Sponsored content
How many times do you think you’ll sell your home and move to a different house during your lifetime?
If you answered this question before 1981, when the National Association of Realtors (NAR) started collecting data, the number would be close to 11. Not today.
According to NAR’s latest Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers report, the number of times you’ll buy and sell is 2 to 3.
Many factors come into play. According to NAR, the average age of a first-time buyer is no longer twenty-something. It’s 38. Higher interest rates. People marrying and starting families later in life. The cost of homes and the short supply of them. All contribute to the new trend of buying a house later in life and staying in it longer.
If you wait to buy, then live in your home for a long while, why not make the upgrades so you’ll really love it?
It Starts with the Kitchen
For most homeowners, a home’s upgrade starts with the kitchen.
“Even though interest rates are going down, the cost of materials is going up. If you want to remodel your kitchen, the best time is now,” says Karin Ross of Karin Ross Designs. “Waiting is not in your favor.”
Elegance and Quality Are Always in Style
Keeping a timeless elegant look and investing in good quality pay off, now and in the long run. “A kitchen remodel should last for 15 to 20 years,” says Ross. “And after that, if it is done right, you should only need a few replacements to keep it functioning well and looking great.”
“Today, your kitchen is the primary living space. Make everything custom, very high quality, for the way you like to live,” she suggests. “Choose elegance. Big islands. All of that never goes out of style.”
And if you have a dining room you only use a few times a year? “You don’t want a museum you rarely visit,” Ross says. “Instead, combine the kitchen and dining room. Maybe revamp the dining room into a more intimate conversation area that can function for a small dinner party or a place to escape while others watch a movie or a game in the living room.”
“When you decide to remodel, don’t think about resale value,” says Ross. “Don’t think about the next buyer. Think of what you can enjoy now, and trust that if the design is done right, the value will still be there when you sell in the future.”
Work with the Right People
“More than ever, it’s important to work with the right people who know the products, the layout, the best flow. Once we touch the kitchen, the room will feel completely new,” says Ross. “Every house has a way,” says Ross. “You just have to find the way.”
An extensive questionnaire for clients and an onsite visit get the process going. “We get to know our clients and their home first, then present them with several design options and solutions,” says Ross, “after I have done all the research.”
When you work with a kitchen and bath designer, says Ross, it can save you time—and money, not to mention stress. “We try everything we install before we put it in a client’s home,” says Ross. “We try it in our home or in our showroom. That way, there are no surprises.”
There are no surprises, either, during the installation. Karin Ross Designs keeps products in stock, so no waiting. And Nick Ross, Karin’s husband, does the installation work with his team. “Our clients know we will take care of it all,” she says.
“If you are going to wait to own a home, and stay in it for a long time, you might as well have it exactly as you want it,” says Ross.
Visit KarinRossDesigns.com to explore Ross’s design and remodeling portfolio and book a consultation.