Open Plan kitchen/Dining Room or not if trying to sell

Poppy9

Davesnave wrote: »

As a 80s/90s family, we preferred the separate dining room, which could be dedicated to homework, away from distractions.

But there you go, different lifestyles and priorities now, and lots of lurvely technology in the kitchen area to entertain and impress.

I like separate rooms. I have 2 sitting rooms. The back one is extended to be sitting room/dining room. Our kitchen has just been refitted and we removed the dining area so now it's all kitchen.

When DD was young it was practical to eat in kitchen for some meals but usually we used the dining area on the back lounge as we had lovely french doors overlooking the garden. For the majority of time just myself and OH here now and we use lap trays in front room!

I always disliked eating in kitchen as I saw cooking mess and although we had dishwasher it was always starring me in the face I needed to clear up after food.

Having a second sitting room is a great bonus, especially when we have friends arounds as one of us don't have to disappear and when DD a teenager her friends could take over a room or it could be used for homework or just for some peace without shutting herself away upstairs in bedroom.

SailorSam

I've got a big kitchen/diner and i like it that way. But i wouldn't altered yours, if the kitchen is already 16' long can't you fit a table in that.

golly99

Hi, all good and useful feedback, thank you.

Regarding renting, we said we would have to get asking price to go into renting which I thought was reasonable given the additional storage costs, removal etc. If we had received a similar offer but not tied into being out in 8 weeks and into rented we would have accepted. At the end of the day we decided to take it off due to lack of houses which we liked coming on the market and thought Oct-Dec, there wouldn't be anything new anyway (which has proved correct so far).

Kitchen is 16"ft long but as there is an American Fridge Freezer one end, can't fit a table in (unless we put a breakfast bar type of thing in against the wall). Had the kitchen done about 5 years ago, before kids and decided against going open plan then. To be fair since having them I can see the advantage of open plan so you can keep an eye on them while you are cooking! Think we may just concentrate on doing a couple of tidy up bits and get rid of some stuff and relist in Jan/Feb.

stator

Can you post the floorplan layout of your house?

Personally I think a flexible layout is good. If you have an open plan layout but with double folding doors leading between the lounge and dining room and the same between the dining room and kitchen then any buyer can use the rooms as they see fit.

DRP

golly99 wrote: »

Hi, all good and useful feedback, thank you.

Regarding renting, we said we would have to get asking price to go into renting which I thought was reasonable given the additional storage costs, removal etc. If we had received a similar offer but not tied into being out in 8 weeks and into rented we would have accepted. At the end of the day we decided to take it off due to lack of houses which we liked coming on the market and thought Oct-Dec, there wouldn't be anything new anyway (which has proved correct so far).

Kitchen is 16"ft long but as there is an American Fridge Freezer one end, can't fit a table in (unless we put a breakfast bar type of thing in against the wall). Had the kitchen done about 5 years ago, before kids and decided against going open plan then. To be fair since having them I can see the advantage of open plan so you can keep an eye on them while you are cooking! Think we may just concentrate on doing a couple of tidy up bits and get rid of some stuff and relist in Jan/Feb.

The way to go about this is you tell the buyer that you will move into rented, without having any intention to do so.

Once they are committed (survey, solicitor etc), they are unlikely to pull out when they find out.

IN any event, the time it takes to sell and find rented accommodation is unlikely to be hugely different to completing a short chain.

^the above is based on my experience, rather than having done this myself ! (obviously it is highly unethical )

pinkteapot

I would say it depends on the rooms. My mum bought a small three bed that had a tiny kitchen and a tiny dining room next to it. Both were small and gloomy, and after knocking through the room is a massive improvement. In her case, I'd say it will have been more than worth it if she sells.

BUT, (1) the rooms were very poor to start with and (2) it's only a three bed house where two downstairs rooms aren't uncommon.

In a four-bed house, you're more likely to get larger families or families with older kids, who may want a separate reception room downstairs either for dining, or as separate general hanging-out space. If your conservatory is usable year-round then this is less of an issue, but many aren't.

pinkteapot

DRP wrote: »

The way to go about this is you tell the buyer that you will move into rented, without having any intention to do so.

Once they are committed (survey, solicitor etc), they are unlikely to pull out when they find out.

IN any event, the time it takes to sell and find rented accommodation is unlikely to be hugely different to completing a short chain.

^the above is based on my experience, rather than having done this myself ! (obviously it is highly unethical )

Please, please don't do this!! :eek:

People who ask vendors to go into rented generally have a reason for wanting to move in quickly. Maybe they've got a baby on the way. Maybe they're moving to a job in the area. Think how you'd feel if you bought and the vendor changed their mind about going into rented.

[Deleted User]

I think it's about personal preference. I think I would prefer a joint kitchen/dining room, but definitely a separate lounge.

If you are unsure you will get your money back then I wouldn't bother. Plus you could do all that work and spend all that money and then the buyer just separates the rooms again!

pinkteapot

Just noticed that your current kitchen is only five years old. I definitely wouldn't bother in that case. They only relatively more certain way to add value is to increase square footage/number of bedrooms via extensions. Replacing kitchens and bathrooms help sell a house, but unless they're currently old/run-down/dated you may well not get back what you spend, plus you've got all the hassle of having work done (the dust when a wall gets taken down is incredible).

Dird

The cost of removing a wall (load bearing?) and the re-decoration that follows is cheaper than selling early & going into rented accomodation?

Why not just start your house search first then after you've found "the dream" put yours back on the market as is?

In regards to kitchen-diner, I guess it's hit & miss. The house I'll be buying has a tiny kitchen then a big living-dining room (wall knocked down). Some will prefer the former, some the latter. If you have a large sofa then you'll want the larger living space rather than eating area. If you only eat at the dining table at Christmas then a kitchen-diner won't matter to you except from watching under the hammer/location*3.