house: scared

[forgotten_aria]

For all the reasons I want to leave this house, I'm scared. We're going to have to work really hard to get the house into showable condition, and even then, it's still not going to be a beuatiful house. Do we redo the first floor kitchen, or is it, as was commented, only going to appeal to someone who will gut it.

I've been living here 10 years, it's been a good house, it's been my house. Surely it will be a good house for someone else?

Comments

[binkbink.livejournal.com]

Yes it will.
If the stove down there is not usable, though, that room might be better for having a cabinet there. It will serve you better too.
You did plan to have it removed and capped, so that shouldn't be too big a burden.

[gmpe.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't put too much work into the house, besides how and what furniture and stuff you have in it. I know my in-laws put a bunch of stuff in storage before selling their house so it would look more spacious and be easier for people to imagine for their next house. It sold the first day. Prettification, not infrastructure, unless it is something like a bad roof that might get in the way of a sale. And yes, the thought of moving is very scary. We know we will at some point, and it is scary to think about for us, too, even not being imminent.

[eccentrific.livejournal.com]

The advice I have heard is to never redo a kitchen or bathroom, regardless of what condition they're in. They are expensive to re-do and you will never recoup that investment in a higher selling price.

Fresh paint, cleaning the carpets thoroughly and de-cluttering the house are the things that will give you the best return on your investment.

[intuition-ist.livejournal.com]

yeah, icky carpets are a real downer when i'm looking at places. ew.

[binkbink.livejournal.com]

The kind of person who will like how you did the bathroom and kitchen is probably looking for something trendy you can't possibly predict. The kind of person who can't see the sound construction (mostly) isn't your potential customer either. The furnaces work, the oil tank is gone, the plumbing is mostly sound, the water heaters are newish, the roof doesn't leak (probably), and so on. The thing that is bothering you most (that you can change) is the tilty but working bathroom sink that really needs an inexpensive vanity.
I suggest planning on a year or more in finding the house you want to move to, and in the meantime, putting some money into fixing the most annoying thing today. Is it the lower kitchen stove? Is it the bathroom vanity? And yes, a blue toilet and a white vanity may look odd, but incoming buyers will assume swapping out a toilet is pretty straightforward.
The big deal, then, is getting the wall off the bathroom so the sink drain can have a P trap?
Oh, and that piece of dented/bowed wall on the walk up the stairs. I wonder if you should hire someone to remove the plaster and drywall that wall onto the lath? That should only be a few hundred if you find someone in the off season.

[binkbink.livejournal.com]

As for carpets, you can have Home Depot come in with the $0.75 a square foot acceptable-grade carpet after you move items to storage for the staging, if they still offend you then.
Being able to say there are hardwood floors under them and pull up a corner to prove it, should be enough during a showing.