New Appliances

What buyers want

Sandpoint Idaho real estate raises many of the same questions that would be asked anywhere. Of course we don't always agree on the answers. How and where to spend your money when improving your home to sell is a subject of much debate. This article addresses the topic of appliances and how they affect the sale of your home.

First of all, attempting to get a dollar for dollar return on appliances isn't really a thing. Although, what definitely is a thing, would be to use appliances to stage your home in such a way as to sell your home quickly and for the price you're asking. Let's figure this out.

Well, It should be mentioned that old appliances are way more expensive to run. The ENERGY STAR program began in 1992 by the Environmental protection Agency (EPA). I would seriously consider replacing any appliance made before then but that probably goes without saying. ENERGY.GOV has a nifty calculator to estimate annual appliance and home energy cost. The point here is that not only do new energy efficient appliances appeal to potential buyers but they can actually save you a few bucks in the short term.

Let's move on to staging your home with newer but mismatched appliances. While it is true that buyers still seem to prefer stainless appliances, unless you're selling a real high-end property, just showing a matching set would be enough to give a good impression. Rust-Oleum Appliance Enamel Paint is awesome stuff. In this video, they use it to used to spruce up a mini fridge.

I found this trick at lifehacker.com where it shows that some appliance manufacturers have a secret second color on the other side of the front panel. Apparently, to save on the cost of manufacturing, the panels are reversible so they can offer the same appliance in two colors. It's worth a look, right?