible to change. Sometimes, however, I can sense that the buyer's already made up their mind in that first minute and it's impossible to change them. They stick with their first impression unless they discover something mind-blowing during the house tour that totally impresses them. Again, that determination's entirely subjective - what they consider mind-blowing, you and I may consider normal.

More than a few times, buyers have admitted to me that they simply disliked a home for an unknown, visceral reason but didn't want to insult a homeowner who'd obviously worked hard to properly prepare their property. That's happened more than a few times IME working with clients. It's unfortunate because we do want to provide honest feedback as a service to buyers and their agents.

Bottom line: you never know what makes a buyer behave the way they do. The buyer will do what the buyer will do - for whatever, unknown reason. So, you control what you can control as a seller. If you do your best to prepare your home for sale and price it appropriately, good things usually happen. That's all you can do.

All of the above, IMHO.

Best of luck with your sale, CJO.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: RErocker,

I think you totally can't make everyone happy, and everyone has different taste, but to add to what RErocker said, I have found that even if someone does have the means to change things, some people just don't realize they can... My parents were like that - they could paint, but my father would never have fathomed that he could knock down a wall, or reconfigure a kitchen, he just wasn't a handy guy.. So, I think the best you can do is declutter, make it clean and - for me at least - have absolutely no wallpaper in the house (that is that one unreasonable thing that will send me away from a house, because my one experience with it was so awful........). But - I don't care if a house has granite (I would want to pick my own), and I absolutely hate SS, after living with it for awhile, so that surely wouldn't affect my decision if it wasn't there (would actually help).....