Should you put in a Kitchen Before you Sell Your Home?
It’s the dilemma that many homeowners go through if they’re planning to sell in the next few years: is it worth adding a kitchen to your property or not? Will this be a good return on investment – especially if there’s no time to reap the rewards before you have to move house.
Best Gapp, an Estate agents in Belgravia would advise you to demonstrate extreme caution before you splash out a lot of money on a kitchen – here are a few things to bear in mind.
Test the Market
It’s hard to know if your kitchen is as big a deterrent as you believe. Although a nice kitchen is a big selling point, a lot of this is just personal. Put your property on the market with the kitchen as it is and see what kind of response you get. The kitchen should be well presented in order to appeal to prospective buyers – but make sure you ask your estate agent what the feedback is from potential buyers before you spend your hard-earned cash.
If there are comments about the kitchen, try to find out what buyers would offer for your property as it is. If it’s below the asking price and you feel that a kitchen would make the difference, try making the alterations and then remarket the property. This is better than wasting money before you know if it’s actually a real problem.
Fix the Little Things
It’s always a good idea to spend a relatively small sum to make your property look attractive to a buyer, de-cluttering and tidying up is a great option. Why not remove all unnecessary clutter from the kitchen, dust and clean up, apply a fresh coat of paint – preferably white – fix all broken objects etc.
Finally, if you do decide to push ahead with a new kitchen, make sure it’s neutral and of good quality. If it’s badly fitted or cheap, this could actually be more off-putting than a kitchen in urgent need of replacement. Here are a few ideas as to things you could do quickly and cheaply:
- Buy some cupboard doors – you can get these very cheaply and they can really liven a place up. As well as this, some shelves and a few nice tins and utensils as decorative elements can do the trick.
- Add or replace light fixtures, open the blinds, install a skylight and make the most of the light. It can also be a good idea to install spotlights over workplace areas so you can see what you’re doing, this is important, especially when you’re cutting and chopping up food under a direct light.
- Paint the walls, try rich, bright colours.
- Classic hardware is a good option – it enhances the look and feel of a place, especially if you have a kitchen with lots of cabinets. Carefully count the number of pulls and knobs in your kitchen and see if you can upgrade.
We hope this article has been helpful and that it’s assisted in helping you decide as to whether you wish to add a kitchen or not to your home before you sell.
