We're buying a home! Opinions please!?

Question

My husband and I have a great opportunity to buy an older fixer-upper home - this will be our fiorst home together!!! The foundation and the basics are in good shape. However, we will need to remodel and redecorate alot of the home- I want to know where we should spend alot of money (ie:Kitchen, Bedroom, etc.) We're hoping we can make good profit off this house in a couple years.

If we were to sell this home in a couple years, what would you look for?
As a buyer, Is the kitchen important? Bathroom ??? Etc. And if so, what features do you look for???
Thank you for your answers!!! :) Look forward to hearing them

Wow- you guys got some great opinions!!! :) I really appreciate that! Keep em coming!

Answer 1

O.k. lets dispel some myths about putting money into a house that your unsure of.Without question the most important thing of all is always electrical effieciancy, as it is the one that can kill you by shock or fire, so make sure the wiring is up to code. Then plumbing and insulation are also important, plumbing should be checked out and modernized. Insulation will save major $ thats the best bang for your buck. I've been putting in kithens all my adult life and the fact of the matter is cabinetry,trim,paint and carpet are nothing more than cosmetic make-up on a house. Besides, new homeowners will always want to put their own touches on their new home, so chances they won't like yours even if tastefully done.Todays savvy homeowner looks for squre footage and location,location,location. Lets face it, the greatist house in the world will never sell if its out in the middle of nowhere. A great location will go in a heartbeatI'm glad I could help. Its a bunch of sharks in a feeding frenzy right now when your talking about realtors,builders, and mortgage companies. I've never seen anything like it, and they are not required by law to disclose anything to you outside of whats on that contract you sign. So ASK questions! Make sure you tell the mortgage company you don't want any suprises down the road in regards to the monthly payments and to put whatever safegaurds in the contract to insure this

Answer 2

Have the home professionally inspected before you buy to make sure that there are no structural damages, termites, etc. Spend your money on the kitchen and bathrooms. That's what impresses buyers the most. Granite countertops, stainless steel appliances with a gas cooktop, and real tile or wood floors are important. Add an island if you have room. Put in recessed lighting and pendant lights. In the bathroom, people want terrazzo or some other tile on the floor and up the walls. A jacuzzi tub and good shower with lots of jets will attract buyers. So will modern lighting, and nice neutral colors. The rest of the house isn't as important except for hardwood floors and good closet space. Sometimes they will show re-habs on TV that give good tips.

Answer 3

*Get a property inspection before you close on the home!

I know you didn't ask about it but it's a very important step many homeowners overlook. It'll cost you a few hundred dollars. It'll either save you from buying a money-pit, or it'll give you a detailed list of the work you need to do to make it livable and sound.

Onto you question. As a potential buyer I'd look for both bathroom and kitchen to be updated and spotless. The house may be old but no one wants and old bathroom or kitchen. Don't go overboard on making your remodeling look "expensive" because the next owner may just rip it out and start over.

Give a friend a "tour" of the house. If there's anything you have to make excuses for or explain - FIX IT.

Good luck.

Answer 4

First and foremost make sure you hire a lawyer to make sure there are no old mortages on the property older homes sometimes carry 2 or more mortages. The kitchen and bathrooms are the number one selling items and making it as roomy and contemporary as possible is going to help. Your best best bet is to do it yourself. Labor costs will set you back tons of cash and the return may not be to your liking. There are tons of books available and with some sweat equity you can increase your chances on a profit. Believe it or not clearing out a yeard that is over grown and added a deck will make potentical buyers more interested. Make sure the roof, furnace and structual walls are in very good repair. If possible depending on the size make sure you have 2 full bathrroms or atleast 1 1/2. The attic can be a hidden treasure if you have the ability to create more space. If you can increase the overall living area by finishing a basement or attic the dollar signs tend to follow.

Right now there are tons of homes on the market so be aware of current values verses actual values. A great place to look is the following website: http://www.visionappraisal.com/databases/

Good luck and have fun remodeling.

Answer 5

When I bought my current home, I looked at the neighborhood; the county property taxes on the house for the previous year; foundation; structure; plumbing, heating and electrical systems; roof condition; gas lines; how well the windows fit; how square the framing was (I brought a metal triangle to see!); and I also looked for signs of low spots in the yard. Then, I hired a house inspector.

If I should find myself looking for a house in the future, I'd look at these again, but I would also keep a sharp eye on the width of hallways, and the difficulty of maneuvering a wheelchair from room to room (my husband is not well).

