Clean every inch of every space declutter that kitchen and then clean again there is no way to even begin to try to do the kitchen without a complete redo so price accordinly and move on . You might want to talk to more than one realtor too. How bad is the carpet if worn and dirty replace if just dirty clean Make sure all the clutter is boxed and stored in the garage or basement. Is that the only eating space ? I would maybe paint but maybe just a good wall wash would do the trick

All you need to do in the kitchen is declutter and clean. Remove wall decor, things on top of the cabinets, everything on the table and sink and stove, and leave only ONE thing on each counter. Store/pack/toss the rest. If you’re moving, you’re going to have to do that anyway.

All you need to do in the kitchen is get everything (or almost everything) off the counters and fix any doors or drawers that don't hang or operate correctly. You don't need or want to spend any money on the room because you won't get it back. I understand having clean counters is challenging while you're still living there, but you want to create the illusion of spaciousness and cleanliness. The next person will likely remodel the kitchen, but maybe not right away, so they need to feel like the kitchen is usable, and that when they remodel, it is big enough to be functional without an addition (unless they decide they must have an addition). Clear out your cabinets of things you don't use every day or at least once a week. You're going to be moving anyway, so put them in boxes and stack them neatly in the basement. Create empty spaces in cabinets so you can sweep things off the counters into a cabinet when you have a showing. You want to be able to have nice pictures posted, and have it looking good when shown.

I wouldn't even paint every room. Maybe only touch ups will work, or just do certain rooms if they look really worn or have colors that won't appeal to most people. If you have brown woodwork everywhere like what's in the kitchen, be sure to choose a warm white. I see listings sometimes where they've painted everything a stark white that doesn't go with anything and it's very offputting. Keep it warm and homey. I think wallpaper puts people off, so remove it if you have any.

Realtor to buyer: "Spend your own money on revamping the house so I can list it at a higher price and make more commission on it." Even the nicest realtors have this perspective because it has become the industry standard and just how they are used to advising buyers. It is a trap. Don't do it.

Do not spend $40k for a low-budget renovation of this kitchen. You will give yourself a headache, end up with a cheap kitchen, and chances are the buyers will rip it out anyway and replace with a brand new kitchen in their own aesthetic.

Instead, price the house accordingly - depending on the market, where you live, maybe you price your home $25k less than what you would have. Lots of people will be glad to not have to feel guilty about ripping out a brand new kitchen when they go to redo yours.

Can you post pics of your carpet? If your carpet is gross and cannot be made to look better with a good cleaning then you should replace it. Nobody wants to feel like there are stains and grossness in a home. It really creates an impression that the whole home has not been cared for. Are there hard wood floors underneath? If so, it is good to mention that in the listing and have a corner peeled back during the showing so people can see.

You should clean and declutter your whole house including your kitchen. Remove all of the plates and wall pictures. I'd remove the table and chairs so people can imagine a nice island fitting in there. If you are painting in here, I'd also remove the florescent light fixture, add a more attractive fixture with ample LED lighting.

The mantra of your home selling should be: impeccably clean, undoubtedly well cared for, price for aesthetic renovations by buyers.

I would keep the kitchen as is. Clean it, replace the hinge or hinges on that one door that is sagging, and that's it. Visually that sagging door, even though it is a very small thing, makes the kitchen go from "dated" to "falling apart".

If the carpet does not clean well, you can get very inexpensive, in stock carpet at many flooring stores.

By the way, I have run across a number of these oak and laminate kitchens in real estate listings over the past few years, even in multi-million dollar listings.

These do all seem to be white rather than the almond.

But note they are all shown with almost clear counters and brightly lit.

This is a repeat of so many dilemmas, the most recent was last week. All good advice above, especially if you are in an area where there is low inventory and high demand for housing. Just thoroughly clean all rooms and make sure that the systems are in good working order (HVAC, plumbing, roof, irrigation, etc.) Those are the things that no one sees, but are important for good functioning of the home. Repair any broken concrete on walkways and stairs, make sure railings are sturdy, in essence, safety concerns should be addressed.

