To integrate or not to integrate? (Kitchen appliances)

x3ja

We're looking to update our kitchen over the summer (the joy of being a teacher!) and have come across a question that we don't really know the answer to, but before I mention it, here's what we're aiming to do... We want to add as much value to our house as we spend on the updating of the kitchen - in other words, we're not looking to make a massive profit but equally we don't want to make a loss on it.

The question we're faced with is: Is it worth buying new appliances (fridge, freezer, dishwasher & washing machine) just so we can integrate them into the new kitchen? We have relatively new appliances anyway (2 of them are less than a year old, all less than 4 years old) so getting rid would mean quite a loss in terms of money spent back then, but if it's the best in terms of value, then it's what we should do.

The cost of adding in integrated appliances is in the region of £300-500 per appliance, so we're looking in the region of £1200-£2000 to do the lot. We'd recoup a small amount from selling the old ones, but not a vast amount... maybe £300.

Anyone know what the best idea is? Of course we could just integrate a couple of them (fridge & freezer probably) for now, or do them all... or do none at all!

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Alex

jstallan

Not sure if this is gonna help or not....

When we updated our kitchen, we already had a new washing machine and tumble dryer (stand alone) that we wanted to keep. So we 'housed' them in cupboards to make them 'integrated'.. Each cupboard is 700*700mm with twin doors (300mm and 400mm).. We did employ a kitchen company to perform all the work though.. It's a big kitchen and we wanted a quality job that would stand the test of time. I'm pleased to say that 5 years on it still looks like new - no doors dropping, no hinges broken, no plinths broken and no cornice edges unstuck...

Why not check out a kitchen company and judge for yourself the price.. We are based in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex and used Manor Kitchens in Benfleet.

Bonnietwoabodes

Would it be more economical not to integrate just now, but buy the doors and store them? Then as appliances required replacing you could integrate in the future. This would also help should the kitchen no longer be stocked when you may wish to integrate.
I am currently looking to purchase a flat and have asked the sellers where they bough the kitchen to see if I could get my new appliances integrated as theya re taking all of theres with them!

Nile

Hello x3ja and Bonniewoabodes


Welcome to the MSE site.:wave:

HugoSP

Hi

How long is a piece of string?

What market are you aiming your house at?

IMO integrated appliances have their plus points, but not everyone will pay extra for them. If it's the type of house where they would definitely improve the house and make it more saleable than the one next door, then by all means do it as part of a wider package.

However, fitting integrated appliances may not do the trick alone. People will look at a whole range of home improvements to assess the worth of the house. In addition the appliances you choose may not be what the next person wants, assuming they're still in good condition.

I say do it for yourselves, not the next person. If you are really developing the property to sell, then consider the advantages as part of a wider package. If the rest of your house is perfect then maybe yes. If the bathrooms are in a mess and the garden is a jungle/mudslide then it won't work alone.

All the property ladder programmes you see with Sarah Beeny show you a completely revamped house, not a standard house with a new kitchen.

Also, don't forget the cost of buying new appliances when you move. If you've sold your old ones and then have to leave the integrated ones there, you're actually having to spend your money twice.

Hugo

x3ja

Bonnietwoabodes wrote:

Would it be more economical not to integrate just now, but buy the doors and store them? Then as appliances required replacing you could integrate in the future. This would also help should the kitchen no longer be stocked when you may wish to integrate.

Yes, I'd considered this, but I think it requires quite different units to have an integrated appliance than it does for the free-standing ones (they need sides on I think and plinth at the bottom)... but I'll definitely look into it as that's kind of the best of both worlds...

x3ja

HugoSP wrote:

How long is a piece of string?

As my father would say: "Twice as long as half its length"

HugoSP wrote:

IMO integrated appliances have their plus points, but not everyone will pay extra for them. If it's the type of house where they would definitely improve the house and make it more saleable than the one next door, then by all means do it as part of a wider package.

Well we already have a 2-story extension (adds a dining room, downstairs loo & extra bedroom upstairs) more than them, so some advice I've seen goes against upping the value too much more since it'll put it too far above the price of the other houses in the area... That said, this is an area where lots of newly-graduated students come to live, with their nice new graduate incomes and I think they like shiny new plush kitchens...

HugoSP wrote:

I say do it for yourselves, not the next person. If you are really developing the property to sell, then consider the advantages as part of a wider package. If the rest of your house is perfect then maybe yes. If the bathrooms are in a mess and the garden is a jungle/mudslide then it won't work alone.

I like that idea, since we're not really thinking about adding masses of value to the house, so why not just do it for ourselves? We are thinking we'll move in a couple of years, but so much can change in the interim that we're best off not thinking about that too much.

HugoSP wrote:

Also, don't forget the cost of buying new appliances when you move. If you've sold your old ones and then have to leave the integrated ones there, you're actually having to spend your money twice.

Very good point of which my wife has reminded me a few times, although that could be a selling point again, once a price is agreed with a buyer to then add in the appliances? I dunno, maybe a little underhand and inconvenient if they say they don't want them.

Cheers for all the good points you raised

savenotspendsid

None

I find with intergated appliances, you have to pay a lot more again to get the same spec, like AAA energy rated. And the cubic capacity of fridges, washing machines etc is very small compared to stand alone items.