Nine signs of an outdated home according to Realtor.com comes from an article the site posted that was a little more grim (hopelessly outdated was in their title,) that I wanted to touch on and address.

The intent of the article seems to be to poke fun at the things we may love about our homes, but when we go to sell them, buyers may not love as much. This is a very good area of discussion, as many of these items come into conversation regularly when homeowners are considering selling their homes.

Here goes:

  1. White Appliances. White appliances in general tend to make a kitchen feel dated. Plus, they are harder to keep clean. Stainless is very popular, as are black appliances. Of course, you want to match the counters and cabinets, so make sure to consider the rest of your kitchen if you are considering switching appliance color.
  2. Glass Mosaic Backsplash. This one is still pretty popular in Baltimore as of this post. I wouldn’t see this as a “hopelessly outdated” kitchen issue.
  3. Busy Wallpaper and Bold Paint Colors. Wallpaper tends to be a bigger issue than paint, because wallpaper can be difficult and expensive to remove. That being said, painting your home neutral colors is usually the best bet for a refresh/best return on investment.
  4. Dated fixtures and hardware. Gold has been “out” for some time. Changing door handles or cabinet knobs to brushed nickel, bronze, or updated material is a good way to freshen your home up for sale.
  5. Tile Counters. I don’t see this too much in the Baltimore area, but when I have, it does stick out. Granite has been the most popular, and has stayed popular. When thinking of bathrooms and the like, you can get remnants, making it a much less expensive project than full sheets of granite. Make sure to use something neutral that can go with many different decor types — and again, if you are doing your kitchen, go with what matches your appliances and cabinets.
  6. “Popcorn” Ceilings. These were popular from the 1950’s-80’s. My parents had it blown onto the third floor ceiling of our house when it was finished in the 80’s – I am guessing recommended by the contractor. In any case, now, people just don’t like it, and it feels dated. If you can, get it removed.
  7. Wall-to-Wall Carpeted Bathrooms. This one, you can just think about why it could feel really yucky to a buyer…a nice ceramic tile would be a good solution here.
  8. Wood Paneling. If you can rip it out, great. I will warn you from personal experience, we had wood paneling in our master bedroom of our first house. We didn’t consider that the wood paneling was part of the window moldings, and also, there was a drop ceiling…let’s just say it was a bigger project than we had imagined. That being said, we were very glad to have the wood paneling gone and new wood moldings around the windows. If it is in the basement, and could be cost-prohibitive to do, try some light paint to see if that brightens the room, and doesn’t showcase that it is wood paneling.
  9. Linoleum Flooring. Bathrooms could use ceramic tile. Kitchens, depending on the area, could use ceramic tile or wood floors.

My biggest recommendation is that if you are planning to sell your home, contact a local REALTOR(R) to help you decide what you should or should not do to sell your home.

To learn more about selling a home in Towson, please contact me. I would love to help!