There is no "return on investment" in a primary residence. If you're flipping a home, that's a different story--that's a business, and you would want to make sure that you get more in sales dollars than you spent in renovating the home. A primary residence is for living in, not for earning a profit on. The only one who might profit is the realtor, as Kendrah said. But even that may not work out if buyers don't like your renovation and don't want to pay for it if they have to rip it out.

Here's a great article on the value of a primary residence:

https://www.moneyunder30.com/why-your-house-is-not-an-investment/

Does the dishwasher work? It looks like a sturdy older model. If it doesn't work, clean the insides thoroughly and move on to the next job: fixing the sagging hinges on the sink cabinets.

Your kitchen will be look spacious and bright once it is decluttered as above. If you want to do a quick test run, remove the table and chairs to another room, then pile absolutely everything from the countertops on that table for an hour while you take some photos just like a real estate agent's photographer would do.

Professional carpet cleaners can do really amazing work with old carpets.

Please post an update when you are ready.

I am actually doing a small kitchen and refresh for a friend of mine who is selling and this goes against all conventional wisdom.

She did try to sell it as is, quietly, but the offers that came in were very low. Since it is a small condo, she did not want to drive sale prices down on other units (which this would), so she has decided to redo the kitchen (worse than this one) and recarpet (standard in bedrooms and upstairs hallways in her area).

But she does realize that there is going to be No return on additional investment. She has owned the unit outright for decades, paid relatively little for it, and doesn't need the money. She bought the place she is moving into with cash. So a different scenario from most people.

That said, it's still going to be a tightrope, because the kitchen has to be nice enough that it is worth doing, and I think that is going to cost more than she is thinking. Luckily it's a very small condo kitchen.

My dad used to opine:

"Anyone who believes a house ( not a flipper) is a money making investment has not OWNED one or is a moron"

Then he'd start rattling off his then 30 year improvement list , right down to grass seed and mulch and the impatiens around the tree..........: ) and the brand new USA flag.

Do improvements for you.

Enduring outworn, outdated........AND THEN upending life in your home for some who knows WHO..

TOO DAMN LATE.

They have accidentally become investments in areas where housing prices go up and up.

Particularly if you do nothing but the barest maintenance.

I haven't had an appraisal, but right now, on paper, my house and the house next door, which is identical because they were built by the same architect at the same time, are worth exactly the same amount, and there is a vast difference between what they are like inside.

They would make money. I might break even if I were lucky. Even taking into account separate appraisals on each house, I would nowhere near get anything over and above what they would get in terms of what is invested in it. So technically I would lose money--and they would make money because they really haven't improved it.

Your kitchen is lovely. Dated but lovely. Please don't flip the kitchen to try to get more money. You will rarely get money back that you poured into the space. And what happens if you spend $30 grand to then sell the house for $50 below asking price.

I agree with Pamplist above. In some situations updating your kitchen with the reality of never getting that money back would be a gift to your neighbors.

Instead, Price your home to sell. Get opinions from 3 realtors. Don't look at zillow rather look at what has sold in the last 3 months for your area. A 5 mile radius of where you live. What has sold? What did their kitchens look like? This realtor pushing you to spend money on the kitchen to sell your home sounds more interested in a commission than truly helping you sell your house. Your home needs to be in that sweet spot price that someone will not care a hoot about your kitchen or the upstairs rug. Remember, a realtor is making money just listing your house with free advertising of their name on the listing. And her/his motivation may be only for their commission. This means they will price it high to sell hoping you get top dollar while you wait and wait and wait then finally dropping the price to try to sell it out of frustration.

Location is the biggest factor someone moves to a new place. Are you in a location that a buyer wants to be?

Fix your...

Curb appeal

Declutter entire space Closets, Garage...

