A Little Creativity Goes A Long Way With Orlando REO'S & Short Sale Homes

Cash is low and your kitchen needs work...now what?

KITCHEN BEFORE 

My partner and I bought this house in 2009, which was an approved short sale, and as you can see the kitchen was an after thought, at best.  Builder basic everything...

We didn't have the funds to spend vast amounts of money on this room since every space in the house needed updating.

Full disclosure: I loathe Honey Oak finishes.  It's ubiquitous where I grew up, in the upper Midwest, and I am sick of seeing it.

Since the cabinets are cheap, I couldn't physically sand them.  I found a carpenter who used a chemical sanding process to lift the finish then he sprayed with dye instead of stain.  The process went like this: chemical sanding, sand paper smoothing, dye, lacquer, sanding, lacquer and that is it. 

I didn't like the "boxy" look of the island, so I ordered large, decorative legs online and had the carpenter install them, which made the island 11 feet rather than 10.  He also built the cabinet above the fridge and built the doors for the island...he also installed the hardware, which we purchased at IKEA for $12 dollars a pair. That refinishing and construction portion of the project cost $1,700.  The granite slab, counters and back splash added another $3,300...we have $5,000 into this facelift + $2,500 for the new appliances, which are Jenn Air scratch and dent.

KITCHEN AFTER

If you don't like the dark finish, which is what we like, you can actually find any color...we could've done the island one color and the wall cabinets something else, which is what we had done with a house we once owned.

Don’t be afraid of creativity!  Transforming the ugly into something lovely is one of the ways to build equity in real estate.  These improvements add real value.  One year after purchasing this house in 2009 we took advantage of low interest rates and refinanced.  Because of this kitchen, we went from 3.5% equity to 21%, which removed our mortgage insurance and substantially cut our house payment.

Call me if you ever want to find something like this for your own personal project.

Gay Orlando Realestate