When you’re thinking about selling your home, there are many things that you may need to upgrade or repair. A home’s kitchen has a big impact on the price a buyer is willing to offer, so when it’s time to sell, your kitchen is the first place to look for improvements that could be made. The kitchen is the new family room, and a prospective homeowner is going to give the kitchen a thorough look. Often, it is the one room that will make a difference in whether an offer is made or not.
Use this guide to help determine whether your kitchen is due for an upgrade.
Reasons to Remodel or Upgrade Your Kitchen
You see a lot of damage or wear. No one expects the kitchen to look brand new, but if you have mold, water damage, peeling countertops or stains on the wall, you should be willing to make repairs. Prospective buyers will open cabinets and look at the countertops. Mold will be a turnoff, as will water damage. Consider new countertops or remediation if needed.
The counter space is small. Older homes tend to have less counter space. Today there are more appliances that tend to live on the counter, so buyers will want more space. If counter space is limited, consider adding an island.
Your appliances are old. Whether they were original to your home or just haven’t been replaced in several years, consider upgrading. New appliances are more attractive and may help to increase the value of your home.
Your kitchen is high maintenance. Do you spend time cleaning linoleum floors that still look grimy or does your kitchen have lots of tile with deep grout that must be maintained? These things will discourage a buyer who is looking at your home. You may want to replace them with lower maintenance materials.
Your décor is outdated. Older homes tend to have unique layouts that were deemed progressive and stylish at the time they were built. Not only can range islands be burdensome when working in the kitchen, but they can also be dangerous if your kitchen gets a lot of traffic. Sometimes a poor layout can also create a lack of cabinet space, which needs to be addressed.
Find a Good Contractor
If the results of your examination indicate that it’s time to make some changes, you may need to find a kitchen remodel contractor. Be sure to work with a licensed and experienced contractor to ensure that your upgrades go well and help increase the value of your home.
At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Atlanta. We live, work and play here, and our agents are hand-picked for their connections in the community. Our highly effective marketing program allows us to shorten the number of days on the market. We’ve even put homes under contract sight unseen!
If you are thinking about selling your home, call us at 770-352-9658.
Most sellers mistakenly think that a home’s value is mainly determined by similar homes that have sold in the neighborhood. While that is certainly part of it, what really determines your home’s value is simply what a potential buyer is willing to pay for it. Home buying can be an emotional decision, and if you can get a buyer to fall in love with your property, they may be willing to make a higher offer.
Start on the Outside
First Impressions are crucial in the home buying process. Your home’s exterior is the first thing potential buyers see, allowing them to form opinions about what they might expect inside when they tour your home. In order to get the highest offers from buyers, you will need to up your ‘curb appeal.’ Make sure your house will wow any visitors from the moment they drive by.
Paint the Exterior
A fresh coat of paint is an easy way to give your home a newer appearance. Pick a color that’s considered classic and elegant, something that will appear both modern and timeless. Don’t pick anything bright or trendy, as you must appeal to a variety of buyers’ tastes and preferences.
Maintain the Siding
The elements can cause your home’s siding to appear dull and dirty over time. The average life expectancy of siding on a home is 60 to 100 years, but if you live in a harsh climate, extreme weather conditions can decrease the life of the siding. Pressure wash to clean your siding, removing stains, spider webs and dirt that have accumulated.
Refresh Garage Doors
New garage doors can give the home an instant update. If yours are in relatively good condition, a new coat of paint is all that they may need to look new. However, if your garage doors are aging and showing some wear and tear, consider replacing them. New garage doors are more energy efficient and better insulated than older models and this will add value for buyers.
Don’t Forget the Details
It pays to update the small details of your home’s exterior and help it to stand out in the neighborhood. Especially if there are several homes in the area on the market at the same time, attention to the details will help your home appear to be better maintained. Buyers may think it’s a better value for the money.
New Door Fixtures
Find new door fixtures that complement your home’s style. Updated fixtures can modernize an older house and make a slightly outdated house look more on-trend. When buyers walk through the front door, a new knob and kick plate will be noticed right away.