Find a HONEST Realtor

Fix broken things (door hinges, windows...)

Get a pre sales inspection your good realtor will help with this.

Professional photographer to do the listing photos.

A few inexpensive things can go a long way to improving the space like paint, bright light bulbs, decluttering and good smells.

I wouldn't spend to paint anything in the kitchen if you're selling, simply declutter, depersonalize, and deep clean the kitchen. Remove the 2 extra chairs keeping only 4 around the table to make the room look more spacious.

Declutter and clean your entire house. If you are selling, start packing all the stuff on your walls and surfaces that are not tools you use. All decorative items should be packed up. Buyers will happily buy an older, dated home if it looks clean and well maintained. But they have to be able to see the rooms and imagine themselves living there. I would even remove the kitchen table and chairs if you have another eating space. All buyers will probably intend to redo your kitchen so you want it to look big.

Find a HONEST Realtor

Even honest realtors will give bad advice because most advice is based on industry standard practices that they learn over time. The realtor we used to buy our house became a friendly neighbor who gave us her honest advice on everything. I still used her to sell the house but went against all her advice.

I interviewed five realtors. I didn't like any of their advice, although two were wonderful people I had come to know, one a pillar of the community and a highly respect and great woman. I went with the one who we used to buy the house because she had the best photographer. That is it. I selected based on photography.

I chose my own listing price, wrote the description, set the terms about no open houses, chose how to stage and what to spend money improving on. I listed between $60k - $220k below what everyone told me to. I created a bidding war, sold for almost $75k above asking price, which is about what homes were selling for in my neighborhood. But the most important thing is because four buyers were vying for it, they all waived inspection. This is a HUGE advantage for an old house. They also let us set the moving date.

Good smells

No smells. Not even good ones. Good is in the nose of the beholder. I'm really sensitive to smell and allergic to many. Air fresheners and essential oils trigger my asthma. When we were house hunting I passed up two homes because I got asthma attacks from their eucalyptus and lavender and couldn't spend enough time in them to feel confident in making an offer.

Palimpsest

Educate me about condo sales. Why would the low sales price of a condo unit bring down the price of everyone else? Don't some units sell for less exactly because they have less desirable older kitchens that the buyer will need to redo? That is the experience in my building, though I live in a coop not a condo. Why is it different from a house selling for less than every other one on the block because of an old interior and bringing down the average cost of a home on the block?

I'm with you Kendrah on the reasoning behind redoing the kitchen so as not to bring down the price of the other units. Doesn't make sense to me, and why should you spend money on your unit to protect the value of the other units???

I agree with the majority here. Don't remodel, just clean and declutter. If the carpeting is really bad, then yes, I would replace the carpeting and painting is an easy fix to do. I would also remove the big kitchen table. Takes up too much space. Get a smaller table if that is the only eating space you have.. Do not give a discount up front for the old and dated kitchen. That is for the negation part of selling. Just price it for the area you live in.

@Kendra @Diana

In my experience, which is local and may be limited, both as someone who has renovated and sold a couple condos, following multi-unit sales in some buildings, and living with a realtor who has sold a significant percentage of units in a particular association is that sale prices of a unit will tend to have an effect on the sale prices of units of the same configuration. There are other influences involved of course.

With regard to co-ops, there is a large co-op where until recently a studio unit sold is at price A, a 1BR at price B, a 2BR at price C. It didn't matter if it was in original 1960s condition or it had been updated (and there were very strict rules about what you were actually allowed to do). But the price was the price, period.

They have loosened both the parameters of what you can do, and also the prices have started to vary a bit accordingly. But not much.

This depends on what the coop documents say.

I lived in the same condo association that my SO has sold many units in. I renovated two units in there. And when I say renovate, I mean I did a lot of historic restoration, because the buildings were from the 1830s.

When I sold unit #1, my sales price set a new high at the time. So I got my investment back. But after that several identical units sold at Almost that price, (identical in configuration, but not in condition) without having put in all the work.

