REAL TipS: Selling

Spend some time in your kitchen

The kitchen could be the most important room in a house. Maybe it’s the warmth and pleasant smells, maybe it’s because there’s always activity, or maybe it’s something else—whatever the case, many of our memories from our homes originate in the kitchen. Buyers are not ignorant to this fact. The kitchen can be of key importance in not only the amount of an offer, but maybe even getting an offer.

It should go without saying, but before you put your home on the market but you really should make sure your kitchen is properly cleaned and de-cluttered. If you’ve lived in the house for more than a couple of years, you’ll probably find forgotten items in the depths of the cabinets. If so, donate, pack, store, or throw them away. Kitchen storage is precious and important to many buyers—you’ll hardly ever hear “there was just too much storage in that kitchen” from a house hunter. By getting rid of or storing all the stuff you don’t use, you’re clearing space and making the kitchen appear orderly and more capacious.

Aside from clearing away all your old stuff, you should defrost and clean the refrigerator, take care of the stovetop and oven, and make sure your cabinets and the front of all appliances are sparkling.

If you have an older home, sometimes elbow grease and industrial strength cleaners are not enough. Deterioration of the various parts of your kitchen is an immediate turnoff to buyers—they imagine themselves spending money on remodeling. Furthermore, if the house for sale down the street has a newly remodeled kitchen, you may have to keep up with those Joneses. The reality is that many buyers’ expectations have been raised in these days of ubiquitous fixer-upper, home improvement shows.

The good news is that buyers will typically overestimate the cost of remodeling, especially in the kitchen. Your return on investment for kitchen remodels can be substantial, sometimes approaching or surpassing 100%. If you’re handy, or have some handy friends, you can recuperate more of your money by doing the job yourself. Be careful, though … sometimes it really does pay to hire a professional. Also, remember that while quality is important, you should not out-build your neighborhood—you’ll see less of a return on investment if you go too high-scale.

Even a modest kitchen remodel can make your house stick out to a potential buyer, and many times is a big difference in the number of days your home is on the market. You may need to buy new appliances, fix the grout and tile, paint the cabinets, or replace the sink basin. Because of your emotional involvement, it may be difficult to assess your needs, so ask your Texas REALTOR® if you have any questions.

A little work in the kitchen can make a significant impression on a prospective buyer. If it shines and appear well-cared for or, better yet, has been remodeled, your house will stand out.

Texas Association of Realtors®