Mar. 26, 2007 - Let's Not Get Cheap

Time and time again potential sellers ask the same question, "What can we do to get the best possible price ?".  Time and time again I make the same suggestions.  Chances are you will hear me telling someone that modernized water rooms, ie, bathrooms, kitchens and laundry rooms, will give you the most return on your investment.  I will especially be telling that to someone who has a mildew farm growing in their circa 1980's bathroom.  Lately I have had to go out of my way to explain that I cannot list the house as having a remodeled bathroom just because they installed a white tub liner on their avocado bath tub and glued a three piece tub surround over the moldy plastic tiles.

Nothing screams cheap, do-it-yourself, like a glue on tub surround.  And the thing that amazes me the most is that there are "remodeling companies" that seem to be specializing in such things.  As far as I can tell, and I know someone will correct me if I'm wrong, these cheap fiberglass aberrations first showed up in trailer homes and "luxury" campers.  They may well be acceptable to buyers of these types of things, but they sure do make a fixed to the Terra firma house hard to sell for top dollar.  Especially in today's buyers market.  There is inventory galore out there, and chances are pretty good that you can acquire a home with a nicely remodeled bathroom for a pretty reasonable price.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you can't sell your house if you put a tub surround in your bathroom.  You should simply expect to get less than top dollar.  And I would also caution you about listing it as having a remodeled bathroom.  Unless of course you can find white liners for that avocado toilet bowl and sink.    

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Mar. 26, 2007 - re: Let's Not Get Cheap