When I sold unit #2, my unit had a restored ornamental plaster ceiling ($$$), a fully custom kitchen with a Subzero, fully restored and duplicated historic millwork and pocket shutters.

Everyone who looked at it loved it.

The realtor at the time said "People love how pristine this all looks. People love the original details, and they look so original they think you didn't have to Do This. They think it was there. They lo-o-o-ve it. Are they going to Pay you Extra for it? Hell No they aren't . If this were a house it might have more of an effect on a price. But this is an apartment and the prices tend to be more closely related to each other."

My unit ended up selling at just about exactly what the Price Per Square Foot for 2 bedroom, 1 bath condos in the neighborhood sell for. Whether they had a lot of original detail, or whether they were a drywall box inside.

I actually lost money on that unit. Part of it was it was sold in a real estate downturn. I may not have lost a lot of money on it if I had sold during a up market. But the other units Still would have sold for similar higher prices.

My SO has sold a number of units in the building and unless they are in really lousy condition, they sell for very similar prices no matter how nice one is compared to the other.

I have had conversations about not redoing the kitchen. She tried to sell it as a pocket sale and the offers were so low that she felt it would have a negative effect on the prices of other units in her small (8 unit?) association--all of which are Identical. She has lived there for 30 odd years and watched how things have sold, and at what prices, and what the effect of sales have had on other sales and what happens on paper to values of the units (say on Zillow) when a unit sells.

She understands that she is not going to get ROI from this kitchen renovation. But she will get ROI just because she has lived there for so long mortgage free and bought at a very low price.

She is not a stupid person. She had a high powered position in finance and risk management and retired early. She understands what she is doing even though it is counterintuitive. She is also very generous to other people and devoutly religious. She had decided that this will help the neighbors in her association by not selling at a very lowball price. She is also not leaving the neighborhood, she bought something on the same block. Things like this can matter. I know someone who sold two houses on the same block cheap to an investor who owned subsidized housing. There's really nothing the matter with it, to some extent it's more controlled than random renters. But the neighbors were furious. She didn't care, she moved to a senior living situation in the burbs. But the neighbors took it out on her daughter, who lived on the block for several more years.

I also have a friend who bought a half twin in a shore town at the lowest price in a number of years.

One day she got out of her car and the woman who owned the other half said "Oh there you are. Hey thanks for lowering the sales price of the neighborhood. I know it's not your fault, but I kind of hate you anyway."

I had that kitchen in the first house I rented right out of college. That was the late 80s. Clearly those cabinets are in poor condition at this point -- I see that one door's even leaning on its hinges.

Regardless, I'm with the people who say, Clean it up, declutter, and sell it "as is". Price it accordingly -- you absolutely cannot expect top-dollar. You'll save the effort and the guessing, and the right person will be glad to scoop it up for a bargain price and then work on the "fixes" as time /money allows.

Hey palimpsest I still don’t understand but obviously you have a wealth of experience with the condo real estate market. Sounds very unfortunate.

It’s always a tricky thing to think thru how much should you update before selling. That depends on your area and potential buyers. What you don’t want if for you to set a price and then buyers wanting to pull it way down because of the kitchen. Your kitchen is dated but it’s not so bad. I’d clean it up and get a nicer dining set. The second is charge the lighting. It can be inexpensive but can really help give the kitchen a cozier feel. They make track lighting where you can add pendants. Dropping a pendant in front of each of the windows would be very pretty. Then in the center you could do a trendy chandelier or ceiling fan. Don’t do anything too modern or too traditional. Keep it simple.

Oh, I would still sell the OPs house with the kitchen it has. I would still sell the condo I described with the kitchen it has, at a lower price. I am helping her out to design a new one because that's what she decided to do, it's not my house. And even she realizes it's going to be a tightrope to spend enough money to make it worth doing at all, and not spending too much.

