Sharon in SC Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 The appliances in our 20yo home we're prepping for the market are hodgepodge. The oven (silver tone) and cooktop (almond) are 20yo. We'd have to disclose that the self cleaning feature of the oven does not work. The dishwasher (almond) is a "cheapy" we put in about 3 years ago to get by. It is functional. Do you think it would be worthwhile to replace these 3 appliances with new/matching units? Everything I read indicates the kitchen and bathrooms make or break the sale of a house, generally speaking. Certainly, I don't want to replace them unnecessarily. On the other hand, in a "buyer's market" and with an "older" home, I don't want to not change them out if the fresh appearance of new appliances would greatly enhance the beauty of this house. What do you think? And, if you feel it would be worthwhile to replace them, should we splurge an extra $200 for self cleaning in the oven? ;-} Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanne Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Yes, I do think it's worth replacing appliances that old. Even with one of the more inexpensive replacements, "new" for appliances sells better than "20 years old". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Hi Sharon, Are you moving into your new home, and aren't you the person whose DH is building all the cabinets and doing all the work himself? Yes, I'd spend the $2K and buy a new oven, cooktop and dishwasher. I would not go top of the line but go with Kenmore's and put new in. Our last realtor advised us not to give the buyer any reason at all to find a negotiating point in our home when we listed it. A buyer is going to see those old items and think---ahhh, negotiating point, I can get them to drop the price $10K, agree to this and that...... In our last home, after we listed it, after we had several folks look at more than once, our oven stopped working while the stovetop still operated. The realtor advised us to replace it, we didn't listen, stupid us, and we had a couple folks walk away cause of it. Thankfully the market was really, really hot and we had other folks interested at the listing price without an operating oven. Carole, DE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in SC Posted March 10, 2008 Author Share Posted March 10, 2008 Yep, that's us! :-D Thank for the insight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof2kids Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Personally I wouldn't. We've always moved our own appliances anyway. And we're pretty picky. We've replaced things that were kind of new just because we didn't like it. You wouldn't want to buy all new stuff, then see it out on the street would you? Let them replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof2kids Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Personally I wouldn't. We've always moved our own appliances anyway. And we're pretty picky. We've replaced things that were kind of new just because we didn't like it. You wouldn't want to buy all new stuff, then see it out on the street would you? Let them replace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara R Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 See if they have someone getting rid of appliances that are used but modern, and with colors that match. We had a 1978 almond colored electric range, and the rest of our appliances are white. We bought a white electric range that was 7 years old for $75 on Craigslist. It looked new. The previous owner bought a smooth top and wanted to get rid of the old range for cheap. Suits me. Maybe you can find similar deals, so you can get a better look without spending much money. I wouldn't spend the big money on new appliances. I'd rather you take that money and drop it from your asking price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in IN Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Since the dishwasher is fairly new, I probably wouldn't replace the it, as long as it works okay. I would replace the oven, since it's not fully functional and doesn't match the others. It would be worthwhile to spend the money for self-cleaning. Does the stovetop work well? If it does, I wouldn't replace it. Stoves can last a long time, so an old stove isn't a bad thing as long as it looks okay and works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Not that I'm a real estate expert, but I am a "Designed to Sell" expert, lol. The visual effect of matching appliances cannot be overestimated, not to mention the security the buyers will have knowing that those appliances are new. I'd do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 We did. We spent $3000 on new appliances. I know that is something they specifically commented on when they looked at the house. It was worth it for us. I don't know that they wouldn't have bought the house w/o them, but goodness, after every nit-picking detail we went through on the home inspection......it really might have been a deal breaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandamom Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 might be to see if you can set aside an "allowance" for the seller to have a certain amount of money to replace the oven. Something along the lines of "buyers acknowledge that the oven doesn't operate and is authorizing $400 toward the contribution of a new one after settlement." Of course, youd' have to check the legality of it but it would allow the buyers to purchase something they would prefer and you would be able to hopefully limit your negoitiation point by acknowledging ahead of time that a problem exists. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 and kep the dishwasher. Just get that stick-on stuff that I saw on a HGTV show to recover the almnd front so it matches whatever color the new Kenmore stuff is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynn Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 You may not get your money back. However your house might sell faster than other houses of equal value that do not have updated appliances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 If I bought a house with 20 year old appliances, I'd figure that I'd have to replace them immediately. I use my kitchen a lot, and it is important to me that I have up-to-date appliances in it, not appliances that are on their last legs. It would be a negotiating point, for sure, even if the oven's self-cleaning feature worked and the appliances all matched. I would be a whole lot more interested in an allowance than in having a kitchen with new appliances that I did not choose. That's because I'd figure I'd be buying new appliances twice if I wanted something different, plus I'd have to go through the hassle of selling the new appliances that were already in the kitchen instead of just tossing the old ones. I'd rather buy a house with a kitchen that needed to be refurbished or remodeled, than buy a house whose owner had updated it to sell it. The kitchen is the single most important room in the house to me. All I care about is that it has good "bones". I can take care of the rest, and it would be major negotiating point. I think that even people who are not totally kitchen obsessed would want new appliances or would plan to replace yours soon because they are so old. I would replace the dishwasher, too, or at least see if I could get a new door for it or cover the door, unless almond appliances look really good in the kitchen. I know there is a company that makes liquid stainless steel for painting on old appliances, and another that makes sheets that adhere to appliances. People have used these to make their appliances all one color, instead of buying new ones. If you're interested, you can post on the kitchens forum at GardenWeb and someone there will know about them, and there will undoubtedly be folks who have used the products, too. http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/ RC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 Yep, that's us! :-D Thank for the insight! How wonderful. I want to see photos of your new finished kitchen. Here's where mine stands: DH finished a mock-up door cabinet front this weekend so we can take it to the granite place next weekend. We've narrowed our countertop to either Blue Star or Butterfly granite. The cabinets are cherry with a dark honey stain. DH has all the cabinet cases and drawers and shelves made. And he started working on the drawer and cabinet fronts this past weekend. It is exciting but sure taking up lots of room in his workshop. We haven't even looked at tile for the floor yet. We did pick out most of the kitchen lighting last weekend. I need to start gathering boxes so I can pack up the kitchen --- can't wait! Carole, DE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMC Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I'd replace - and be absolutely sure that the new fridge FITS in the hole fo the old one. Our new one was much deeper. There are some inexpensive (but nice) units out there. You can replace the lot with nice units and not worry aout disclosures etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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