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View Poll Results: Which is the best refrigerator style for RESALE? (pics in post #1)
Top Freezer 4 8.33%
Bottom Freezer 8 16.67%
Side-by-Side 13 27.08%
French Door 23 47.92%
Voters: 48. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 02-14-2013, 03:41 PM   #21
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I thought side-by-side was the most common, but DW is against it for the same reason as you state, large platters etc. just won't fit.

So it will probably be a nice stainless top freezer (like we've always had) or a French door, though I still don't like the premium price or the bottom drawer freezer. And if the only thing about our finished kitchen a potential buyer does not like is the refrigerator style, we've probably done well. We are getting a nice gas range, the only kitchen appliance we actually care about.
In my vacation home there is a bottom drawer freezer. I find it works well because most of the things you want frequently are around eye level and you only have to reach down to the freezer occasionally. If I had (for example) back pain, it would not be much fun reaching down to the vegetable trays in a top freezer unit.
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Old 02-14-2013, 03:47 PM   #22
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We love our French door (black, Maytag) that replaced a 19 year-old side-by-side that replaced a 20 year old top-freezer.

My suggestion is that no matter what refrigerator you buy, you will want a cut-out large enough to accommodate a French door. Otherwise, the people who buy your house will eventually curse you.
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Old 02-14-2013, 03:51 PM   #23
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Good thought.

I know that houses are often sold with all the appliances except the fridge, <b>but I also notice young couples on HGTV who are disappointed if they have to buy anything, specifically a fridge</b> - and removing all the appliances might "irritate" a lot of buyers IMO. So we're sorta flexible on leaving the fridge, unless we buy something we don't want to begin with for the sake of resale.

Thanks, I need to think about that...
Hijack -

Young couples on HGTV are also irritated with having to pay closing costs, come up with a decent down payment, etc.

Since when did it become standard to have the seller rebate the closing costs of the buyer. That artificially raises the sales price - which is great for the realtor's commission and the tax folks... not so good for anyone else involved.

Sorry... it's a pet peeve of mine. As I said in my first post in this thread - not sure if it's HGTV or a sense of entitlement.

It's a very good thing I'm going to age in place... I'd be a very grumpy seller.
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Old 02-14-2013, 04:02 PM   #24
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French doors: Most expensive, large sizes, the "new thing?" Nice config for refrigerator, but bottom drawer freezer looks like a nightmare to me. ** How do you store items so you can easily get at whatever you want?

I think that's a feature not a bug. You generally are in the fridge much more than the freezer, with the freezer on top I have to bend over to see in the fridge. I'd rather bend over a couple of times a week to go in the freezer than a half-a-dozen times a day to look in the fridge.

Of course, I'm 6'3". YMMV.

(FWIW I have a bottom drawer stainless subzero, not worth the coin IMO, but it was in my home when I bought it)
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Old 02-14-2013, 04:03 PM   #25
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I voted French door only because, if you have to purchase now, you might as well get something considered updated. It really would not make any difference to me at all what type of appliances were in the house so long as they all worked. It would be a plus for me if they all matched in color. Like many others here, the most important considerations would be price, location, layout, age of roof-windows-electrical.
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Old 02-14-2013, 04:43 PM   #26
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On critical concern if looking for an older house is the height to the top of the space where the fridge will sit. In my case only a 65.5 inch unit fits, this rules out the larger side by sides and french door models. In side by side you are looking at 21 cubic foot models and there are a number of choices in the top mount line. Now in the case of the remodel, how tall did you make the space for the fridge?
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Old 02-15-2013, 04:15 AM   #27
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We have a yet another style: French door with TWO bottom freezer drawers which I love. I don't think I would have gone for the single bottom drawer. But I have no idea how it would affect resale.

That's a smart solution to the bottom drawer issue, but models with 2 drawer freezers are far too expensive for a fridge that we'll probably leave with the house in a year or two. The goal is resale at low cost, not what we'd want...
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Old 02-15-2013, 04:16 AM   #28
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On critical concern if looking for an older house is the height to the top of the space where the fridge will sit. In my case only a 65.5 inch unit fits, this rules out the larger side by sides and french door models. In side by side you are looking at 21 cubic foot models and there are a number of choices in the top mount line. Now in the case of the remodel, how tall did you make the space for the fridge?
The fridge opening will be 36W x 72H. We're probably buying a fridge that's 33W x 70H.
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Old 02-15-2013, 07:01 AM   #29
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We will start using our new French door stainless fridge in about ten days, replacing a white side by side. I can't speak for your market or likely buyer but after spending hours getting knowledgeable about today's appliances, that's what we chose.