But despite the population who frequents this forum, I think the larger population doesn't walk into a house they want to buy and say "Oh goody! I have to redo the kitchen within the next year." A large portion of the population can afford the new mortgage and that's it. They don't want to have to do Anything. A lot of people don't want to have to paint. I would probably never buy a house without an older kitchen because I would want to redo it. But I think I am in a minority.

(But there is no one size fits all. I know people at the high end of the market who will spend tens of thousands on things to sell knowing full when that whoever is going to buy it is probably going to redo it immediately but still expect everything to look perfect in a house they buy.

I know someone who bought a house that had a brand new kitchen in it who promptly removed it, sold everything, including unused appliances for whatever they could get for them and did the whole thing over.)

Clean and make sure it is all spotless. Make repairs, so nothing is broken, in all rooms. Make sure your windows are cleaned and shiny. If the carpet upstairs is uncleanable, then replace it. If it can be cleaned, clean it. Some buyers will want to replace it with hardwood of vinyl planking anyway, Declutter the kitchen. Pack away almost everything that you have out there. Clean insides of cabinets, and declutter them. Repair hingles, and scrub everything.

With a closer look at it I'd keep your table and chairs. The blue chairs in particular are a cool design. I would change the lighting to warm it up, add a rug to remove some of the gold of the vinyl and some decorative accessories. Make sure the counters and table are cleaned off with only a few decorative accessories out. The things hanging on the wall seem either too big or too small where they are, so I'd remove those. It won't look like a brand new kitchen, but it can still be inviting and not cost a fortune doing it. Good luck in selling!

My son bought his first house with exactly that style of cabinet. He and his wife liked the kitchen style. They thought it was cool.

They sold it 5 years later without changing one thing except painting some of the rooms. They bought another house that had very outdated kitchen and bathrooms, which they like and aren't going to change. If the owner had updated and raised the price, they wouldn't have bought it. Remember that if you update and raise the price to get your money back, you cut out a lot of buyers.

I suggest you have a serious conversation with your real estate agent, and remind them that they are contractually obligated to work in your best interest financially, not their own. But if you haven't yet signed a listing agreement with them, look for someone more honest.

When we sold my parents' house, we interviewed 4 agents. The difference between them was like night and day, and the ones we chose were excellent.

Keep the kitchen, clean the carpet. Don't repaint the kitchen, the colour is good with what you have. The windows in the kitchen are gorgeous, and the wood trim on the cabinets complements them. If your kitchen had the standard white shaker cabinets, I don't think it would look as good.

Find an agent who talks to you about the positive aspects of your house and has ideas on how to promote discussion of the positive to other agents and buyers. Avoid someone who pretends to be knowledgeable by trash talking the house to get you to spend your money.

My sister made this mistake - put $$$$ into making the house like new, and it it sat on the market forever at a too-high price. The listing expired and she got a new agent, and it eventually sold way below what she expected. So stressful.

Declutter and clean. Removetore. any items you don’t use everyday - box and sMake sure all cabinets, drawers, etc are in great working condition. fresh paint and clean carpet unless really worn, then replace. Whatever you do won’t match your potential buyers aesthetic, but off a refresh contingency when asked will help. Trus story - realtor showed us a house and was excited owner was remodeling the kitchen. When we pointed out the new wall oven was in the back door entry we advised her to tell him to Stop. Did not even put an offer on the house.

Declutter & clean, clean & clean again. IF the carpet is in horrible shape just replace it with something inexpensive, new owners will likely change it in my experience ( or live with it for awile ). BTW, I really like your blue chairs!

No one just walks into a kitchen anymore; they look at the 50-100 pictures posted first. By the time they walk into the kitchen they know what to expect. Price the house for the condition and be clear it’s priced accordingly. As long as you are not greedy, it’s still a sellers market in most places. You are not obligated to provide the buyer with their dream kitchen, or fund it for them. 🙂

Yes, your realtor wants to post at least 6 photos of your “ new” white kitchen and gleaming appliances.

