Home Renovations

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I could use some advice on home renovating. I bought this house back in June and need to do some work to it. There's nothing major, just lots of little projects. My dilemma stems from the fact that Aaron and I are talking of moving to Florida eventually. I would like to go back to Disney at least part time and he is interested in working there as well. I have at least 2.5 years in the house due to the new homebuyer's tax credit. I don't want to put too much money into the house if we're going to be moving in not too long, but there are some things that need to be done. So I'm wondering what I should do first. What would matter the most to potential buyers?

So far my list includes:
-Attaching the deck to the house properly
-sanding and staining the deck
-new paint for all the rooms
-new carpeting
-new sink in the kitchen
-new bathtub in the master bedroom
-painting or staining the cabinets in the kitchen and putting on new hardware
-new railing for the steps out front
-new front door
-enclosing the underneath of the stairs in the basement
-new back door

I am absolutely going to do the deck this spring. When we had it inspected we found out that when it was built it was nailed to the house instead of being bolted and if we have large numbers of people out there it could possibly collapse. I am also going to stain it because it has not been water sealed and I don't know how much longer it will last.

I think I'm also going to paint pretty quickly because I'm not a huge fan of the current paint job inside. I know before I move I'll have to put in new carpet.

As for the rest of it: I want to replace the sink and bathtub because both of them have chips in them (How do you chip a sink and a bathtub?) The sink never looks clean, it's that awful off white porcelain that stains. It has not looked clean since I've moved in. The tiles in the bathroom were dirty with mildew when I moved in, and no amount of scrubbing seems to get them clean either.

I'm not a big fan of the look of the kitchen. In addition to the laminate floor, it has fake wood counter tops and I don't think the cabinets look that good. I'm leaning toward painting them, but I'm wondering if a new stain would be better? I am going to switch out the hardware. It seems that that is cheaper than getting new cabinets.

The railing on the stairs out front isn't bad, but it's not exactly sturdy and it is rusted in spots. It's not noticeable from a distance. The outside of the house is a wood siding. It was painted not too long ago, but that means that you have to keep up with the paint. Plus, isn't the siding they put on houses supposed to be better for energy conservation?

As far as the doors: The peep hole on the front door is way too high for me. We started to put in another one, but cannot find a drill that has the required bit, so right now there is just a small hole in the door at my height. The back door is a sliding glass door that is very hard to lock and seems very drafty.

Nothing is critical except the deck. So I want to go in order of what will have the most effect on potential buyers. So if you were buying a house, out of all of that, what would be the order of importance for you?

 

[starwood]

I think the more you do the quicker you would sell the house and the more you could get for it. We too are thinking of the future Florida move and are doing the big rennovations. I know that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses so the nicer you can make those look the better off you will be.

If you are painting make it a neutral color so that people coming in aren't think "gosh look at that color. Now I need to paint".

As far as carpeting - I would look into hardwood floors instead (or see what the condition of the floor is under your carpeting). Most people want nice hardwood floors.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Flooring, roof, and all of your appliances like dishwasher, microwave, furnace and AC are the things that stand out.

The other stuff is cosmetic and will not matter although it would help if they are new, except for the deck.

I hope your buying price was reflective of the need of the renovations.

 

[Goofycampers]

I would definitely consult a realtor and have them give you advice on what is necessary to do in your market. If you are in a popular area, maybe only the major repairs are necessary. Good Luck!

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

Oh yes, I did not pay that much for it. It really is a good house. Other than the deck, everything is cosmetic.

They had just repainted, I'm just not a fan of the colors or the floral border around the living room. As far as the carpet, it's not bad. It's just a brown color that I am so sick of after apartment living and it's obviously not brand new. Obviously I was willing to buy the house in its current condition. Hopefully in a few years that housing market will be back on its way up.

 

[dakcp2001]

Hi there, we considered getting a new tub, since ours is BLUE lol, but after much research we have landed on bath tub reglazing. It is going to cost 365 bucks for the tub and when it is reglazed it will be shiny white porcelain like. They also reglaze sinks, but sinks are also pretty inexpensive to replace, so we are going to get a new pedestal sink and a new toilet so everything is white. The blue has to go!

But a tub insert or reglaze might be the way to go, less expensive and the reglaze looks so good after! The inserts are ok, I just like the reglaze look better.