Anyone want to criticize a home?

[Wenjie]

I'm planning to renovate with the intent of selling in a year. The first picture is from a home that sold four months ago for much less. The second sold exactly one year ago for much more. Similar size, location, and listed price. What renovation mistakes do you think the first home made (compared to the other) so that I can avoid making the same mistakes.

Kitchen

Bathroom

First mistake I spotted is the lack of finishing to the underside of the upper cabinets.

Sitting area

I prefer the first home.

Bedroom

Bedroom, attempt 2

@Josette77

I prefer the first home.

The way the images posted is backwards, so the first is really the home that sold for MUC more than the previous owners asked for. What about it makes you like it more? I lack a discerning eye for these things. To me, they look about the same!

Outdoor

They both look pretty nice and pretty similar tbh. You say similar size/location etc but could even the small differences have made quite an impact on those prices, people will pay noticeably more for bigger garden, better street etc? Also the first one sold would probably have been arranged before covid whereas the second may have taken a price hit from lockdown uncertainty?

That's interesting, so the one with the little galley kitchen sold for much more than the big kitchen?

I prefer the one with the big kitchen and the bathroom which doesn't have brown wood in it.

But I'm slightly confused about which is House 1 (cheap) and House 2 (more expensive).

The yard with the ugly fence and round furniture is pretty dire. The one with 2 seating areas is much nicer, although I wouldn't call either of them a garden as such.

@fallfallfall I didn't even notice that! The way the images posted, though, is backwards. The first one sold for the equivalent of about £89,000 more (it's in the states, so it's $712k vs. $588k).

The first one is decorated and styled in a much more aspirational way. The art is more impactful and it looks more up market.

The small balcony with tub chairs could be vastly improved though.

I dont like any of them. Neither of them have used the space available particularly well. The fittings look big and clunky in the small-ish spaces that they're in.

They look very similar to me . The most striking difference is the garden/ outdoor space. From the photos I’d say the second ones outdoor space is far nicer, but I would have to view in person. A garden makes a huge difference to me so I’d be looking at out door space, privacy, location, potential, cost of making it how I wanted etc etc .

Tbh I can't see much difference in the two decoration quality wise. Nothing that would make a huge difference to the price anyway.

The kitchen is a different layout, and bigger in the second. But there are no ceiling lights in the living room or bedroom and personally I prefer the option of using the big lights!

Argh posted too soon.

.....big and clunky in the space they're in, especially in both the kitchens.

The livings rooms arent anything special, very bland. However if you're trying to sell the house it needs to be a bit bland so people can imagine their stuff in the house.

The bedrooms are the best rooms. Probably because the space has been used well with good lighting.

That said, I defo wouldnt buy either house tbh.

They’re quite similar to me; both look very “done” though the small galley kitchen is less attractive than the opened up one. I am also confused about which house is which. The big-kitchen house has a lot of wooden furniture in the bathroom that strikes me as unusual.

Both of them look as if quite a bit of money has been thrown at the renovations. How bad a state is your house OP? What’s your budget for the renovations? Have you had an estate agent in to give a valuation and to advise on changes that would increase value or saleability? How much difference in sale prices was there between the two houses you’ve shown us? Is the sale price difference down to something more than just the internal style and finish?

@Mumblechum0 You're right to be confused! I posted this very badly. The kitchens are both tiny galley kitchens. Both homes are 687 sqft and they're one building away from each other. I tried to post it so that the first picture would be the cheaper/covid-era sale, but instead it appeared as the more expensive/pre-covid sale. I think you're right that the pandemic might have played a part. I don't know how much. I wish I did.

I have a full-width terrace than spans the length of the home, so I felt a little crestfallen when I saw the tiny balcony sold for so much more. But they did upgrade the flooring from that concrete subflooring I have. And you're right that neither is a garden in any sense.

So they’re really quite small then, at 687 sq ft. Are they one bedroom apartments?

Ah, now I'm confused as to which one is which.

There's a huge difference in the outdoor space.
First balcony(?) looks like the inside of a water tank, don't do that! And it's overlooked. If it's a balcony there should be railings you can see through, a nice seating area and if you have no view, you need to green it up with lots of pot plants.

Second is a balcony taking advantage of the greenery around (So no need for pot plants). It's much bigger, plenty of room to sit. And a big of a view.

@NameChangedForAChange These are from the home that sold for more. (Which is how I should have done this in the first place - sorry!)

Ah. Thanks for those three photos. The kitchen is good. Balcony is strange with the solid fencing - as PP said, you need to see through otherwise it feels too enclosed. . Bathroom I don’t like as it looks a bit fussy to me.

@DinosApple You should be confused! I did this all wrong. These are all from the one that sold for $124,000 LESS than the other. It's actually right by me, only I wish I faced the train's sound wall for the pretty greenery. Instead I face a blank wall of another building, but still hear the train every time it screams to a halt.