The rooms buyers most closely inspect (and judge) in a house are the kitchen and master bath. These are the interior spaces where the most value can be added during a sale, so they need to look their best. Follow these tips from Daniel Villarreal, an agent at Berkshire Hathaway, to upgrade your home in all the right places.
A well-appointed kitchen will dramatically increase the value of your home, so it’s worth spicing up yours to grab buyer’s attention. The same holds true for the bathrooms, especially the master bath. A sparkling master bath with clean lines will charm open-house-goers with modern upgrades like dual vanities and soaking tubs.
Kitchen
Try to stay neutral and appeal to the masses when planning your kitchen update. A kitchen upgrade can range from a weekend-long, low-budget brush-up (think paint job and new cabinet hardware) to a full-blown overhaul (with tens of thousands spent on granite countertops and luxury appliances).
If your kitchen is looking very worn and dated, you may be able to salvage some of its basic structure. Keep the main elements and simply improve the rest with a cost-effective, low-labor strategy. Resurface, refinish, or simply scrub down cabinet doors, replace cabinet hardware, install a new faucet, upgrade the appliances, install new lighting fixtures, and slap on a fresh coat of paint.
It is also important to take interior designs of surrounding homes into consideration when updating these rooms, as buyers will be inclined to make comparisons. If neighboring homes have tidy, simple kitchens with Formica or tile countertops, then your home should as well. If granite and flagstone are the local flavor, upgrade your counters similarly. Just because you loved your rooster-themed wallpaper border doesn’t mean buyers will too.
Master Bath
From a buyer’s perspective, the master bath is almost as important as the kitchen. It’s also the most challenging room in the house to upgrade, requiring the skills of many different trades’ people — with hefty bills for each.
With time and money at a premium, the key to a bathroom upgrade is making the most of the existing shell by saving as much of the bath as you can. A quick update of faucets and lighting can make quite a difference. Brighten up the space with new mirrors, towel racks, and storage for an entirely refreshed look. Deep clean the tile and grout, and organize the medicine cabinets – because buyers will open them. Even if you can’t afford a new low-flow toilet (if you can, the upgrade is well worth it), make sure your bathroom is sparkling clean.
Daniel Villarreal is an Altadena/Pasadena native who has the local knowledge and experience to help you achieve your homeownership dreams. You can call him on (626) 394-1040 or email at [email protected].
