To recap from part 1 there are five things that most people find undesirable in houses. I already went over the first three: types of flooring, brass accents, and countertops. Now to finish up with the last two.

4) Older Designs of Flooring

As I mentioned in part 1, flooring is the number 1 complaint I hear when showing houses. I already went over trends with the types of flooring, but also want to touch on designs and sizes of flooring. Even though a desirable type of flooring right now is tile, the smaller 12×12 tiles are no longer attractive. The new tile preference is 16×16 or larger, although even that is slowly going out of style. Tile trends are going towards 24×12 rectangular tiles or wood grain tile for people who want the look of wood with the simple maintenance of tile. Another trend I’m seeing is patterned carpet where the pattern is textured in, but in general you just want to make sure your carpet doesn’t have any stains or odors.

5) Cabinets

Cabinets have changed dramatically since the 90’s in color, size, and positioning. Gone are the days that oak and whitewashed cabinets are desirable. The most popular colors now are espresso and white. Luckily with a little paint or stain you can refinish your cabinets at a small fraction of the cost compared to installing new ones. There are “do it yourself” kits available on the market to stain or paint cabinets, and I’ve seen them used successfully and unsuccessfully. If you’re not a typical handyman around the house, a professional can also do it pretty inexpensively. Keep in mind if you change the color of your kitchen cabinets, you may want to also consider matching your bathroom cabinets (or take out a 1/2 bath cabinet and put in a pedestal sink) and any other wood accents you have such as railings etc. Other trends in cabinets are making them taller, staggering them, positioning them higher towards the ceiling, and putting crown molding on top. While you can’t easily change the size or position of your cabinets, if you’re already painting or staining your cabinets, it might be worth while to add some crown molding to the top as well.

The Bottom Line:

While these five things might deter buyers should you decide to sell your house down the road, if you like them keep them. It’s your home! My own grandfather swears by his laminate counter tops and will die before he installs granite! Do however keep these in mind if you are wanting to take on some home improvement projects or if you are planning to sell your home. If you complete some updates in your home, make sure to document all work, costs, and materials that were used. That list of improvements can equal a higher value and appraisal when you go to sell. If you are planning to sell your home, talk to a local realtor before you put any money into it. They can look into your exact market to see what is needed to be updated and if you can recoup the cost of the upgrades in the sale.

What are things you find unattractive in homes? Anything I missed? I love to hear about people deal breakers as everyone’s are so different!