House Numbers
Adding house numbers to the exterior of your home, or driveway, will help potential buyers easily find your home. Not only does this look nice, but it also makes the process of visiting your home more pleasant and less stressful. Anything you can do to make the experience more enjoyable will help increase the offer a buyer will make. If you don’t want to add numbers to the house itself, make sure that your mailbox is in good condition and easily seen.
Paint Trim and Shutters
When you paint the exterior of your home, don’t forget the trim. Pick a complimentary color that creates an elegant look. If you have trouble choosing, ask the staff at your local design center for help. While you’re at it, consider adding shutters or other embellishments. They can help add charm and personality to the home.
Take Care of the Lawn
Well-landscaped homes sell for an average of 5.5% to12.7% more than other similar homes. Studies show that taking care of the yard may add as much as 28% to your home’s overall value. Researchers at Virginia Tech have found that landscape design can increase your home’s value by 42%, choosing the right plant size can increase it by 32% and a diversity of plants can increase it by 22%. These stats make an argument for hiring a landscape architect to advise you if you want to earn top dollar.
Driveway Details
Adding a nice border along your driveway or walkway with brick, stone or another hardscape element adds charm to an otherwise plain driveway. Paved driveways and walkways with grass growing between them is a popular look and may give the impression of a more intentional design, rather than a plain yard.
Ideal Green Space
Create a picturesque landscape by adding drought-tolerant vegetation that thrives in warm, dry climates like lavender, sage and wisteria. Landscaping incorporated with water-saving drip irrigation and mulch will cut down on cost, time and water usage. This can be a major selling point for buyers!
Trees and Shrubs
The most visually appealing lawns feature a variety of textures. Achieve this by planting a few different types of trees and shrubs that vary in height and flowering seasons. This will help boost your home’s curb appeal year-round.
Create an Inviting Feeling
Home staging doesn’t only apply to the interior. Appeal to the emotions of potential buyers by staging the outside of your home to look warm and inviting. You want visitors to feel comfortable from the time they step out of the car. If they can picture themselves in your home, your chances of a sale increase dramatically.
Dress the Porch
The porch should be considered an outdoor extension of your home. If you have a front porch, make it welcoming by including colorful potted plants, and adding seating and design touches like a loveseat, rug and a small table.
Keep Blooms Coming
Make your lawn appealing year round by planting flowers that bloom at different times of the year. Perennials, for example, flower for most of the year. A variety of types and sizes of plants will keep things interesting, no matter what the season. The last thing you want buyers to see is a yard that needs attention.
Boost Online Curb Appeal
The first step in getting a buyer to tour your home is to hook them during an online search. The better the impression your home gives online, the more likely it is that buyers will want to come visit. Once you’ve made improvements to the exterior of your home, get it ready for its close-up and put some thought into your online listing.
Staging
Whether you opt to work with a professional or do it yourself, staging should attempt to show your home in its best light and allow buyers to picture themselves living there. Remove any overly personal items and photographs from your home and declutter as much as possible. Give buyers breathing room to picture themselves and their possessions in the space. The most important part of staging is lighting, so give some thought to how you can maximize the feeling of warmth and sunlight throughout your home.
Professional Photos
Do not skimp in this area, or you may have a great home that no one comes to look at. Hire a professional photographer to take great photos of your home, and be sure to work with someone who has real estate experience and knows how to make your home look its best.
Video Tours
Videos are becoming a popular way to allow buyers a sneak peek into your home before they tour it. This can be a major factor in getting more potential buyers to come look at your listing, and volume is the surest way to get the highest offer. Demand is an important factor in determining the price you will get in an offer. At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we offer 3D Virtual Tours with all of our listings because we think it’s a crucial part of making sure our sellers get the most exposure.
Often, sellers don’t realize how much work goes into properly prepping a house for sale. But putting in the work now will ensure the outcome you want later. Once a house hits the market and starts being shown, it’s very hard to correct a negative first impression for buyers. If your house doesn’t show well, you won’t get a second chance at those buyers and your pool of potential buyers dwindles. Commitment and preparation up front can ensure a smooth transaction every step of the way.
