Planning to Sell - Focus on Your Kitchen

When it's time to put your home on the market, many real estate experts recommend that you focus on updating the kitchen first. For many potential buyers, especially the wives, the kitchen may be the most important room in the home. The condition and appearance of the kitchen has the power to make or break a sale.

So, if you want your home to sell quickly at a good price, do everything you can to enhance it before you start showing the home to buyers. Remember however as you appraoch this task that the money you spend is a cost of selling. Don't do a complete remodelling unless the kitchen really needs it. A good Realtor, like Cheryl Stimac, a Tampa Bay Florida real estate expert can give you advice on the extent of remodeling that you should invest in.


Start by creating space. You want you kitchen to look large, light and roomy. Clear the counters of all clutter. Take everything you can out of drawers and shelves and move it into storage. Remove all those magnets from the refrigerator and if the refrig looks scratched, give it a fresh coat of porcelain paint. What you want them to see is a warm, open and inviting space, not your old pots, pans and toaster.

Consider fresh paint. Paint is the most profitable improvement. A fresh coat of light, neutral colored paint on your kitchen walls will make them look spotless and new. Exactly the look you want.

Pay particular attention to the sink. If your faucet looks old and dated, replace it with a new one. It will go a long way towards improving the look of the whole kitchen, for very little money.

If your counter tops look old and tired, you should consider new ones. Today you can buy corian or even granite countertops at reasonable prices. Talk to your local Home Depot or Lowe's hardware satore. Remember to stick with neutral colors, nothing too flashy.

Check the stove and oven. The oven should be spotless. If the stove is a glass-top mmodel, scrub it until there is no residue at all on it. A sparkling range looks great. A dirty one laeves the prospect wondering if the rest of the house is any better maintained. Don't let them even "go there".

Freshen up the cabinets. Replacing cabinets is expensive and seldom makes a good investment. But you can paint them, or put new, modern looking pulls on them for very little money. A fresh rub-down with a good cleaner-polish will give them a fresh look.

Check the windows. You'd be amazed how many people forget to wash the window over the sink or the sliding glass doors next to the dining area. if the trim looks dull, a fresh coat of paint there will also add sizzle.

Finally, a trick that works amazingly well. Just before prospective buyers come, bake a fresh batch of cookies in your oven. And, yes, leave the cookies out for them to sample.

In short, buyers will quickly notice any shortcomings in your kitchen, so do everything you can to freshen it up and give it a modern, open, airy and spacious and "inviting" look.