If Your Kitchen Looks Dated it Could Cost You a Sale

Trying to sell your home in the current economic climate can be something of a problem. While houses are once again finally starting to sell, they’re not achieving the prices of the pre-credit-crunch housing market. In part, this is because the odds are stacked firmly in favour of the buyers; there are plenty of homes for them to choose from, so you have to ensure that yours stands out from the crowd.

However, this doesn’t mean that you have to dig deep and redecorate the entire place – all you have to do is focus on the most important room in your home.

The most important room in your house

While most people think that the most important room is either the lounge or the bedroom, the truth is that the room buyers will be most critical of is the kitchen. The kitchen is the hub of any home; it’s the room where all the cooking is done, it’s the room where families sit down to eat and it tends to be the room where most entertaining is done. In short, the kitchen is the busiest space in your home and, as a result, it’s also the room that will show the most signs of wear and tear.

Checking practicalities

Buyers want to be able to buy a house and stop the spending there. What they don’t want is to discover that there are repairs and decoration costs to add to the bill. As a result, it’s worth casting an eye over your kitchen and checking out the basics, such as testing all the appliances and plug sockets to ensure that they do what they’re supposed to. It’s also worth checking out simple things, such as your overhead lights, to ensure that they’re all in proper working order. Once you’ve done this, it’s time to move on to the aesthetics.

Fresh and functional

In the ideal world, your kitchen should be as neutral as possible. While we all like to make our marks on our homes, what we consider to be homely isn’t necessarily to everyone’s taste. In addition, your kitchen should look as new and as functional as possible, without all the stains and scratches that come with time. All this might sound like it adds up to a complete overhaul. However, taking that approach makes no financial sense; you want your house to make you money, not cost you more – so the trick is to get the most impactive results without digging too deep.

Getting the most out of your home

The area of your kitchen that shows the most wear and tear is also the biggest and most impactive; your kitchen doors and drawers are the most visually noticeable aspect of your kitchen. Rather than going for a full kitchen refit, it’s easy to achieve spectacular results by simply replacing your kitchen cupboard doors and drawer fronts. You can choose styles that suit your kitchen down to the ground and the whole exercise will cost a fraction of that of a refit.

In addition to costing less money; replacing the doors and drawers will take less time. It’s entirely possible to give yourself a new looking kitchen in a single day – perfect if both time and money are important.