At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Atlanta. We live, work and play here, and our agents are hand-picked for their connections in the community. Our highly effective marketing program allows us to shorten the number of days on the market. We’ve even put homes under contract sight unseen!
If you are thinking about selling your home, call us at 770-352-9658.
If you are looking to sell your home, and are thinking about remodeling the kitchen, there are a few trends to be aware of. Buyers interested in your home will love these features, and they may even add value to your home.
You can add a few of these features with a small budget and without having to bring in a demolition crew.
Clean, Minimal Style
While shaker cabinets were once considered to be a clean look, buyers today prefer a more minimalistic look with flat-panel cabinets. The current trend is black cabinetry. Not interested in Black? Deep Navy is also a popular choice for kitchen cabinets. For a classy look on dark cabinets, consider brass accents.
Form Follows Function
Instead of a multi-featured kitchen, the trend is to have a more functional kitchen. Not every kitchen needs a grill. A focus on functionality means making sure lots of counter space is available. Wood is a top choice countertop and for bar areas, and many homeowners are using stone counters near the sink.
Neutral Colors
Earth tones have long been a top color choice for walls, and today’s kitchen trends keep the focus on neutrals. White, beige or light grey paint are all good choices.
Open Shelving
Open shelves have been on-trend for a few years, but they are more popular than ever. Perfect for displaying glassware or plates, this type of shelving helps the room feel more open, especially when shelves replace over-the-counter cabinets. This trend fits in well with the desire for a more minimal and functional kitchen.
Recessed Lighting
Do you have a kitchen island? If so, you likely have pendant lighting over it. The trend in today’s modern kitchens is a simpler style. Recessed lighting is finding its way back after being off-trend for a while.
Beverage Centers
With entertainment in mind, beverage centers are a growing trend. Creating one can be as simple as placing a mini-fridge in a cabinet or adding a wine refrigerator.
Eco-Friendly Design
If you are looking to bring your kitchen up-to-date, consider going green. More home buyers today are looking for energy-efficient appliances. You can also add LED lighting to reduce energy costs.
At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Atlanta. We live, work and play here, and our agents are hand-picked for their connections in the community. Our highly effective marketing program allows us to shorten the number of days on the market. We’ve even put homes under contract sight unseen!
If you are thinking about selling your home, call us at 770-352-9658.
Purchasing a new home can be both an exciting and stressful moment. It’s a big decision, and one that you should enter into carefully. Unlike a car, you can’t test a new home – the current owners may not be happy about you spending the night in their home! But, you can make a sound decision if you know what to look for.
There are some issues that aren’t easy to spot, and could end up costing you more money down the road after you move in. Answering these 11 questions will help you get the information you need.
Questions to Answer –
How old is the roof? Does the home have a new roof? Does the crawl space have moisture? A home that needs a roof replacement will end up costing you several thousands of dollars. If you think that you may be able to wait a couple of years, you could be wrong. A roof leak will end up costing you more due to water damage.
How old are the appliances? Replacing the appliances, while not overly expensive, will add to the cost of maintaining the home. Also, check to see if the appliances have the features that you want or need. If they don’t, you may end up replacing them anyway.
Are there large tree limbs near the home? Not only can the limbs damage the home in a storm, but they can also offer squirrels and other rodents a pathway into the home. Dangerous limbs or trees will need to be removed.
Do you know where the sewer line is? If a tree’s roots grow into a line, you will have to pay to clean up the lawn or basement as well as to repair the sewer line.
Is it hot, cold or drafty in the home? If you feel a draft or if the home is unusually hot or cold (even individual rooms), then you may end up paying more for heating and cooling costs. If it is newer home, it may mean weather stripping along the doors or windows may be in need of replacement.
Do you see mold in the bathroom or kitchen? Don’t just look at walls or caulking. Open the cabinets and look under the sink. Do you see any leaks or mold? These repairs can be costly, and mold may be dangerous to your health.
