Buying A Home
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Resale value?
We may be moving in the next year but there are some improvements we would like to make. I'm trying to decide what is worth the money (for resale purposes) and what isn't.
Would you install granite countertops in a kitchen that has laminate? Would you go for installing hardwoods in the family room (that currently has nasty carpet) or just get new carpet?
Ideally I would get both granite and hardwoods but I don't want to spend thousands of $ and not see that return on investment if we were to sell in 10 - 12 mos.
Re: Resale value?
This totally depends on comps in your neighborhood. Do they have granite & hardwood? Is the selling price in your acceptable price range?
A discussion with a local realtor woud be helpful in making this decision.
This. Also (not to be rude) how cheap looking is the laminate, because if its nice laminate I wouldn't bother replacing it to sell. As a buyer I would rather find a cheaper house with laminate then spend more on a house just because it has granite, if thats the only thing wrong with the house.
I would NOT do hardwood no question, even from a lifestyle persepective, as a buyer I don't want hardwood because I am not super careful and move furnature around a lot...my mom had hardwood in the dining room growing up and it got pretty roughed up, and theres always water damage issues with hardwood. I would replace the carpet or laminate(theres some really durable nice looking laminate out there these days no matter what people try and tell you otherwise....everyone who has been in our house thinks we have hardwood...nope just a 11 year old good quality laminate).
My Blog:Through My Eyes
The laminate doesn't look terrible but it seems like most of the houses in my neighborhood have granite and many of the builders in my area are making it standard in new houses.
You're definitely making me re-think hardwood floors. I personally would love to have them but I know there are people out there who would rather have good carpet over that. The problem with vinyl is that the rest of the downstairs has hardwoods except for this one room (the family room) and since it's an open floor plan I think all of the wood should match or it would look funny.
I'll check with a friend of mine in the neighborhood who is a realtor and get her take on the situation. Thanks for the feedback!
I would definitely do the granite. I would say if can give them a reason to walk in a room and love it for reasonable cost then you should. I would not go overboard with the granite and get one of the cheaper granite counter tops. I personally hate carpet so that was a big factor in deciding on my house but for the family room I don't think it matters too much. Carpet vs hardwood is just personal taste.
I guess it depends. I walk into a house with carpet and I walk right on out. For me its an allergies issue with my son, but I also really hate carpet. I even paid more money to rent an apartment with hardwoods.
Is there a way to do both and meet in the middle? Could you do corian counter tops and hardwood laminate flooring? Or get a contractor out to do poured and shined concrete on your countertops?
For me, the kitchen was my least concern, because I know I'm going to want to gut it and get down and dirty with it myself, but flooring in good shape is something I'm going to need to do before I even get in the door.
ALl that said, I think the smartest thing to do is have your realtor take you around to look at the comps in your area and then decide.