New kitchen = increase value of house?

redrabbit29

I bought my place 18 months ago. It cost £133k which was quite a good deal as it was originally on for £150.

It's a 2 floored Maisonette, 2 bedrooms, downstairs toilet too.

Kitchen and Bathroom are a bit of a let down.

Kitchen is 3 metres x 3 metres so great size and shape.

Would a new Kitchen improve value?
Also how much would it cost - very roughly, maybe £6 or £7k - is that reasonable?

dotdash79

It would only really hold the value, but increase the chance of selling the house

DigForVictory

There is also the school of thought that says these are the first two rooms to be refurbished to the new owners taste so why bother - but they will use the state to dicker down the price.

I'd refurb using second hand units - my neighbour bought an 8 month old fitted kitchen off eBay when the previous owner demanded & got a brand new kitchen as part of a marital spat. There are stonking bargains to be had that don't look cheap, if you've the time to hunt.

If not, pick a kitchen similar to one estate agents have crooned over that you can stand/live with!

phoebe1989seb

It would only make it more saleable IMHO........

We've done several major refurbs on period houses and whist I agree with the concept of a buyer wanting to change kitchens and bathrooms (no matter how much they cost the vendor), in our personal experience this hasn't usually been an issue.

The kitchens we've fitted - in the last three houses at least - have been classic, traditional designs (usually in solid wood) that complement the property and don't tend to date as much.

I know for a fact that the last two houses we sold still have the kitchens we fitted (in 1998 and 2008 respectively) and that one of the main attractions for both sets of buyers when choosing to buy our house was the kitchen.

The first house had increased enormously in value over the ten years of our ownership, only partly down to the *improvements* we made, but the kitchen itself didn't add value IMHO. The second house went down in value over the three years we owned it, but our EA confirmed that the high quality, bespoke kitchen and bathrooms increased its saleability in a market where our type of property was known to languish on the market for years......it went under offer in two weeks.

princeofpounds

The only things that tend to increase value are the fixing of genuine serious issues (only downstairs bathroom moved upstairs for example) and things that are genuinely difficult and disruptive (works that involve planning permission and major building).

Anything else tends to hold value at the very best, and usually lose it.

browneyedbazzi

I'm looking for a house at the moment and I would pay more for a house with a decent/liveable kitchen than for one with a kitchen that I think needs to be immediately torn out and replaced...but provided the current kitchen is already in a liveable state, I don't think you add much value by replacing it.

harrys_dad

How long do you intend to live there? If you are not intending to sell for another five years or more then you will get considerable benefit from using the new kitchen during that time. When people buy a car they do not expect it to "add value" over the time they use it, but just get the pleasure and convenience from driving it. Why should "home improvements" be any different.

If you are thinking of moving in a year or two then leave it as it is and save the money.

tBagpuss_2

I think it depends on that current kitchen. If it is really old and poor quality then replaceing it will probably lift the price a little, but if it is OK-but-not-great then it's probably not going to make a big difference

redrabbit29

Well, the flooring is vinyl and needs ripping up and replaced - that's easy.

One side of the kitchen has a counter. Underneath there are no cupboard. Just a big empty space which looks a bit ugly and not great.

I have looked online at cupboards and they seem to be quite expensive.

Also the tiles aren't very nice. There are tiles between work surface and too cupboards. I've never tiles or removed tiles before. Maybe I could try though

DominicJ_2

In a word, no.
As others have said, all that really makes a difference, is fixing something structural, extending (although not a conservatory, unless its a huge one) or, tidying.

At the end of the day.
Why would I buy a £133k house you've added a £5k kitchen to for £143k, when I could buy my own £133k house, add my own £5k kitchen and pocket £5k?

Ikeas good for pricing stuff up

redrabbit29

Thanks everyone.

I don't think I will get a new kitchen, even though I do plan to stay here for at least another 3 years.

The kitchen is fine, just needs tweaking.

1) new tiles
2) new light
3) new vinyl flooring
4) cupboard for under one of the counters