Should I List My House With New Appliances or Offer An Allowance?
Getting ready to put YOUR home on the market? If you have older appliances, you may want to consider replacing them or offering an allowance to the buyer. Here's a great article by New Hampshire Home Stager, Sharon Tara, on this very subject.
Should I List My House With New Appliances or Offer An Allowance?
As a New Hampshire Home Stager I've been asked this question many times. Every situation is different, but in most cases, it's best to buy new rather than offer an allowance. This is true whether you are talking appliances, flooring, or any other needed improvement.
Offer your home with new appliances and you have control over selection and cost....and you increase the perceived value of your home.
However, offer an allowance and your home appears not to have been well maintained and you end up in a negotiation situation, basically giving control to the buyers.
Here's what other ActiveRain real estate professionals have said on the subject:
"Leave the choice up to buyers and cost will be a biggy! Buy new appliances and buyers can see how nice they look and meanwhile you can enjoy them! Why wait?" Janis Borqueta
"Replace appliances and buyers won't feel like they have to immediately update the whole kitchen. It gives the kitchen a fresh feel." Kathy Streib
"Buyers can't unsee the negative." Karen Otto
"Putting in new appliances is always the best return for the seller." Bruce Hicks
"Most folks don't know how much materials and labor cost so they over estimate. If the seller doesn't spend perhaps $2000 for appliances, buyers may drop their offer by $10,000." Julia Maher
"First impression is everything. Buying new appliances is cheaper than offering an allowance and helps sell the house!" Anna Dovger
"I always suggest my sellers buy new appliances prior to listing if theirs are very old." Tatyana Makarov
"I suggest buying new as well. No need to give buyers a reason to turn away, especially if the rest of the kitchen is fine. Donate the old to Habitat For Humanity and make someone else happy!" Peg Barcelo
"The value it creates is worth the investment. Updates are important to sell a home and kitchens sell homes." Karen Gray
"If the listing needs new appliances, buyers will add more wants onto their need-before-buying list. They may be more critical of other parts of the home and assume nothings been updated." Carol Faaland-Kronmaier
If your appliances are going to make a bad impression, and suggest a lack of maintenance, an allowance is not the answer.
New appliances is the answer!
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