Rehabbing for a million dollar sale

[Erin N.]

I bought a foreclosure in a million dollar neighborhood.  I live there and rent out the guest apartments and part of the main house.  In the next few months, we're going to start the process of renovating the place so we can sell it for top dollar.  I've always been a rather frugal person, and all of our renovations so far have been BRRRs.  My point being that I'm sort of a fish out of water when it comes to high end finishes and what people who buy million dollar homes look for.  I'm in Northeast Florida in a beach community if that helps.  

For anyone whose niche is flipping higher end properties like this, what do buyers look for?  What are absolute must haves?  To give you some basics, the main house has 4 bedrooms with a really nice sized master suite (1000sqft) - has its own florida room overlooking the pool and its own office.  Main house is 4000sqft.  Guest house is 900sqft and has 2 one bedroom apartments.  Total land is about 1.25 acres.  One mile from the ocean.  

Thanks!

[Hattie Dizmond]

• Nice granite counter tops (look for stuff with lots of motion & veins, not the cheap "flecked" stuff) in the kitchen & bath, unless you go with high-end marble in the bath.  High-end backsplashes...glass mosaic, subway tiles, etc.
• Hand scraped hardwoods for traditional feel, real wood not engineered and definitely not laminate.  You can use the same for a more contemporary, but you can also go with a very smooth finish.
• Floor & cabinet colors should be dependent on the style of the property.  Go for darker cabinets (like an espresso finish on a maple or something else with minimal wood grain, you can also go with a dark or cool - think gray - painted finish) for a more contemporary style property.  Traditional styles, go with white, distressed or traditional cabinetry and floors can be anything from dark to light, as long as they coordinate well and have texture.
• Traditional style fixtures go with oil rubbed.  Contemporary can play oil rubbed, but brushed nickle is a more expected finish.
• High-end appliances...all stainless...commercial grade, gas cooktop - think Viking or Wolf.  Built in wine fridge.
• Open floor plans
• High ceilings
• large master bath with separate tub & shower, split vanities (do "his" higher) and make sure the shower is decent sized...frameless glass enclosures are nice.  Jetted tubs are not mandatory, but deep soaker tubs are.
• kitchens with islands
• Little extras like a pot filler above the cook top, 2 dishwashers, double convection ovens, appliance garages on the counter tops, "wired" homes to plug in MP3 players in rooms
• walk-in pantry
• spacious laundry room with a sink and room to hang/fold
• You can put carpet in the bedrooms.  That really becomes a personal choice for people, but stay with a frieze, if you do, unless you are using a professional designer.
• If you're in an area where "green" is important, think about using as many renewable products as possible, i.e. bamboo & cork for flooring, reclaimed wood as accents, etc.  Low VOC surfaces & paints, etc.
• Energy efficient windows, doors, & insulation.

I'm sure there's more, but that should get you started and give you a good idea.  Then visit HGTV.com for more ideas!