New Windows Or New Kitchen Cabinets
I am rehabbing a junker in a low income area. I bought the house for 5K and am hoping to sell for 32K. I am bid out all work except flooring and painting which I will do myself. (The work other than flooring and painting came to 6K) Should I replace all the windows or install new kitchen counters and cabinets. The windows are the original windows from 1910 and are functional. There is some wood rot but not too bad. The kitchen counter will have to go anyway. The cabinets themselves could possibly get by with a fresh coat of paint. My budget will allow for only one of the two. Which would you do.?
[ Edited by JasonCowan on Date 03/15/2005 ]
Unless the windows are falling apart, my solution would be to spend the money on the kitchen and give the old windows a fresh coat of paint or polyeurathane.
New kitchen counters and cabinets have more of an impact on potential buyers than replacement windows.
Happy Rehabbing!
[addsig]
2 things to consider -
1) what are the other homes in the neigborhood like in regard to windows? If the windows in your house are way below what you see in the other houses this could be a deciding factor. If they are about what you find everywhere else then no way Jose!
2) It is very unlikely that anybody buying a $32,000 house is really going to be too concerned with the quality of the windows other than there are some and they look decent and work. The kitchen will have way more wow factor and help sell the house in my opinion if the windows are not really screaming out that there is a problem.
By the way a $5000 house?!? That is amazing to me, I would have more in tools in the house while working on it then you paid for it!
As long as the windows are functional and weather tight I would replace the cabinets, the kitchen is IMHO the most important room in the house, with new cabinets and counter it will sparkle therefore expediting a sale.
I would repair/replace any loose glazing around the glass panes and replace any cracked or broken glass in the windows. Paint them up and lubricate the areas where the sash moves with light oil, replace the locks and ropes if they have them. I would basically refurbish the windows so they look great and operate seamlessly/quietly and so they will not become an objection to the sale on the buyer’s side. If the buyer raises them as an issue you can simply say they are refurbished and the buyers can save money by replacing them over time themselves.
Good Luck!
Kitchen will get you 30% greater improvement value over windows. Plus financing of any sort always requires "working bathrooms and kitchens" Some interesting reading ont he subject.
Hey I could use some help when yuo are odne 8-)
Good Rehabbing
Joel
----------------------------% ROI REHAB PROJECTS
The report compares construction costs on 12 different home-improvement projects with their projected impact on the resale value of the house. Estimates by real estate agents and appraisers in 60 residential markets from across the United States were used to calculate returns on investment.
According to the report, the kitchen facelift — a minor remodeling that includes refinishing existing cabinets, repainting, and installing laminate countertops — is the best home-improvement value, returning a whopping 81 percent of your investment money. A close second is a bathroom addition, which returns 72 percent of costs. Coming in third place — and tied with a 71 percent return — are a bathroom remodeling and a family room addition. At the bottom of the list are home offices, which return just 50 percent of costs, mainly because not every home buyer needs or wants one.
What may be a surprise to many homeowners is that a major kitchen remodeling, which includes updating the layout of the room, installing new cabinets, adding an island and putting in new appliances, ranks fifth on the list.
Read the complete report online by visiting Remodeling magazine’s Web site at www.remodeling.hw.net.
Is It Worth It?
Cost vs. Value of 12 Popular Remodeling Projects
Project Project Resale Cost
Cost* Value Recouped
Minor Kitchen Remodeling $8,655 $7,041 81%
Bathroom Addition $13,918 $10,000 72%
Bathroom Remodeling $9,135 $6,442 71%
Family Room Addition $30,960 $21,868 71%
Major Kitchen Remodeling $31,090 $21,888 70%
Master Suite $42,826 $29,134 68%
Attic Bedroom $28,654 $18,753 65%
Two-Story Addition $73,553 $45,910 62%
Siding Replacement $5,838 $3,487 60%
Window Replacement $7,531 $4,226 56%
Deck Addition $8,022 $4,346 54%
Home Office $8,356 $4,219 50%
Reprinted from the “1999 Cost vs. Value Report” in Remodeling magazine. Copyright 1999 Hanley-Wood Inc. * National Averages
i have done such deals myself, and when you make offers you should do it in person IMO. then you can make a deposit to count towards the final agreed price. It also lets you sign a contract which is very important. that way the house will be off the market and if the seller decides he wants to sell to someone else, you can force him to sell it to you cause you have a contract. then you could possible sell your contract to the person who wanted to pay more for the property in the first place. Bird Dogging at its easiest i suppose you can call it. but to sum it up, meet in person and sign a contract, they will usually ask for a deposit so have checkbook ready