3 Wow Factors Guaranteed to Sell Your San Antonio House: Part 2

Welcome back to the Danny Buys Houses blog!

In part one of 3 Wow Factors Guaranteed to Sell Your San Antonio House we covered bathrooms.

We made mention that it is one of two different rooms in the house that can only have one purpose.

Today, we’ll be covering the other room.

Every house needs a bathroom and every house needs a kitchen. In most houses, the kitchen is the hub of interaction. You may have a great living room or a study set up for entertainment, but ultimately everybody ends up in the kitchen. If you want the best chance to sell your house at top dollar you need to do everything you can to make your kitchen top dollar.

Determine what is salvageable

Every successful kitchen rehab starts with using what is already there.

You are going to be putting a lot of your resources into your kitchen, so you want to use as much of what is already there as possible.

Start with the cabinets. What kind of shape are they in? Do they work with the look you are trying to achieve?

If they are in good shape but they don’t go with your current scheme don’t trash them!

Consider repainting them a different color, one that matches your scheme. Paint the cabinets inside and out to give them a fresh new look.

Many people waste money on new cabinets that they don’t even need. Next, check the appliances. How outdated and beat up are they?

Do they sound like jets taking off or Transformers? If not they can probably be reused.

Consider this though, if you are going for a revamped new house look, appliances could be a huge factor in whether you sell your house or not.

Appliances are like accessories in a car. You don’t NEED all of them.

You don’t need 12 cup holders, an air conditioner that makes polar bears cold or a sound system that the entire city could hear, but if offered to you at a reasonable price wouldn’t you WANT some of these things? Wouldn’t you be more likely to pick a car with a great air conditioning and an awesome sound system over one that doesn’t? Even if your appliances are in good shape, consider updating them.

They could be the features that sell your house for you! Are your countertops fairly new and do they go with your kitchen scheme? This is another factor you might want to consider refreshing or replacing them if you want the best possible value when you sell your house.

Open up the kitchen

Opening up your kitchen is a guaranteed way to help you sell your house.

As stated earlier, the kitchen is the hub of the household. It makes sense that you would want it as open as possible. If you have a bar-type sitting area or an enclosed area that faces the living room or dining room, make sure to eliminate any storage there to increase your viewing area.

This will also help share light between the two rooms creating a brighter environment. Hanging light fixtures need to be eliminated. While most folks don’t have to worry about hitting their heads on the ceiling this is still a smart move. Eliminating hanging and convex light fixtures can really help create the appearance of an open environment.

You’ll be amazed at how much less claustrophobic even the smallest of kitchens can feel just by doing this. Widen your door less entries and exits. Even a change of a couple of inches can make all the difference in the feel of the kitchen.

Plus, if you decide to replace your appliances this will make it much easier to get them in and out of the house. All of these factors help to create a more open and more inviting kitchen, which will sell your house a lot faster than a short and narrow kitchen.

Updating: Guaranteed to sell your house

By now you have taken inventory of your kitchen. You know what you are going to keep and reuse.

You have done all of the proper demolition to get your kitchen opened up. It’s time to get on to the actual updating. It is important to remember that you don’t want to over improve or under improve a kitchen.

An example of over improving a kitchen would be putting over expensive material into it. You can put the most expensive material you can find into every kitchen, but it won’t always increase the value of the overall house. Under improving the house would be slapping cheap materials into kitchen rehab and expecting to get top dollar when you sell your house. You need to make sure that you run your own comparable research before choosing your materials. What do other similar houses have that have been recently updated?

Tiling

If you have a laminate floor or cracked tile this is a must do upgrade. Choose a tile that goes with the look and feel you are trying to achieve. You should also include a backsplash in the areas of the kitchen where it makes sense (around stoves and behind sinks for sure).

The backsplash doesn’t have to be an exact match, just make sure it gives your kitchen the look you want.

Storage

When reusing cabinets make sure you pay attention to details. Paint the inside of the cabinets as well as the outside.

Replace existing hardware with something that completes the look of the kitchen (nickel or brushed nickel goes great with stainless appliances). Be patient and take the time to make sure all of the doors open and close after they’ve been modified. If you’re using new cabinets make sure the counter tops you are using match, otherwise your cabinets will have either and under or over bite!

Lighting

I strongly recommend recessed lighting in the kitchen. Again, it creates an open environment. Using these types of lights gives you the ability to arrange them in the places where you need them most, like the stove and sink areas, without having multiple fixtures hanging over your head.

Paint and Countertops

There are so many different options for these two its hard to recommend any one strategy. I would suggest a bright paint color for the actual kitchen walls to keep the mood light and inviting.

There are many options for countertops. Granite is always a good choice but only if it makes sense in your project. I would base your decision on countertops off of comparable in the neighborhood.\

This is just one of those extra steps that can help you maximize your profit when you sell your house. We’ve gone through the two rooms that you need to take care of in order to sell your house for top dollar in San Antonio. These are just two of the three wow factors that can really help you sell your house fast. In the next post we’ll be wrapping up the series with an area that could make or break your sale!

Be sure to check out Part 3 of 3 Wow Factors To Sell Your San Antonio House