Outdated Bathrooms & Selling Your Home

When selling a home, a sure-fire way to increase buyer interest, as well as guaranteeing return on investment, is to make improvements to outdated bathrooms.  Buyers will view a home more favorably if the bathrooms have up-to-date sinks, toilets, vanities, tile, and light fixtures.  And the good news is that it doesn't have to cost a fortune to achieve substantial improvements as well as a great look for this very important room.

The photo below on the left shows a powder room in a 20-year-old home that had been on the market for close to one year.  Most buyers would look at this room and imagine all of the work they would have to do to bring the bathroom into the 21st century.  This alone may be enough to make a buyer want to move on to the next house!

Northern New Jersey's Whitehall Interiors & Home Staging recommended that the vanity, sink and fixtures be replaced, we removed the wall paper, painted the room, replaced the towel bars, the light fixture, mirror, toilet and floor tile.  The cost to the seller was under $2,500.  Best of all, the home sold in one month, above the asking price!

Our company approached the very important master bathroom of the same home pictured below somewhat differently.  We recommended to the sellers that we replace the sinks, faucets, vanity top (it was a tile top originally) and light fixture above the mirror.  The vanity itself was in good condition so we reconstituted the wood and replaced the hardware.  Silestone was installed on the vanity top, giving it a rich look. The walls were painted and the room was completely rejuvenated.  The cost for these improvements came in under $2,000.

As you contemplate selling your home, look at your outdated bathrooms with a critical eye and consider making at least some of the improvements described here.  Better yet, call in a professional home stager who can advise you how to best update this very important room in your home.