We need to bump the price up. We may be selling our house in about a year for work reasons (relocation). The problem is we bought the house 9 months ago just 5,000 below the VA’s appraisal value and $25,000 below what they were asking. It’s only 5 years old so I can’t do much to improve it but the walk out basement was half finished when we bought it so my husband and I were thinking about installing a full bathroom down there ourselves. It already has the rough in so we estimated it to be under 7,000 to do the job ourselves. I’m a very frugal shopper.
-stuff we already did- do you think it will help much.
When we bought the house it came with no appliances so we bought matching stainless steel Frigidaire for the kitchen and LG front load washer and dryer for the laundry room which would stay in hopes it helps get some value back considering we got all the appliances for about a steal at only $4,000 for all of them. No, I didn’t skimp out. The fridge has an ice maker along with filter water dispenser and all that junk. They are great appliances.
I have already painted the interior of the house neutral colors due to the fact that the previous owner still had the contractor paint up in some rooms and very bold colors in other rooms.
We replaced all the contractor lighting in the main living area of the house including the dining room, kitchen, bathroom, and halls plus they all match.
We live in a little town in the mideast that hasn’t seen the price reductions that the rest of the world is seeing. They have just about stayed the same. Actually when we bought the house there was 103 homes on the market and now there are only 44 if that helps.
Also if you don’t think the bathroom addition would be good what about extending the patio outback. As of now you can just fit a table with 6 chairs on it. We talked about extending it and considering we know someone who would be more then happy to help us and owns a cement business it would be at cost. He already volunteered himself. We back up to woods and I know I wanted it done so I was thinking maybe it would be a good idea.
One more thing I almost forgot. Right now the house is considered a 4 bedroom. There is another room but does not have closet doors but it has a recessed area a closet could go. We were thinking about putting the wall and closet doors up to be able to count it as a bedroom but weren’t sure if it would still count as a bedroom due to the fact that the window is not the same size as the windows in the other bedrooms.
Anyway, thank you for taking the time to read this and hopefully help us figure this out. Oh, and no matter what we do we won’t price the home out of the neighborhood. My dad tough me well. You buy the cheapest house in the best neighborhood. lol
oh yea, we put fans in every bedroom and EE light bulbs throughout
the basement has a huge family room
bernadette. I have replaced all the window treatments with E.E. ones and even got the top down bottom up for the family room. Oh, and I’ll think about leaving that extra room a playroom and not making it a bedroom but I’m not sure I’m ready to throw out the bathroom in the basement idea.
Anglo- Great call with the asking a realtor answer. When we know more facts about if and when we are going I will be sure to do it. You are dead on about us loving to work on the house together. We have done so many other projects that I didn’t list like run lan drops in the basement and family room. Cable to the master bedroom (for some reason it didn’t have it). Cut down 2 dead trees outback and so on. I also have brick (that were free) stacked out front of the house for when it gets warm so I can make a nice edge around the flowerbed. Anyway, I think I am going to go ahead with the patio outback as long as the realtor thinks we will at least break even. The bathroom on the other hand I won’t do unless we would make a profit. It has 3 caped pvc pipes coming up from the floor and a hole that looks sealed up with just tape so i think we would be good to go. Plumbing is my husbands thing. I’m electrical lol .Thanks for your time and very thoughtful answer.
2 Responses to “Try to increase house value or leave it alone.”
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Four bedrooms is enough you might want to consider putting a office or small reading room. You can make the recessed area a entertainment area, or nice shelves for a library. Why would you put a bathroom in the basement. unless you turned it into a big family recreation room. Adding a fence to the front or back yard is a plus also you will be amazed at how much that will raise value of the house if you don’t already have them.
When ever you enter a home the first impression will be your walkway and entry way then stairs, fireplaces, anything at eye level will be important to fix. Windows and how they are displayed, what type of coverings. Good luck
I think rather than relying on answers from the Internet from readers who don’t know details of your area and your house, you should determine who you are likely to list it with when you sell it and call the realtor and get his/her opinion.
In spite of the fact that you live in an area that is mostly untouched by the huge slump in housing, I hear daily knowledgeable advisers telling people in these situations to do nothing, and I think that would apply to you.
It actually sounds however, like you and your husband truly enjoy working on your house. I think that’s wonderful that you enjoy working together on your house which sounds wonderful.
Understand that I am no expert, but my opinion is:
More than four bedrooms is not often wanted. That room would be likely be used as you are probably using it–family room, game room, study, etc.
Bathrooms in basements are an important thing. I have that as top candidate. You said it is roughed in. Does that include roughed in plumbing for input and waste water. Bathrooms in basements may require cutting into the concrete floor and finding where to connect your new bathroom to existing pipes. Can be tricky.
Any time you have free labor of a skill, that is a good thing. That makes the “outback” a good candidate.
Best advice is talk with a realtor and pose the question just as you did here. I congratulate you both on buying the quality appliances. I am certain that is a good selling point. As I said it sounds to me like you truly want to do one of these projects. I think, unless the realtor tells you you’re crazy, do the bathroom. Remember, though to think about the plumbing.
Good luck both there and at your relocated destination.