Do granite countertops help sell a house
Homeblessings
11 years ago
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11 years agocmm1
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Will you help me sell my house???
Comments (90)Homeblessings suggested I update this so you'd know how it turned out. First, I want to tell you how much I appreciate all the input here, especially those who said not to do anything. I needed to look at it hard and long before spending any money, and that input was valuable. After talking more to real estate agents and analyzing the local market to death, I realized almost all the potential buyers of our house over the last six months or so have been those moving in from out-of-town. Most are military officers or doctors. They are looking for bargains, and they are looking for resale when they move in 4 years. Our home was priced at $325,000, which was right for the market of local buyers who value our neighborhood and the nearby schools, but locals don't start buying houses until May or June (last summer everything sold in our neighborhood in July). Out-of-town buyers were looking at houses ranging from $325,000 to $400,000 and ultimately buying houses that cost about $360,000. We didn't want to wait until summer and we couldn't count on local buyers even then because pending military spending cuts could really hurt the local market. We decided to upgrade as cost-efficiently as possible to get the house sold in April. My friend replaced the vinyl floor, which had seen better days, with a low-cost porcelain tile from Home Depot. The difference doesn't show in pictures, but it's huge in real life. It cost about $2000 total. A real estate agent asked me who did it because she wants to upgrade her own house to sell it. I replaced the appliances with stainless steel. I was back and forth about this one. I was only going to replace the range and microhood (for reasons stated above somewhere) but then I realized I had to replace the dishwasher with one that would fit into the decreased vertical space the new tile caused. I got a good deal on the new appliances and with tax and delivery it was $2050. I sold the old ones on craigslist for close to $1000, so the total cost was less than $1100. I replaced the countertops with steel grey granite, and the sink and faucet at the same time. The sink and faucet REALLY had to go. I think by the time I added in the new sink, faucet, and plumbing labor, the cost was less than $4000. I was able to save the backsplash. I had to take one tile off to remove the old counters, but I glued it back in place after. I dealt with the gap between the new granite and the old backsplash by caulking with a sanded caulk that matched the grout perfectly. If that didn't work I was going to try Bee's painted trim idea from above. My total cost was $7000-$7500. One of the agents we'd talked to asked to show the house before it was on the market to a buyer just in for the week (floor was done and appliances were just being delivered) and we ended up selling it. The couple who bought it tried to buy a $400,000 house first and weren't able to reach a deal. The wife is a military doctor who will be here 4 years, and I don't think they would have considered a house without the upgrades. We'll never know if we got our money back, but we do know that the house is sold. With the high percentage of military/short-term buyers in our market, this decision made sense to me. Here's the before/after. I know there are still problems with the "after" - especially that refrigerator sticking out - but it's good enough. Sorry this post is horrendously long, and thanks again for all the advice!...See MoreHelp Needed with Master Bath to Sell Home
Comments (135)The listing has new photos of the new rooms and also the front of the home. I am surprised that the other sites have not picked up the photo changes but do have the price reflected correctly. We dropped our price 22k I would have thought they would have the new pictures by now. I am sure my Realtor doesn't update all the sites he told me that they will pick it up on their own. It has been two weeks since the new pictures went up, too. Anyway my MLS listing is 201316269. If that helps. After waiting a couple of weeks and two cancellations for showings we finally had some buyers come through this past Monday who loves the home but said it was their first day looking so they wanted to look around the area before making a final decision. Anyway I am hoping they come back with an offer in hand soon. I am hoping that the Federal Reserve announcement that they will be raising rates in the near future will get people off their butts!...See MoreStonemark Granite kitchen Countertop from Home Depot
Comments (23)I have purchased Stonemark countertops from Home Depot and love the look, color, and feel of my countertops but my experience with our area installer has been very distressing. One section of the countertop has a 1/2 inch by 1 inch chip and another section has a scratch in the middle of the island under a direct light. The imperfections either were there when the granite was pulled from the truck or were incurred during installation. When I went to sign off on the installation I noted that I was unhappy with the chip and the installer said that they would not replace the piece. They only offered to refabricate. I had him refill the chip twice with different colors and it still looks awful. I can deal with the scratch being filled as it seems minor compared to the chip. It has been 9 business days and no one at Innovative Stone will return my phone calls. I have purchased $25K of cabinets, flooring, and countertops ($6K of Stonemark) for my kitchen remodeling project from Home Depot and it all has been a fairly good experience up until this install. Innovative Stone is not even responding to calls made from my Home Depot expeditor. I am in Ohio so it might just be my local installer but beware. I realize that a chip is not covered by warranty but how can they install a countertop with such a large chip and consider it a good business practice? Does anyone know how the refabrication process works? I am assuming that they will grind the stone where the chip is and feather it back into the edge of the piece. The chip is on the front of the countertop where it meets another piece of granite. I am concerned that if I agree to have them refabricate this piece it will look odd and then two pieces of the countertop are affected....See MoreOT - How much involvement do you have when selling your house?
Comments (39)You are getting lots of good advice especially from kellyeng, teacats and egbar. I had a fabulous realtor couple when selling my last home. We interviewed 3 full-time (don't go w/ a part-timer) experienced (at least 5yrs) real estate teams (2-3 people so you're covered ) who were good sellers in the area and who seemed to have good marketing skills. One team clearly was not up to par and we selected the best. They hired a pro photographer and paid for a stager to come in after we had things clean and decluttered and somewhat staged. I wrote, or tweeked, quite a bit of copy and made a sheet listing highlights of the property and recent improvements. That was well received by our realtor (who shared the goal of selling) and buyers. The realtor did a great job of marketing to other realtors and managing showings, feedback, offers, etc. We sold fairly quickly in a tough market. I have also sold 2 homes in more rural areas w/o a realtor but working with an experienced real estate attorney who provided me with appropriate forms for disclosure, offers, etc. Of course, I did all of the marketing. One was sold to a neighbors sister after we had an open house (not common in the area). They were not even looking to buy a house! I would expect your agent to do an open for agents and another general one shortly after listing even if it's not customary. I also made sure the house was presented well -- better than the norm. Clean, decluttered, and simple repairs and staging done. It sounds like that is what you have done and it should make your home sell quicker. But there is a time to say "enough" and get it on the market. It sounds like you are at that point. Good luck. Choose the best of the lot, don't sign a long listing so they will have to continue to earn your business, work with the agent on getting marketing set up then let them do their thing.. Mutual respect will go a long way to achieving the end you both want--a sold house....See Morenancylouise5me
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