DONNA K.

REMODELING TIPS

Realtors are often asked by sellers if they should remodel their kitchen – or so some other major changes prior to putting their home on the market. 

If the kitchen or whatever they thought needed to be redone needed remodeling, they should have done it sometime before they decided to sell.  This is so they could have completed their remodel and they could have enjoyed it for some time before they sold their home.

So if you are looking to sell a home in this market, you will most probably see the greatest return when applying available funds to “bringing up” maintenance items current.  Items such as mowing the yard and trimming bushes that will improve the curb appeal.  Sprucing up just by cleaning the house will usually bring a much greater return than some of the more money intensive changes such as remodeling a kitchen or bath.

With a remodel, not only will you have a much greater expense before putting your home on the market, but you may have to remove the home from the market for an extended period.  When selling a home time is money.  Not only are you going to spend money on the remodel, but other expenses continue to roll in such as  mortgage, taxes, utilities and so forth.  Items such as general maintenance, cleaning and painting will bring you the greatest return as shown by price or time on the market.

Remodeling to enhance the sale is a hit or miss.  It is true that a kitchen or bath remodel could well return over 80% of your investment but think of it this way – if the kitchen is functional and not falling apart, reducing the price by a portion of the amount you were planning to spend means that you will probably get 100% of that amount and could have the house on the market a month or two sooner.

You also never know if what you select for your dream kitchen is what a buyer really wants.  Concentrate on those items that make the house more appealing without breaking the bank.

There are some cases where adding a bath or other major expenditures may make sense. These include: roof repairs or replacement if you have an old roof that is leaking.  You will find that a bad roof will scare off more buyers than an outdated kitchen or bath.  If the roof is in really bad shape, it probably does not matter how nice the kitchen looks.  A new kitchen loses much of its appeal if there is a big water leak stain on the ceiling.

Let common sense be your greatest ally.  You probably will not want to put a new $15K kitchen in a $100K condo.  However, if you have a 3 or 4 bedroom, 1 bath house in a great neighborhood, it may be wise to consider a second bathroom, but you have to look at each item, on a case by case basis.

So it is best to evaluate each thing you are considering on doing prior to the sale to see what it will cost in time and money and then compare it to a projected return.

Order of where to consider spending your money prior to sale:

1.  Maintenance of yard to improve curb appeal.

2.  Maintenance of items in home including cleaning, carpets, neutralizing, etc.

3.  Paint of interior and/or exterior.

4.  Appliance upgrade.

5.  Bathroom remodel or addition.

HOMEMADE FRIED RICE

Prepare 2 cups white rice and 1 cup brown rice per box instructions except use chicken broth instead of water when cooking the rice.  Put in frig to keep cool so rice isn’t sticky.

Stir fry 2 cloves of garlic and 3/4 cup of sliced scallions in 2 tb of vege or peanut oil for 2 minutes.  Add 1 cup bean sprouts; stir fry quickly.  Add 2 or 3 eggs and stir until cooked.  Add cooked rice.

Add 2 tb (or to taste) of Soy Sauce and stir.