If I had a choice between a super kitchen and a super master bath, I'd have to go with a fine kitchen. A superior bath is real nice, but the kitchen's the heart of the home!

Answer 6

Since the wife is usually the one who badgers the husband into buying a house, the best thing to do is to do a good job fixing up and moderniziing the kitchen and bathroom. Statistically this is the best area to do. Other than that, the next most important thing to do is to make sure the rooms are painted a neutral off-white. In general it is not a good idea at all to paint using extreme colors when it comes time to sell. Most people would retch at a pink and green bathroom, a bright orange kitchen, and tiger stripes all over the walls and ceilings of the bedroom. When it comes time to sell, make sure the house is free of clutter and turn the lights on, even in the daytime.

These suggestions are broad generalities based on realtors' experience and the most important of all the things you can do.

Answer 7

The key to a fixer upper is buying the worst home on the block, and bringing up to the middle of the price range. If you make it the most expensive home on the block, it will also become the toughest home to sell on the block!

So, as you consider what improvements to make, you need to look at the neighborhood, and make appropriate improvements. If you're in a neighborhood where most homes would be considered starter homes, forget the luxurious master bath. In that case, make sure that the home is eligible for first-time buyer programs (so, new roof, electric service up to code, good plumbing, efficient furnace).

If you're in a higher end neighborhood, then you'll need a higher end kitchen and bath. You'll also want to consider amenities on the outside, like landscaping.

Any way you dice it, the kitchen is important. Make sure it's clean and bright. Make sure the bathrooms are immaculate, even if not luxurious. Gallons of paint work no matter your price range, so make sure all the rooms get a fresh coat. All carpets and floors need to be clean.

I guess the key is to look into your crystal ball, and figure out what you hope to sell this home for in 3-5 years--that will set your budget for improvements, then figure out what you can get for that amount of money.

Best of luck!

Answer 8

The Kitchen and Bathrooms are a "must" to remodel.

All other things, you can insulate and drywall to your hearts content, but, you have to have that kitchen upgrade, or people will just walk out on you.

If the basement is all "concreted", thats a plus.
No raw Earth, should be in the basement, or crawl space, as it adds moisture to the house and the humidity will be a factor in the Spring and Summer, (mold can even grow, if too much of it is present, so, its best to have a dehumidifier if it is).

Installing whole house A/C is always a selling point.

Make sure you fix and repair any concrete work outside,and landscape the outside nicely, as that is the first thing they will see..."curb appeal".

The furnace will need to be upgraded, and chimney checked, if you sell the house in the future. Roof will need to be inspected too.

Keep those gutters cleaned, and free of debris, so you dont have trouble. And make SURE that you have vents in the roof, gable vents, and soffit and fascia. You need that air flow in the attic.

Ok, make sure you have an exhaust fan in the bathroom, and GFI circuits in there too.

Update your service panel, to a 200 amp service, (electrical panels with breakers).

For yourself, keep all your drains, in the basement filled with water, or you can have serious sewage gas come back into there and kill you, or make you and everyone else deathly sick!

There are a ton of other things, but, deal with these and you will have a good resell...

I wish you well..

Jesse

Answer 9

To me, the kitchen is one of the most important parts of the house. Good counter tops and cabinets are a must. Bedrooms are simple, 4 walls and a door along with a couple windows; bathrooms are not as time consuming and pricey either; but the kitchen will eat up a good portion of your time and money. I know several people who the first thing they complain about when getting into a fixer-upper is the kitchen.

Answer 10

Kitchen is always something potential homebuyers are interested in. And it's more to do with size than with style, because just like you, homeowners are going to want to put their own touches on things.

If you're looking at this from a resale position, then just make sure you're taking care of the important stuff...keeping the house in general good shape, modernizing anything (like going to breakers from a fuse box if the home is that old), updating light fixtures (adding ceiling fans if not there is always good). Again, it's not what you do as much as you show the house is being properly cared for.

And make sure that if it is an older home, you keep the outside stuff immaculate. Make sure you're keeping the gutters clean and in good repair, all the landscaping is in order, fresh paint where applicable, etc.

Most importantly, make sure that both of you are on the same page going in; do you plan on doing the work yourself or hiring out? If the former, make sure that it is something both of you are prepared to do, with gusto. If the latter, go ahead and get some of those estimates now, and try to negotiate your purchase price lower based on that (heck, I'd do that in either situation).