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A perpetual learner, Pat Williams discovered a passion for marketing homes when Realtors from across the USA began to depend on her expertise while creating and maintaining their print and online marketing campaigns. She carried that passion one step further and acquired her Real Estate License and now works with Century 21 Today in West Bloomfield, Michigan. Being intimately aware of the local and national markets offers Pat a unique perspective and a greatly expanded marketing network.

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Do Built-ins Add Value to Home Sales?

June 20th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under
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My absolute favorite part of being a Virtual Assistant is seeing pictures of homes that my Realtor clients list.

It doesn’t matter whether the house is selling for $100,000 or $1,000,000, I find the process of sifting through the pictures, adjusting them for a variety of mediums enjoyable. The fact that I earn money while doing it is bliss.

For example this home is in Columbus, Ohio in a Clintonville neighborhood. My clients list many, MANY
homes in Clintonville. Clintonville is one of those neighborhoods where the homes are older, the trees are large and it’s perfect for young professionals or families that prefer to be close to the city and it’s amenities.

This home is a cute Cape Cod with 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, 1471 square feet and it’s listed in the low $200’s. What I love about this house is the fantastic renovation job and the color pallette chosen by
the current owner. The other nice touch is the simple built-ins added to the Den; a book and a media
shelf. Personally, when dealing with smaller spaces, maximizing space efficiency always has my vote.

I’ve done renovations and the extra time it takes to create these nooks makes them special in my eyes. It suggests that the owner really thought about how to improve the home.

Imagine my surprise when I googled built-ins and found a Blog article suggesting built-ins
can have a negative impact on the sale of a home. If so, why is it so many homes advertise the
built-ins as being a positive feature? Perhaps Noah Rosenblatt was only referring to the large “furniture-type” built-ins when he wrote the article, whereas, I am mostly considering the smaller
shelving and china cabinets found in older homes.

I am wondering where you stand on built-ins? What have been your experiences? Have they added value or detracted from the sale of a home?

  • darrys
    I think we must differentiate the customer categories here: there are customers with smaller incomes and that can't afford to make their own built-ins and there are the customers with larger incomes that won't make compromises in buying their dream home. I think that would explain the contradiction.
    Darrys at Dallas remodeling
  • Ria
    Hi Pat,
    I love looking at photos of homes too!

    As to your question, my husband and I rented a home with built-ins last year - what a pain!

    We didn't like them because they were restrictive. Although it did mean saving money by not having to buy certain types of furniture, in particular these were built-in dressers, and a captain's bed frame.

    On the other hand, my friend Julie and her boyfriend bought a house last year, and they really like the built-in's on their second floor which are built into the eaves. It saves them space, and it meant not having to buy dressers for the two bedrooms on that floor.

    xoRia
  • Ria - I agree. It seems the larger pieces that go in and out of style are not as pleasing as the smaller storage type pieces such as recessed shelving etc. Great to hear from you!
  • It depend on the built in the owner will put, if it does beautify the home then it will definitely become a positive feature.
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