Want to sell property in a year or 2, is it worth putting a new kitchen in?

Yorkie1

If you really do want to change it up, you could always investigate whether just replacing the doors would be a cost-effective solution.

thegreenone

Personally, if your property is aiming at the FTB market, yes do the kitchen but don't spend loads of money.  If you are aiming for the second homers, perhaps not as they will have their own ideas of what they want.

weekendsaway

No

DH is a builder who does extensions , basement dig outs etc in Kensington/Chelsea /Fulham/Putney areas of London and seriously he has been working in a house in a street , and the house two doors up is sold, the one he worked on 4 years previously, and first thing to go is the kitchen. And Im talking multi million pound houses with hand built kitchens 

I ripped out a solid oak, custom built kitchen in a home of mine and changed it to a flat pack to get the kitchen I wanted 

The house we live in now, the whole kitchen has been totally remodelled - to suit how we live.  Only one bathroom has been modernised ( from 2005) 

How we ( general we) live dictates how we want our kitchens and you spending money on one that someone else is going to rip out is daft

If its totally knackered and really won't last a few more years, then stick a cheap one in 

[Deleted User]

Perhaps estate agents valuing the property can advise you but I think that the usual advice is to just sell it as is.

When I sold my 20 year old rented property the kitchen and bathroom were tired and dated but passable. I got a good price for the property but updating the kitchen alone was not going to get me a premium. In fact, by doing nothing the price suited the buyer who probably wouldn't have been interested at 30k more irrespective of new kitchen.

In terms of the property I now live in, I also somewhat regret that the vendor who flipped it put in a cheap kitchen. It's just about too decent and functional to justify replacing it but its not the quality I would have picked given the choice. If the price is fair then the buyer can choose.

So check what estate agent thinks.

Grumpy_chap

I am of the view that if the house has a functional kitchen then there would not be the value in updating the kitchen to achieve a higher sales price.

In this situation, you would be tempted to cut corners on the new kitchen to get it done for a budget, which might get "photo" appeal but once people view they will see the substandard kitchen and decide they need to budget for a replacement sooner or later.  It might even devalue the property because, if the vendor cut corners on the kitchen, where else did the vendor cut corners.

Or, you pay for a top-grade kitchen aiming to make the house a "show" property.  It won't achieve the increase in sales price as much as the cost to install.  The purchaser might not even like the kitchen and, at worst, positively dislike it.
I can give a very clear example of this - we were tempted a number of years back by one of the properties a few doors along the road (bigger house) but it was over-priced.  We enquired anyway to see what movement the vendor might have only to get a load of spiel from the EA about why the house was so valued - one aspect was a "brand new top-of-the range £30k designer kitchen".  My perspective of the kitchen was that it was very dated and needed changing.  We did not even view the house.

The difference a nice, shiny new kitchen can make (so long as it is not an absurdly expensive kitchen disproportionate to the property) is to make the house easier to sell, but it doesn't add value as such.

TheJP

An old kitchen will not reduce your asking price by £25k nor will adding a new kitchen increase the value of your property. It may make the house more attractive to buyers but as others have said seasoned buyers may have budgeted wanting to do some renovations i.e. kitchen, bathrooms etc.

You wont make your money back if you do and i doubt you'll lose money if you dont.

RelievedSheff

Provided the kitchen is functional as is I would leave it. You certainly wont get the cost of a new kitchen back when you come to sell.

If it really is an eye sore and tatty then a cheap alternative is either painting the current doors of getting new ones and have a new (cheap) work surface fitted.

silvercar

Depends who your target market is. Young people working full time don't want the hassle of having to replace kitchens. Older people may be more prepared to put up with the inconvenience to get the kitchen they want.

ReadySteadyPop

IAMIAM said:

Reason being, feel the property will 100% need a new kitchen and if I put one in it will 100% secure a good asking price. Or do I just leave it for the next buyers?

I have noticed when I am looking on rightmove now, I am immediiatly put off by either the kitchen or bathroom needing an upgrade....

If a potential buyer doesn`t like the upgrade though that could also put them off? We don`t know what the market will be like in a year or two, you might not re-coup the money you spend on the kitchen. People are mainly looking at size, location and price, they will do their own upgrades to the right house if they find it in my opinion.

Rosa_Damascena

Its a lot of hassle as well as potentially a lot of money! Put the house on the market and if it doesn't budge, take feedback into account.

Second homers will likely want to put their own stamp on the place anyway, particularly if there is scope to extend.