We've lived in our home for 6 years and have done a lot of remodeling. It is a 30+ year old home and has a finished basement w/bath and we remodeled the kitchen, retextured the ceilings, added a mudroom, installed professional closet organizers, etc. We recently painted the exterior, decks restained, new front door. The place looks fresh and updated, HOWEVER, the two main bathrooms are not updated. The master bath and the main bath (services the other two bedrooms and would be the guest bath).
Is it a big mistake not to do some updating to these prior to sale? As it is right now we probably won't sell it for more than we paid, due to where we are (small town and on 40 acres - horse property) and the market is moving slow in this area. We do have a good piece of property though and is 2 miles from town. Do you drop more money into it or leave it? I think we should do a basic update to the main bath ($1500) and leave the master. My husband thinks we should do both. We've bought and sold a lot of homes and it is true that bathrooms and kitchens are important, provided they are updated in a good way - neutral. I guess we would end up dropping about anther $5k into the bathrooms to get them freshened up - worth it?
I'm attaching a picture of our renovated kitchen, then the two bathrooms.This message has been edited. Last edited by: christyinco,
Main Bathroom - our plans would be to tile the floor, replace vanity, update trim molding and paint - possibly redo the tile in tub area (it's in good shape and is white with brown flecks, but might be considered dated).
Master Bath - not sure what updating we would do. If we were staying in this house it would be a gut job. Suggestions would be welcomed. Shower is opposite the toilet.This message has been edited. Last edited by: christyinco,
As tsr-res mentioned - you will not recoup actual dollars from your remodeling - it should result in a much quicker sale once listed.
I agree - you should do something about the master bath. If the toilets and showers are all in good working order - leave them, unless you must remove the toilets to tile the bathroom floors. The master bath really needs new flooring.
If you want to go minimal in updating - replace the light fixtures, paint the vanities and frame the master bath mirror, and put some kind of window treatment over the window in the master bath. If you are going to budget for a real update - replace flooring in both baths, replace both vanities (in the master get the raised vanity), paint, replace light fixtures.
As for going green - low flow would be great for your own water savings and would be a nice addition if you are served by a private well rather than municipal water.
the kitchen looks wonderful but when prepping for listing photos - put some pops of color on the counter. Instead of aa white toaster a red one would show up and direct the eye towards the tile work over the stove top.
Firstly I must tell that both the bathrooms are lovely. Yes it is beneficial to renovate house before selling it. You can also sell few furniture, if you are getting good value for it. Paint your home, and do be careful about leakage of kitchen and bathroom pipes(if any). I have an advice for you. You can consult with sellmyhousequickly.com.au. When We sold our mansion they were a big helping hand, and we sold without any obstacle in a peaceful mind, and the best part is we sold it in an appreciable amount which was in our mind.
I agree with tes-res' comments regarding your price range and competition. There's not much point in redoing your bathrooms beyond a buyer's expectations for your neighborhood.
That said, I'd repaint the cabinets, and change the lighting, flooring, countertops and fixtures. I'd also remove the shower doors, putty the holes and add a shower curtain and pole. The tile surrounding the tub sounds fine if you choose a coordinating wall color.
a face lift but not a total remodel unless you are in a high demand area then that is different .Just declutter as it really makes a home look bigger .I think your home is very pretty .The light fixtures in the bathrooms are really outdated and a cheap fix .Maybe framed mirrors in there would look more updated too .Take down the robes as people would not want them hanging in there face when they first walk in .Clean and no personal items and think it should help .
I vote for something you didn't suggest ~ that is to replace the flooring in each bathroom and leave well enough alone. Once you start to do additional renovations, it tends to get out of hand and the budget. Since you posted that it is doubtful that you will make back what you have already spent, don't throw good money after bad.
EXCEPT if what you have now will turn off prospective buyers. Myself, I thought both bathrooms were adequate ~ the only thing that really caused me to have a negative reaction was the flooring. Change that out and leave the rest alone. Good Luck!
Let us know what you decide to do and how it turns out.
Thanks everyone! I found an updated maple vanity for the small bathroom on Craigslist and we will tile both floors. I'm going to paint the master bath vanity and add new countertops to both. I also like the idea of framed mirrors in master and new lighting. Of course, declutter and make it look like we don't live there!
Okay - need updated opinions! We've decided to replace the vanities in the bathrooms. I found a light maple vanity off Craigslist for the small bathroom and we are going to get one of those pre-fab stone vanity tops w/sink molded in from big box store. After that and some tile work on the floor, paint, update molding - that will be it for small bath.
Now, the master bath is more tricky. This is where I need your thoughts. We are going to replace the vanities. We are thinking 2 - 48" cabinets w/stone tops. The total length of current counter top is 107". So, this will leave us a gap of about 9" in the middle. Would you leave the gap in the middle or center the two vanities as best you could to have equal distance on either side of both. That would leave approx. 3 1/2" on either end and in the middle of both vanities? Our second option is to purchase the vanities with no tops and run a formica top across both, as is now.
Can you get vanities a little shorter, then have a bigger gap? This way it would look planned rather than well a gap... Maybe put a nice plant in the middle to soften all the hard surfaces.
Posts: 2390 | Location: Southern CA (Southbay) | Registered: Nov 08, 2005
You probably don't want to mess with the plumbing so it would be more expensive but to get 2 of the furniture style cabinets and fit the tops then put a wicker basket or metal towel rack between. That would make it look more like a design choice. This message has been edited. Last edited by: Charming,
If you look on line at Home Depot and Lowes you can see examples that are 31 - 36" wide and are styled like furniture. They come with marble look counter tops with the fitted sinks. I saw one that was about $180 and another that was just over $200.
That allows gaps that will look intentional plus gives a little more room inbetween to put in something special to show it all off.
Check out this article from Real Estate Appraiser and Broker, Scott Govers. He has some great info on how to get your house appraised at top dollar, so you can sell at top dollar. Good tips on what you absolutely need to do to get a good appraisal value on your home and what you do not need to do. http://510homes.wordpress.com/...your-home-appraisal/
510 Area Homes, Guess you didn't bother to read the rules of this message board before posting for the first time. NO ADVERTISING ALLOWED! If you want to offer suggestions relevant to the topic, great. Just don't post a one sentence glib statement and expect anyone to take you seriously...
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Charming, 
