You might try Home Depot. They often have sales on installation. It's kind of a one-stop shop for that.

Try a local fabricator who works on large jobs (like office buildings). If you only need a slab or two, they probably have a remnant. We got out kid's bath dirt cheap that way.

Home Depost is not cheap! We went to 3 private granite/stone dealers and all of them were cheaper then Home Depost.

I'd consult another realtor before installing granite. I doubt you'd recoup the investment but it might help move the house faster. Remnants would be your best route.

I just went through a similar situation getting ready to sell in June. In the upper middle market in Columbus,OH you'd better have some kind of solid surface counter, or it won't sell. It's very frustrating. People don't seem to get it, that I'd gladly lower the price of the house an extra $500 or $1k over the cost of the granite and they could choose their own color.

As for low cost granite, it definitely pays to shop around, and I'd look at fabricators other than the ones that you think might be lowest--Home Depot, Lowes, etc. They actually have less room to negotiate in most instances. Look for a Fab' that has low expenses, such as a warehouse location, industrial district, wrong side of town, not much of a showroom (maybe they use a wholesaler's showroom). Talk to 3 or 4. Know what you'll accept and what you won't install wise regarding seams, radiuses, rodding, etc. (we did say low cost--right?)

Once you find a couple good candidates with acceptable BBB, Angie's List, and whatever else you can find, ask them to quote a moderately priced granite, two levels pricier than the one you'd settle for, also ask for the premium edging, (after you've already asked them the differences in price). Negotiate that a premium edge be thrown in. Let them know you're shopping but you like their references and BBB rating. Don't respond immediately to any quote. Tell them your rethinking your options. Calculate what the price would be of the cheaper granite with a standard pencil edge (you've talked to a number of fabs by now and you should deduct the highest differences of the granite tier prices and edges). Likewise, if you have a lot, or a few, hole or sink cuts, negotiate those as well. If your lucky enough to have a couple good candidates, before you make your choice give them one last chance to bid the deal. Usually, however, you'll know who you want to go with by this time, even if they're marginally higher than one of the others, and then you should follow your gut, because after talking to these guys 4 or 5 times, you should know who you'd want to deal with if something goes wrong or there's an issue. I saved 33% from my highest bid, and 21% from my next lowest bid, and I got a great install and fab.

I know some people here don't like to negotiate much, but all you're doing is leveling the playing field. The seller always has the upper hand. Never think that you know more than the guy selling it (even if we do sometimes,lol). And don't do anything unethical either, as those things can work against you in the long run. I actually was willing to accept a premium edge, and color, if the price had been right. Every company has a different cost structure and talent pool. Matching the right skill set to the spec is important in getting the best price for the job at hand.

I'm curious Max -- Why do you suggest starting with a moderate granite and premium edge instead of a value-tier granite and standard edge?

I find it interesting-- right now we have threads running in here at the same time-- in one, someone heard a so called "expert" tell them that granite it out-- you need to get rid of it. And here, we have another so called expert saying if you want to sell your house you HAVE to have granite.

SCREW the experts. Use what you want, for those keeping the house, and those selling, in particular right now, gwent, if the laminate's in good shape, tell your realtor that if SHE wants to replace the countertops with HER commission, then she's welcome to. Otherwise, STUFF IT, and do your job!!

Really depends where you live, if you live in California, there are many stores that has cheap granites, granites starts low like from $80+.

Hi gwent,

imho, if you are relying on "your" realtor to help sell the house, I think it is worth paying attention to their judgement. They may have a point.

It helps often, to put yourself in the shoes of a buyer - most of them _do not_ want to "buy a new house" and have to immediately fix things - they'd want to move into something usable without fixes before/during the move in.

To you, the seller, it may sound reasonable, that if you dropped the price down by a $1000 or two (cost of granite install), the net-result is the same. But from the buyers' perspective, there is more "hardship cost" involved. Typically buyers would rather pay $3k extra included in the price of house, than get it for $2k cheaper. They don't want hassles right after getting a "new house"...

Sometimes, market realities dictate our actions - in a buyers market, taking the stand "let them go to hell..." kinda attidue may not be coducive to a quick sale :-) You've got to be the judge, as you would know your market well. You can get away with that attitude in hot markets, but unlikely in soft markets.

I think, aesthetically done up kitchens/baths do sell a home - that doesn't mean it entails expensive remodels. Prefab granite slabs with conservative color schemes may be a the way to go...

In the CA Bay Area one could spend ~45-50$/sqft using prefabs, incl installation. No idea what it'd be in your area.

Best,
/venkat

2 questions:
What would your new granite counters cost?
How are your kitchen cabinets?

Putting expensive counters on cabinets that don't look so good, is not a good idea, IMO. If I were a homeowner, I would much rather have a $3000-5,000 allowance towards kitchen remodeling and I could pick what I wanted. But that's me. I know that many people have a tough time visualizing improvements so I can see why your realtor would say this. But I have always bought 'the diamond in the rough' because I enjoy fixing things up.

However, if your cabinets look good, she probably is giving you good advice.

And I also think that a low price granite with a standard edge is the way to go for resale, if that's what you choose to do. All people hear is 'granite'...most don't know the difference between the lower priced and higher priced stones.

Sweeby, I'm sorry, I wasn't very clear. My point about going mid tier was that by going a little upscale at first (more profit for the seller) you can get them to throw in an upscale edge, a sink cut, maybe sink(s), maybe extra hole cuts, and you should ask them to quote it with the freebies. Then, choose the lower tier granite, explain that all this is much more than you thought, and back out the expenses for the freebies ($200 for that sink cut, $100 dollars for those extra holes which you've now decided you don't need, $15 a lineal foot for that 25' of premium edging you no longer need-$375), and $15 a sq ft for the for the granite color/type upcharge. This is often a better approach than going in low and adding on what you need for all the extras. They will bulk and may not back out their retail price for the freebies, but by this time you should know what the going rate is from the other granite shops for edges, hole/sink cuts, premium colors, etc.

I'm sorry Bill, first, I never said I was an expert, and I never said anyone had to have granite, all I said was that in the Columbus, Oh market, mid priced housing is expected to have some type of solid surface counter top. I've seen too many nice houses languish with laminate. And if they do sell, and many don't, they don't get their price. Kitchens do sell houses.

A local yard started importing finished counter tops from China. He has multiple lengths and two different widths (counter top & island or bar top). He offers a half dozen different colors at incredible prices. This would probably fit your needs perfectly and you might be able to find someone in your area. An internet search will probably find many dealers carrying pre-finished granite and shipping might not be tooo much.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pre-finished Granite pricing

we're in the same boat- selling our house, but we just replaced our laminate w/ 12x12 granite tile (black galaxy w/ black grout) got a great deal from HD at $7.20/sq ft (1/2 of what the tile store wanted). It looks great and cost 1/3 (when you factor in installation/labor) of a granite slab counter. You may be able to find 24x 24 tiles and have less seams there for less than slab.