Refinished Bathtub Increases a Home’s Resale Value

Location. Location. Location. You’ve likely heard this timeless real estate advice more than once. It’s entirely true that a home in a desirable location will sell faster and for a higher price than a comparable home in a less exclusive part of town. The right location is what draws buyers to view a property, but it’s not necessarily what closes the sale.

How refinishing your bathtub increases value

To understand how to increase a home’s resale value, focus on kitchens and baths — they can make or break a realty deal. No matter how perfect a location, first impressions of your home’s interior are a vital selling point. What a potential buyer immediately thinks when they walk through the door will stick, which is compounded as they walk about your house. Consciously or subconsciously, they’re comparing their impressions of your home’s value with other properties they’re viewing.

What makes a good impression on a buyer? For ideas on how to help a home sell quicker, think about how a buyer might feel walking through the kitchen or bathroom. Good first impressions come from bright, modern kitchens and updated bathrooms.

Those positive impressions from the bath help a home sell quicker, and they’re going to increase your home’s resale value. Having a gleaming, clean bathtub is a critical component in impressing buyers and swaying them towards making a decent offer. A refinished bathtub can mean more buyers and better offers.

Bathtubs as a Focal Point

The proper design makes a bathtub’s position a key element in the layout and visual appeal of a home. Expert designers know how to arrange a bathroom so the tub is a feature, and they use it to amplify the impression of space and, of course, luxury. They want the bathtub to be inviting. It must beckon with a sense of warmth and relaxation.

Professional interior designers are acutely aware that proper layout and use of bathroom fixtures anchor the room. Great effort goes towards making sure the right fixtures are chosen and placed for maximum aesthetic and practical effect. Vanities with sinks are usually placed closest to the entrance, while toilets and bidets are moved from the sightline. Often, toilets are placed around a corner or even in a separate room.

Choosing Bathtub Colors

Great bath designers know the value of color. Color fashions change with the ages. Thankfully, the days of avocado green and pale pink are gone. Today’s bathroom fixtures are overwhelmingly white — a return to the timeless taste of antiques like your grandmother’s claw foot tub and her water closet with the high-mounted tank.

The raspberry reds and aqua blues are extinct in new homes and so are harvest golds and jet blacks. You couldn’t give those once-trendy fixtures away today. Unfortunately, many homes constructed in that era still have bath fixtures built into the walls, set into the counters, and bolted to the floor which harkens to days of bygone trends.

Having old, worn, and stained bath fixtures in your home is going to have a negative impact on a prospective buyer’s first impression. While your home may be in an excellent location and otherwise well presented, the condition and color of your bath fixtures are going to have a major impact on perceived value.

A worn tub gives the impression of worn plumbing, and plumbing replacements are a fear of many prospective homebuyers. No doubt, a buyer is going to consider the cost of replacing that out-of-date tub, the toilet, the fixtures, and all the pipes that go with them, which may mean a discounted offer.

Replacing an Out-Of-Date Bathtub Is Expensive

Renovations can be pricey. Whether you are up for the task or hire a contractor, replacing an out-of-date bathtub isn’t cheap. Removal and replacement is one thing, hidden costs are another. Every renovator knows when the walls are opened up, all sorts of unpleasant surprises can be exposed.

Total replacement of a tub to get your home to sell faster may not have the best return on investment. But upgrading your bathtub to a modern look is part of how to increase a home’s resale value. If you’re considering a bath renovation as part of your strategy to get your house ready to sell or to increase home value for appraisal, consider the most economical approach for getting the maximum impact for the least cost.