There are likely other things on the selling “ to-do” list that will take time, possibly some $$ ( I would have to pay a handyperson to adjust hinges, fix things that stick, etc), including outdoor sprucing up ( not te-doing, but tidying, pruning, maybe adding mulch); attic, garage, closets. In addition to the actual $$ you’d forfeit anyway on renovating kitchen, there’s no end to the decisions, choices, decor coordination— all being done not for yourself, so choices will be harder, every cost more painful, plus who does the work? And it’s so hard even to assess the plan or the outcome, for “ someone else.” This is way different from gradual upgrades to your home that are for you, but with a bit of an eye to resale down the road, budgeting for the neighborhood market values, neutral colors or such.

My local RE market is full of listings where the seller or maybe flipper put down the gray flooring, or maybe that weird multi -striped shades of gray- brown, poorly coordinated kitchen counters & floors, stark white paint, instant islands, low- budget bathroom fixtures ( but new! White! Or gray!) Almost all with terrible layouts.

Then there’s everything adjacent, which will not look like it’s part of the same house anymore.

It’s such great advice to start tossing, boxing, storing stuff right now, because that will let you start “ seeing “ things more through buyers’ eyes, and show you what’s under, behind, what looks ok vs what maybe doesn’t look as good as you thought, re: deep- cleaning, caulking, painting if needed. It will suggest better ways to highlight best features, ways to stage rooms ( using your own furniture hopefully , but pared down. )

I am going to be very honest here and hope what I am saying is not overly offensive - it is my opinion, but based on fact.

Getting a license to sell real estate does not require any sort of extensive knowledge. I got a license in California, considered one of the toughest states to get licensed in. They require that you are at least 18 years old, have a high school diploma or equivalent, you have to pass a background check, you have to pass 3 college level classes in Real Estate and pass the Real Estate Exam. The 3 classes I took fed you the questions and taught you the answers to the Real Estate exam.

There aren't any classes that teach you what will sell or what won't sell. They don't teach anything about construction or interior design. They teach you the laws, rules and regulations for selling real estate.

Exam Questions - There are 150 questions on the exam. They’re all multiple-choice with four answer options.
Test Time - You have three hours to complete the salesperson exam.

Passing Score - You must get 70% or higher to pass. (105 out of 150 questions.)

10 sample questions are here: https://www.aceableagent.com/real-estate-license/california/exam-practice-test/ (Betting many of you can get 7 out of 10 without ever taking a class).

Being successful as an agent is more about personality than it is about actual knowledge. The most successful realtors are often the "popular" people, those with a certain level of that charisma that draws people to them.

So the advice you get from your realtor is based on them having a charismatic personality. Hmmm. I think most are trying to give good advice. They have learned somewhere along the line that homes with new kitchens sell faster and at a higher price than those with older kitchens. They have not done the homework to find out what it will cost you to put in a new kitchen and how that compares to the increase in sales price.

That you can find here:https://www.remodeling.hw.net/cost-vs-value/2024/

Most renovations cost more than you get back - you are gifting money to the new owners. Why would you do that?

What frightens buyers is a home that looks like it is in need of repair. Clean everything, make your home look spotless. This includes inside your cabinets and drawers - people will open them. Clean your furnace and hot water heater, make sure your basement doesn't smell musty. Spray paint outdoor light fixtures that have faded over the years, replace broken glass, make sure the grout around your tub is clean and whole. Every door and drawer has to open without sticking. Get a home inspection before listing the house and fix everything that is on it so if the home buyer gets an inspection they won't find any issues. Even in a hot market where people are buying without an inspection there are inspectors for hire who will go along to the walk throughs and point out issues to potential buyers without a providing a written report and smart buyers are using them.

