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

Murphybear

I wouldn’t bother putting a new kitchen in.  You run the risk of viewers not liking your choice.  When my husband and I bought our first house together it was virtually a shell.  There was a decent bathroom but the kitchen had only the proverbial kitchen sink  .  It made putting a new kitchen in fairly straightforward.  

Before we bought this house we viewed quite a few and one had a kitchen that had bright red shiny units.  We looked at each other and mimed “no way” to each other.  

IAMIAM

I have decided to scrap the kitchen idea! 

newsgroupmonkey_

[Deleted User] said:

newsgroupmonkey_ said:

To back up a couple of posts above, from a valuation point of view, you'll not get your money back on the kitchen. You might be able to add 50% of the value of the kitchen.
BUT, done correctly, it will make the house more attractive.

I mean, in a perfect world, it could create a bidding war, but I doubt it would be the kitchen alone.

As an aside, we had a really old 1970s bathroom. We got the cheapest modern set from Victorian Bathroom, replacement modern lino and a complete refurb which was around £1200 all in including fitting.

Our EA said that it had definitely added value (although we didn't tell them how little it cost). And a number of viewers commented on how nice it was.

Low cost efforts like declutterung, cleaning carpets and painting walls and ceilings can elevate a tired property to one that is more attractive. Things like lino can indeed sort out a floor for not much as well.

Absolutely. We whitewashed* the house before putting it on the market too. It took a few weekends, but transformed it.

*when I say whitewashed, we used lots of "off whites"

Savvy_Sue

Estate agent told us a few years ago not to renew kitchen/bathroom just for sale, because if people didn't like our choice they'd not want to pay. Better to price as needing the work done, price sensibly and not be browbeaten by people who wanted to reduce price because of work needed.

ReadySteadyPop

twopenny said:

I turned down a couple of properties that had new kitchens because I didn't like them and would have to replace everything. New gloss cabinets can't be changed or painted over.

But those with good wood cabinets could be painted.

Being clean and neat in a property so you can move in, things being in reasonable condition so you can take your time to replace is better.

But it's location that will sell a house and that the house itself has no major problems.

Location and price, if the price is wrong no amount of "presentation" will sell it.

pterri

Having just dropped a chink of change on a new kitchen I’d say no. I’m going or stay in my place long term and I like cooking but no way would I get my money back. In fact so long as it’s functional and the house priced accordingly I suspect that many people would take that into account and roster spend the money saved on a kitchen of their choice. If it’s unusable then get a cheap Wicks job