ActuariallySpeaking
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- Feb 22, 2017
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We bought our house last May as a 201k and we're not really in love with the location. It made sense at the time, and the house payment is affordable which is nice, but we're now realizing that we kind of jumped the gun.
Anyhow, we have selling on the brain and want to know, of the list of things that we think would add to the house, how do you pick what offers the best return? A few things we're considering are:
1. replacing the countertop and adding an island/bar seating. Also- our cabinets are typical 90s oak cabinets (I don't mind them, but I could see somebody else thinking they were dated)- so perhaps refinishing them? I'm not sure how hard that is to do (well, I'm in the process of refinishing the bathroom vanity, which pretty much matched the kitchen cabinets, so I have some idea. We would most likely hire somebody to at least do the countertop)
2. Adding a deck that you can access from the kitchen (right now, if you want to grill, you have to walk from the kitchen, down the hallway and out the breezeway to get to the grill, which sits in the driveway) The deck would also be facing the lake, which would be nice, since it seems like the natural meeting place right now, when we have company over in the summer, is where the grill is, which faces the neighbors house. I may be able to hire my brother to do this, who is a great carpenter, however otherwise I think we'd have to hire this one out.
3. When we bought the house we converted a sunroom-like room into part of our living room. Because of this, the two rooms have two different kinds of flooring (original is hardwood, converted room is laminate) and two different kinds of ceiling (original is textured drywall-like, converted room is wood) I'm thinking trying to make it look a bit more seamless would be great- however, the floor in the converted room is about 1/2" higher so we currently have this cheap looking laminate "lip". Matching the flooring and replacing the ceiling may be something my husband is comfortable with. We'd also have to refinish the floors so they'd match. They look pretty rough right now, and I believe that's something you have to hire out? I don't want to ruin the floors, unless it's something that's pretty easy to do.
4. tiling the bathroom (currently linoleum) and possibly adding a window (401k construction crew said it was a bad idea because of the eaves? It doesn't make sense to me since we have windows all over the house with the same eaves? But maybe there's something to do with it being in a bathroom? I'll try to figure out more of why they poo-poo'd it) I think we'd be willing to try this, however, we are both new when it comes to tiling
5. This is my husbands idea and I personally don't like it- but I'll throw it out here- expanding the driveway, which would require paving. Right now we have a 1 car garage and a driveway that can fit about 3 cars, but the 3rd car would be blocking the 1st two cars. He wants to create a horseshoe-ish driveway. This is something we'd have to hire out
6. and last but not least, adding a 1/2 bathroom in the basement (this might be more expensive because we would need an up-flush toilet) Currently, if you're down by the lakefront, you either have to go through the basement, up the stairs or walk up a big hill and into the front door to use the bathroom, which is kind of a pain, especially if you're older- which seems to be the majority of homeowners in this area. Our basement isn't finished though, so would this look ridiculous? The septic is approved for an additional bedroom, or it would make an awesome additional hang-out room or office.
This would all be coming out of our pocket and dipping into possible downpayment money, so I don't think we can cover all of this! (Especially that driveway! ) Do you have any thoughts on what would help sell things more quickly? I know I have to take cost into consideration, and I know that's a decision more on my end- so if you were to rank things, what would be the most important/useful in selling this house? (BTW we're in NH)
Thanks!
Anyhow, we have selling on the brain and want to know, of the list of things that we think would add to the house, how do you pick what offers the best return? A few things we're considering are:
1. replacing the countertop and adding an island/bar seating. Also- our cabinets are typical 90s oak cabinets (I don't mind them, but I could see somebody else thinking they were dated)- so perhaps refinishing them? I'm not sure how hard that is to do (well, I'm in the process of refinishing the bathroom vanity, which pretty much matched the kitchen cabinets, so I have some idea. We would most likely hire somebody to at least do the countertop)
2. Adding a deck that you can access from the kitchen (right now, if you want to grill, you have to walk from the kitchen, down the hallway and out the breezeway to get to the grill, which sits in the driveway) The deck would also be facing the lake, which would be nice, since it seems like the natural meeting place right now, when we have company over in the summer, is where the grill is, which faces the neighbors house. I may be able to hire my brother to do this, who is a great carpenter, however otherwise I think we'd have to hire this one out.
3. When we bought the house we converted a sunroom-like room into part of our living room. Because of this, the two rooms have two different kinds of flooring (original is hardwood, converted room is laminate) and two different kinds of ceiling (original is textured drywall-like, converted room is wood) I'm thinking trying to make it look a bit more seamless would be great- however, the floor in the converted room is about 1/2" higher so we currently have this cheap looking laminate "lip". Matching the flooring and replacing the ceiling may be something my husband is comfortable with. We'd also have to refinish the floors so they'd match. They look pretty rough right now, and I believe that's something you have to hire out? I don't want to ruin the floors, unless it's something that's pretty easy to do.
4. tiling the bathroom (currently linoleum) and possibly adding a window (401k construction crew said it was a bad idea because of the eaves? It doesn't make sense to me since we have windows all over the house with the same eaves? But maybe there's something to do with it being in a bathroom? I'll try to figure out more of why they poo-poo'd it) I think we'd be willing to try this, however, we are both new when it comes to tiling
5. This is my husbands idea and I personally don't like it- but I'll throw it out here- expanding the driveway, which would require paving. Right now we have a 1 car garage and a driveway that can fit about 3 cars, but the 3rd car would be blocking the 1st two cars. He wants to create a horseshoe-ish driveway. This is something we'd have to hire out
6. and last but not least, adding a 1/2 bathroom in the basement (this might be more expensive because we would need an up-flush toilet) Currently, if you're down by the lakefront, you either have to go through the basement, up the stairs or walk up a big hill and into the front door to use the bathroom, which is kind of a pain, especially if you're older- which seems to be the majority of homeowners in this area. Our basement isn't finished though, so would this look ridiculous? The septic is approved for an additional bedroom, or it would make an awesome additional hang-out room or office.
This would all be coming out of our pocket and dipping into possible downpayment money, so I don't think we can cover all of this! (Especially that driveway! ) Do you have any thoughts on what would help sell things more quickly? I know I have to take cost into consideration, and I know that's a decision more on my end- so if you were to rank things, what would be the most important/useful in selling this house? (BTW we're in NH)
Thanks!
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