Building equity in your real estate property is one of the most important things a homeowner can do. Making small upgrades through the years goes a long way in maintaining your home’s top dollar value in the real estate market; no matter what age your home might be. Being both an Orange County Realtor and Huntington Beach Realtor, people ask me what is the best bang for their buck when upgrading their home. I thought I’d share with you what I tell them.
If you are getting ready to put your Huntington Beach home up for sale soon The two aspects of your home that you really want to concentrate on are the bathrooms and kitchen. I like to call these places “The Money Makers!” Just as I talked about in Getting The Most Money For Your Home, home buyers are more emotional than rational when making a purchase. They want a good feeling about a home rather then what it has to offer logistically on paper. Many times I’ll be with a buyer and everything appears great on paper (price, location, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.) However, once I take the buyers to see the home, for some reason they become uninterested. Even if the home is better suited to their needs and a better investment for them in long run. Therefore, it is clear as to why it is so important to make sure your home is well kept through the years, and why upgrades play an important role.
The two areas I want to talk about now are the bathrooms and kitchen. These two areas are “The Money Makers!” They give the home owner the most bang for their buck (as far as value in price in the market place) than any other areas in the home.
Kitchen:
The kitchen is the greatest way to raise the value of your home. If you can only do one thing to remodel your home, I would recommend the kitchen without hesitation. You really should not try to make the kitchen unique to your style. Instead make it stylish so you and everyone else will like it. Keeping it classy is the key! If not, then you could actually end up hurting the value for your home. Look at model homes and magazines for ideas. Also ask experts in the design field or contractors for help/tips.
Bathrooms:
The bathrooms are important to a buyer because it is where people start their day and normally end it. They want space to get ready in the morning and evening. They also want a relaxing environment while bathing. If you only have the funds for one bathroom remodel choose the master. If the master bathroom is beautiful you can almost guarantee that you will receive higher rent than the comparable homes in the area around your Orange County or Huntington Beach home; whether you are renting the home or leasing it.
QUICK TIP: Like the kitchen, it is important to make a bathroom stylish rather than unique to your style, so that you and everyone else will find it appealing. Look at model homes or magazines to get a better understanding of in concepts. For instance, I walked into a bathroom that a couple had paid over a $100,000 in renovations. The only problem was that the entire bathroom was pink including the granite and tile! This actually hurt the value of the home, due to the fact it is so unique to their style and their style only no one will value it at $100,000. It will cost the new home owner a large investment to change that bathroom into something that he/she would like.
We are not only rated the top and best Huntington Beach real estate agents – we are also highly ranked in Costa Mesa. If you’re thinking about selling your Costa Mesa home or putting your Huntington condo up for sale and need someone to help you through this process, click “Lets Get Started” to contact me. If you are thinking about remodeling and need some advice, please feel free to contact me for that as well.