Fitting New kitchen before selling?

[Deleted User]

I might look on ebay and see if there are any cheap kitchen cupboards/ doors that I could use/paint and use but not really necessary.

KRB2725

I agree with everyone else. Kitchens are very much a matter of personal taste and I would much prefer to buy a house that needed a new kitchen than buy one that had a new kitchen that I didn't like.

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phoebe1989seb

I'm in two minds about this......

You say you bought it as a project - 16 months ago - and have done just about everything except the kitchen, I think as a buyer looking for a renovated house I would find it odd that only the kitchen hadn't been upgraded.

Then again, we've never bought a renovated house and ignore these when looking to buy. We definitely prefer to fit our own choice of kitchen, bathrooms etc, but we have very specific tastes, that tend towards the classic/timeless unlike all the current trends for glossy, handleless kitchens that will date in no time.

If I were a FTB or someone without DIY skills/the budget to complete an unfinished project, I would hope to find a newly fitted kitchen in a house that had been 'flipped'.

In my experience, high-end/bespoke kitchens in unique/characterful houses can be the key to achieving a quick sale/best price and are often retained by the new owner for many years. If you are selling a relatively 'ordinary' (no offence intended ) house where buyers would expect a standard type of kitchen I guess this is less of an issue.

Perhaps your EA is a good one and knows what potential buyers for your type of house will want. I agree that unless you put in something very generic there is a chance you will not appeal to everyone.

Ozzuk

As above really, I'd have done it as part of the general works, and it depends how much of a mismatch it is - i.e. is the rest of the house completely finished? That would be the only reason I would update at this late stage.

Assuming that isn't the case, then if it does detract that much then maybe just a refresh. Spray painting cupboard doors is relatively easy and can look amazing. Worktops can be changed very easily, and often at a very low cost - if you are handy. Tiling can be done cheaply etc

Spraying doors, say £50-80 and your time
Worktops, £150-200 depending on size
Tiling - look for job lots on Tile places online, I did my old kitchen in metro style tiles for less than the cost of the adhesive to stick them on!
Spend your time on it and it can look very good.

POPPYOSCAR

This is a difficult one because the rest of the house is renovated.

Our son just sold his house which he completely renovated, including a new kitchen, for the asking price because the buyers wanted something they could just move in to and would not have to do any work whatsoever.

greatgimpo

Perhaps your estate agent doesn't want you to change your mind and not put it on the market because you like the replacement kitchen too much.

toddler9

Thanks all for your opinion I really do appreciate it, it's nice to get other people's perspectives.
The reason the rest of the house is renovated is because we were originally planning on An extension, then we got pregnant and now we want to relocate to be closer to family. So aside from the kitchen you could just walk in with your bags. Literally everything else is done to a modern / neutral taste.
To give some context we have a 3 bed semi. A hallway, one large living room and a kitchen diner at the back. All the other houses on our road have extended the kitchen diner by about 10m2 or so. Our next door neighbours put their house on the market in November - they have a wraparound extension so small play room and utility On the side ,bigger kitchen diner at the back. It was on at £250k and the sold sign went up 3 days later. I thought the kitchen and decor was a little dated- i.e. Lots of peach and the kitchen was more 90s (only my opinion!)
At the moment there is a house about 0.2 miles away on a newer development (approx 7 years old) very similar layout except the 3rd bedroom is in the loft and has an ensuite. It's also a mid news rather than semi like ours. That is on at £240k (?!)
The agent wants to put ours on at £215 with a view to getting as close as possible to that. I'd personally be happy with £205 upwards x

rach_k

I wouldn't replace it either. Just make sure it's spotlessly clean and obviously functional.

When we moved into our home, the house was lovely but a bit scruffy. The bathroom and kitchen were fully functional but dated. We didn't have the money to replace them straight away but they were usable until we did have the money, and then we could get exactly what we wanted. If the previous owner had put in a new bathroom and kitchen but it wasn't to my taste (very easy to do!), I don't think we would have bought the house - I wouldn't want to live with a kitchen I didn't love but it would feel too wasteful to replace one that was quite new. I certainly wouldn't have paid any more for a newer kitchen I didn't love than I would for an old scruffy but functional one that I'd be happy about replacing.

If other houses nearby have extended, it's entirely possible that the next owner of yours would like to do the same so it would be a waste to redo the kitchen anyway.

ChasingtheWelshdream

We hadn't quite finished renovating our house when we decided to sell it. Half painted doors, threadbare carpets and chipboard floors. We had it valued with the intention of spending the next few weekends finishing off. Our agent advised us not to bother as many people would change them anyway.

We were not convinced, but he put it this way. There are three main types of house buyer.

1) Those that want something completely finished, but have very particular tastes and wouldn't view if the walls were the wrong colour.

2) Those that want a wreck, and priced accordingly.

3) And the rest, who want something in between.

We wouldn't appeal to the first two, so a scrappy carpet wouldn't put off the 3rd. He suggested testing the market and see what the feedback was. If the work was putting people off, then you can justify spending the money and replacing. But you might just get the right buyer without the expense.

He was right. We got our asking price, (and the carpets are still manky.)

trailingspouse

I would always prefer a house with an old kitchen that obviously needed replacing to one with a brand new kitchen that I simply didn't like. In fact I would go so far as to say it would be a deal breaker - I wouldn't want to (effectively) buy a new kitchen just to replace it with another new kitchen.

Don't do it!