If I were buying an existing house with a one to two year old fridge, I would negotiate the price down as I would replace it unless it were a Subzero or other truly top of the line (and no way could we afford a Subzero kind of house!). So imho just get the fridge you will enjoy using and not the one you think a future buyer might like.
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Old 02-15-2013, 07:10 AM   #30
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This is looking like the best compromise in terms of resale, price & (lastly) our needs.

Thanks everyone, though opinions were varied, there were a lot of helpful views. We were going to choose a side-by-side because we thought that was the most popular style, we've come to realize that would probably have been the worst choice in this instance. I know we wouldn't have liked it ourselves.

And while I know having a water & ice dispenser on the door is popular, the French door style is costing us another $300-400 already and water & adds (a lot) more cost that we're just not willing to cough up, and we've never missed having same. Besides, I note many of the really expensive brands (SubZero, Viking, etc.) don't have water & ice dispensers on their doors - that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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Old 02-15-2013, 07:26 AM   #31
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I just redid my kitchen and bought a single door / bottom freezer. And I really like it. Mine is only 20 cubic feet, smaller then the average size (but perfect for my kitchen and family); A larger one will have lots of room for the typical buyer. French door style would work well. They say the french door allows you to stand straight and look/find all your fridged items w/ ease and only having to bend when you need to use the freezer drawer. Definitely get a few styles above low range to midrange, it will work great and look fancy either way. If you get the single door, make sure its a reversible door / switch hinge side)

I looked at a lot of fridges, and noticed several french door styles were not aligned (at the top), which would really bother me. Probably just an assembly error, but I would make sure doors are level when assembled.

A new thing with appliances is the Tier II energy saver. (ie. Maytag bottom-freezer EcoConserve) You can promote this w/ the sale of your house!
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Old 02-15-2013, 07:57 AM   #32
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We have french door, counter depth. Its our second, our first one had a habit of the freezer not closing completely and then temps would soar and food chucked. They fixed that in the newer models where they kind of pick up speed at the end. We have small kids, so I replaced versus trained.

When we replaced I tried to talk my wife into fridge only, no freezer. We have a stand-alone freezer in the garage that we use for basically everything. I was voted down. I secretly note that we still barely use the inside fridge (in part because digging things out is an issue).

Oh well.
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Old 02-15-2013, 08:51 AM   #33
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We have side-by-side, 26 or so cubit ft, black color, and we are happy with it. Folks who have seen it says it goes well with the kitchen decor, so that is a consideration. With our current family size (3) it works fine. Platters have not been an issue since it is deep and has adjustable shelves. Very quiet, and it qualified for the Energy Saver rebates our power company offered.

When we bought our house it had a Subzero which was around 12 years old, and frankly I wasn't impressed. The maintenance costs were no fun. We've got basic tastes when it comes to a fridge, I think the cleanliness of the appliance will make the bigger impression.
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Old 02-16-2013, 05:11 AM   #34
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I've been lusting after those French door bottom drawer models, but most of them are around 3 x the cost of the "regular" models. I'm not sure it's really worth that...
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Old 02-16-2013, 06:54 AM   #35
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For best resale value, I'd say just find a unit that looks really nice in your new kitchen, and don't go overboard on what you pay for it because it probably won't make much difference in the total sale price of the house.
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Old 02-16-2013, 06:58 AM   #36
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Interesting that the poll results are inversely correlated with prices...Madison Ave would be proud?

Thanks again for all your help, we order appliances this morning.
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Old 02-16-2013, 09:52 AM   #37
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Interesting that the poll results are inversely correlated with prices...Madison Ave would be proud?

Thanks again for all your help, we order appliances this morning.
Yes, but we are spending OPM (other people's money)!

I think the poll probably reflects what we would want to see as buyers.
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Old 02-16-2013, 11:31 AM   #38
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Yes, but we are spending OPM (other people's money)!

I think the poll probably reflects what we would want to see as buyers.
And that's what I asked for, thanks again...
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Old 02-16-2013, 11:52 AM   #39
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And that's what I asked for, thanks again...
Good! I voted for the French door model for resale, but for my own refrigerator I prefer my trusty freezer-on-top conventional model. It is just right for me.
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Old 02-16-2013, 12:00 PM   #40
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We have the french door style, and will buy the same next time. With the drawers, the freezer is easier to organize, and is advertised as more efficient by Consumers mag.

Everyone always wants a stainless steel look. What a PITA to keep pristine! Good for selling, not for living, solely my opinion.
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