In your kitchen the only thing other than cleaning it till it sparkles and making sure everything is working beautifully that I would consider is replacing the floors. It is not all that expensive to update the laminate flooring with either a newer, nicer looking sheet vinyl or a mid range LVT. It is also something that you can DIY. I am 63 and have laid LVT in a room in a day.

Just make sure to get a color that doesn't make your cabinets look too yellow and works with your wood trim.

If your carpet is old, worn, stained it needs to be replaced. If it just needs cleaned then just clean it.

Pricing your home right requires a bit of research. Start by going to homes that are for sale in your area and looking at homes that have sold in your area.

The truth is that every buyer buys the nicest home they can afford that meets their needs.

Pricing your home to sell is imperative. Statistically homes that are over priced, sit on the market and sell after a price reduction sell for less money than if they would have priced it right from the gate. It is just how the market works - no one wants what no one else wanted.

How to price your home appropriately? Get a few suggested prices from the local realtors. They should be able to run comps and get you close to the right number. Then go look at the homes for sale at/near that price that are close in proximity to your home. Then look on the internet for homes that sold near where you live that sold close to that price. Is your home as nice or nicer than any of the other homes for sale at that price or is it a dog in comparison? If it is a dog the realtor gave you too high of a price.

Every buyer wants to purchase the best house they can for the money they can afford to spend. If your house is the nicest house in the price range it will be the one they make an offer on.

If you can't be objective and see your home as the best only because it is your home and styled by you, have a friend that can be objective help you look at the houses.

Very well said, Jennifer.

Very well said J.H

I'd emphasize......" In the price range"

Pricing too high for what any home offers is the ticket to misery. Buyers are pre qualified to their "range" . If you are too far above? Your home gets the pass. The available pool of buyers in most areas fluctuates little. Folks find their home, leave the pool, another buyer enters the pool. The pool doesn't really grow.

By the time you realize you are too high, how many potential buyers might you miss?! All while you pay maintenance and taxes....tapping a toe.

A common scenario? Realtor strongly encourages 399.9k . In your heart you know 369.9 is more like it. Nine weeks go by....no takers, nine weeks lost. That reduction, finally, to 369.9 costs you nine weeks, and "costs" the realtor a mere 900.00 bucks on a shared listing.

In NYS? Your taxes alone on a house you PAID 299.9 some years past ? Yup....easily 900.00 a month. Plus water, lawn care, gas/electric yada yada....garbage pick up, snow removal....etc.

Actually, I would leave the kitchen and simply clean the carpet. I assume the carpet will be torn up by the buyer. AND that your kitchen will be remodeled. It is dated. Adjust your price accordingly. If I were buying your home, I would be happy to see your kitchen because it hasn’t been recently remodeled in (perhaps) a style that I don’t like. Money down the drain. I would prefer to put in my own carpet (or refinish floors beneath them?) and my own new kitchen.

PS: If you choose to make minor changes to update your kitchen, the bullet lights in your track system CAN be changed out to more modern looking lights. You can remove them, individually, and replace them.

Have you looked on the Net to see what has sold and what is on sale in your surroundings?

What are the chances that your home will sell at a reasonable time - given the date of the kitchen.

What about the rest of the house? Will it turn buyers off - when they look on the Net.

OMG! I have exactly those same cabinets and white track lighting! In 20 years, I never used those track lights once.

I am totally gutting my kitchen now. For your situation, I would install an inexpensive peel and stick type flooring on the floor, get rid of all the plates and decorations, and replace the track lights with cute pendants. You might want to replace the formica if it is bad shape with another inexpensive formica.

Just to touch on a couple points.

Someone said "clearly those cabinets are in bad condition" and pointed out the sagging door.

I don't think it's clear at all that all the cabinets are in bad condition. It's clear that that one door needs to have new hinges. But it is clear that the Impression given by that one door is that all the cabinets must be in bad condition. That's probably a $20 fix.

