We live in a nice suburban neighborhood where a typical single family home (not a McMansion) sells for ~$650K and up. I've been keeping loose tabs on how real estate is moving in the neighborhood, though we have zero intentions of moving until my youngest heads off to college in a couple of years. Spring has arrived and this weekend I noticed that multiple homes went up for sale in our neighborhood - pretty normal for this time of year.
All of the houses put up for sale in the last few years, including the ones in the flyers this weekend have specific upgrades that we have not done to our house. This includes (1) granite counters in the kitchen, (2) hardwood throughout the main level at least, and (3) Stainless steel appliances.
I'm pretty cheap and we have retirement savings and college expenses going on. I don't necessarily want to spend money on any of the above items but I started thinking about my future competition in selling. If all the other houses have these, will we need them?
The last thing I want to do is have a real estate agent come into my house and tell me I need these upgrades in order to sell and then we put them in for someone else to enjoy. Forget that. Are there any real estate agents on here who can weigh in on this? If buyers expect that they get these things in houses in this area, am I at a huge disadvantage if I don't have them? Would offering a buyers credit for putting in granite and/or hardwood be as beneficial as having granite and/or hardwood put in first?
Again, I expect the earliest we would sell would be in about 3 years. We could stay here another 10 years. No firm plans right now.
We have significant equity in the home, if that makes any difference.
All of the houses put up for sale in the last few years, including the ones in the flyers this weekend have specific upgrades that we have not done to our house. This includes (1) granite counters in the kitchen, (2) hardwood throughout the main level at least, and (3) Stainless steel appliances.
I'm pretty cheap and we have retirement savings and college expenses going on. I don't necessarily want to spend money on any of the above items but I started thinking about my future competition in selling. If all the other houses have these, will we need them?
The last thing I want to do is have a real estate agent come into my house and tell me I need these upgrades in order to sell and then we put them in for someone else to enjoy. Forget that. Are there any real estate agents on here who can weigh in on this? If buyers expect that they get these things in houses in this area, am I at a huge disadvantage if I don't have them? Would offering a buyers credit for putting in granite and/or hardwood be as beneficial as having granite and/or hardwood put in first?
Again, I expect the earliest we would sell would be in about 3 years. We could stay here another 10 years. No firm plans right now.
We have significant equity in the home, if that makes any difference.