Are the water pipes and attic well insulated? Poor attic insulation will affect your heating and cooling costs, while a poorly insulated pipe may burst in the winter.
What do you hear outside the home? Is it near a busy road? Do you hear the neighbor’s children playing? Do you hear any industrial noise? Think about the sounds and whether or not they will have an impact on your quality of life. Also, if there is a busy street nearby, consider your safety traveling to and from home.
Do all the lights and faucets work? Turn on all the faucets and lights to make sure they are in working order. Flush the toilets, too.
Do you see yourself in the home ten years from now? If you can’t see your family enjoying the home long term, it may not be the house for you. Still, some people only buy their home with a 3-5 year horizon, so consider the resale value of your home no matter how long you plan to live there.
How is the commute to work or to school? Being in the wrong location could lead you to wasting hours in your car to get to where you need to go.
These questions are not all-inclusive, but they do give you a good idea of whether the home will need additional work in the long run. Don’t neglect to get a thorough home inspection. This guide should not replace this step. Work with a real estate agent to find a licensed home inspector.
Contact An Agent Today
Let us help you find a house that you and your family will love. We’ll guide you through the purchasing process and work to protect your interests every step of the way.
At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Atlanta. We live, work and play here, and our agents are hand-picked for their connections in the community. We find out about homes coming on the market before anyone else, and our clients see them first.
If you are thinking moving into Dunwoody, Sandy Springs or the surrounding areas, call us at 770-352-9658.
The Sandy Springs community embodies the spirit of the modern south. It’s a friendly, welcoming community with hundreds of independently owned shops and restaurants, and more than 950 acres of parks and natural areas.
Sandy Springs is Georgia’s sixth largest city and the second largest city in the metropolitan Atlanta area. It was incorporated in 2005, although efforts to incorporate began as early as 1966 when the city of Atlanta attempted to annex the area. Sandy Springs residents fought for 40 years to form their own government, and when the time came, 94% of residents voted for incorporation.
Photo Credit: Instagram/jenbrookerphotography
Before 2005, residents relied upon county government for the provision of services. When they formed their own government, they chose a non-traditional Public Private Partnership (PPP), contracting private companies to perform the majority of services, so that nearly half of the city staff is employed by a private company. This PPP model is widely regarded as an example for other local governments, with city leaders from around the globe – including China, Japan, Korea, Finland and others – visiting Sandy Springs to learn the model. Since the incorporation of Sandy Springs, several other metro cities have formed (Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Peachtree Corners, Milton and Johns Creek), all using a form of the Public-Private model.
With roots dating back to the 1800s, Sandy Springs began as a watering stop for Native-Americans who frequented the bubbling springs in the area. Settlers moved in, and in 1842 the Austin-Johnson House – now the oldest house in Sandy Springs – was built.
The community remained rural until the mid-1950s. In the 1960s, Interstate 285 and the first phase of GA 400 were opened, connecting Sandy Springs to metro Atlanta and initiating a housing boom that brought new residents and major land development. Today the city, which is 38-square miles and borders Roswell and Atlanta, is home to more than 101,000 residents. It is also home to more Fortune 500 companies per capita than any other city in the country.
Sandy Springs is the healthcare mecca of Atlanta, with three hospitals, hundreds of physician practices, multiple outpatient centers, and support services. The area, often called Pill Hill, is home to the largest medical center in Georgia.
One thing that sets this community apart is the true sense of belonging it offers. Residents of Sandy Springs love the city and are very involved in the community. They pride themselves in creating the city they wanted, and fought hard for. Residents love that Sandy Springs is a pocket of traditional southern charm, boasts one of the most innovative systems of service delivery in the country, and has a personality all it’s own.
At Karen Cannon, Realtors, we are local real estate experts for Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and North Atlanta. We live, work and play here, and our agents are hand-picked for their connections in the community. Our clients know about homes coming on the market before anyone else. And our highly effective marketing program allows us to shorten the number of days on the market. We’ve even put homes under contract sight unseen!
If you are thinking about selling your home, or are interested in moving into Dunwoody, Sandy Springs or the surrounding areas, call us at 770-352-9658.