With regards to prices set too high and carrying costs. In the complex I lived in there is a two bedroom, one bath apartment that is the same square footage as TWO of the rest of the two bedroom one bath apartments. The difference is that the LR is double height. But the bath and the kitchen is the same size, and the bedrooms are the same sizes as in the apartments half the size. They have the 2nd highest condo fee in the complex based on cubic feet (yep).

Anyway they are trying to sell it for not quite twice as much as the other 2BR 1Ba units, because it's twice as big. Doesn't matter. It's still a 2 BR 1Ba with a small kitchen. And it has those high fees. It has been on the market almost a year and they are barely budging on the price. I guarantee it's going to end up selling, eventually, for a little more than the smaller 2BR 1Ba units in the complex. And talk about carrying costs. They aren't living in it waiting to sell. They don't even live in the country anymore, it's empty and they are paying $$$$ every month.

Pennywise and pound foolish.

Start by staging your kitchen. It looks really cluttered now. How will it look when staged for sale? As in no clutter, nothing but an attractive bowl of fruit on the table, no dishes or dishrack visible, no dish soap, etc. Maybe even put a rug under the table.

Every market is different, but I'd price painting the cabs.

Old rugs are often kind of grungy. What's your old carpet like?

just clean, clean, clean - scrub the cabinets with tsp and then lemon oil the wood. swap put the light fixtures for a few hundred and maybe change out the table borrow a smaller one and set with two of your cool chairs. I might even add navy roman shades and that sticker back splash with a white and blue to tie to the chairs..

regarding the rug, get it cleaned and see how it comes out.

i find it funny that realtors seem to think they should just make recommendations on spending money, but when asked what is the marketing plan, they have no answer…

interview five, ask each to being a list of comps and 4-5 examples of their marketing efforts on ahouse they recently sold.. see how fast 2 dont ee\ven show up.

I haven't read all the responses so maybe someone else suggested this: Do you have other dining space in your home? If so, I'd remove the table and chairs from the kitchen and bring in something to stand in for an island. I voted to fix the kitchen, but didn't think of a full gut, just fixing the doors and drawers that need fixing and possibly painting the wood colored areas to match the laminate fronts. Decluttering and cleaning will go a long way to improve the space.

link to: Ikea Island

Or maybe just remove all the chairs and keep your current table as an island stand-in.

I just wanted to show you this in a local listing. It's a condo, but it's almost $300K for a large studio, not a low priced listing for this area.

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/6223630/oak-and-almond-melamine-kitchen-redesign-hard-mode-no-cabinet-mods

I know a woman who lives in a rural area of W Virginia. It is a very depressed area with low real estate values. She and her husband built it in the 70s and raised a family. He died, the kids left home and she is all along and trying to sell her house so that she can move out of state to be close to her kids.

The realtor told her to paint her oak cabinets white and she hired some guy who came and did a not so great job on them. It takesa lot of prep work to do a good paint job on wooden cabinets . She was following the advice of some realtor who looks at too much home porn and white kitchens in sophisticated subruban areas and this really doens apply very well to this part of the country.

Now she has what was once a positive, the solid oak cabinets, have become something that is "wrong, and needs to be fixed".

She had made a bad choice with listening to this realtor. It is a very depressed area and the sell is a hard one.

She should just clean and repair and maybe some new carpeting and leave it at that. She has fallen into the hands of an unrealistic realtor. She is alone and vulnerable and is wasting her resources.

I am asking myself the same questions, as to what is worth doing in order to put my house on the market.

A new countertop, some badly needed updates to a bathroom and maybe a couple of new kitchen appliances, but nothing other than basic . I figure to make it clean and refreshed that someone could buy and live here just fine until they do what they want with it. The reality is that it needs new flooring, windows, trim work and the whole house just needs an update. So I wont go too far to do things that go beyound a clean and refreshed house. If I were the one to buy it I know that I would change so many of these things. The HVAC , plumbing, water heater, roof are all good or new. It is basically outdated and worn.