I have a new flip that I am working on and my issue is that the kitchen cabinets are a maple color but in really good condition. I am torn on painting the cabinets white, replacing the cabinets with newer trendy white shaker cabinets or just keeping the originals and building my kitchen color scheme around whats there . Cost is always a factor, however at the end of the day flipping the property if my priority.
Lender · PA · Member since 2016 · 214 posts · 140 votes
9y
@Vincent Prentice as I'm sure you're aware cabinets can be very costly in a rehab/flip. In my opinion, I think you should re-paint the cabinets and get new hardware for them. This is substantially less expense than all new cabinets and, hey, at the end of the day if you don't like it (which I doubt) you'll only be out the paint and hardware.
Search youtube for videos of reusing & painting cabinets. You'll find everything you need and I bet the results will surprise you!
Thanks @Alexander Zurn , I am going to price out the two options. So far when I search on Home Advisor the price to paint cabinets is between 1500 to 3500 dollars. For that higher end of the price spectrum I could buy new RTA cabinets and replace the existing with brand new. Also I have read that painting cabinets is very time consuming and if not done right will ruin the look of the cabinets.
Real Estate Investor · Dayton, OH · Member since 2017 · 107 posts · 51 votes
9y
hello @ Vincent Prentice i totally agree with re painting. I just did this with my cabinets and put hardware on them. Kitchen looks amazing!!! I was thrilled with the finish. Great way to save money. Also it allows for u to spend money in other places such as granite counters or higher end appliances. These are things that will catch the buyers' eye!
Lender · PA · Member since 2016 · 214 posts · 140 votes
9y
@Vincent Prentice that is the right thing to do, price out both options.
@Candace Postell raises a good point too, consider what will add the best value for the least amount of money. i.e. consider what the buyer will be focusing on in the kitchen. If you repaint the cabinets and it takes 8 hours but you save money there so you can buy the granite counter tops/higher end appliances that may attract the buyers quicker thus reducing holding costs, you might be better off repainting. Opportunity cost is important to consider.
Real Estate Investor · Dayton, OH · Member since 2017 · 107 posts · 51 votes
9y
Wow Vincent!!! I bought unfinished cabinets & a $30.00 can of paint for way less than that & it looks amazing. Idk if you have to use a certain kind of paint on cabinets that aren't unfinished, but your price seems extremely high.
Real Estate Investor · Dayton, OH · Member since 2017 · 107 posts · 51 votes
9y
It also could be time consuming because you may have to sand them first. So another route that you could take would be to buy unfinished & simply paint. It took me about 2 -3 hours and about an hour for the 2nd coat... Apply the hardware and ta-dahhh!! You've got yourself the look of some high end cabinetry
Investor · Rochester, NY · Member since 2014 · 66 posts · 27 votes
9y
I think it is important to take into consideration the sale price of the home and what the buyer would expect at that price point. Is it a home for a first time home buyer or high end property?
Wow Vincent!!! I bought unfinished cabinets & a $30.00 can of paint for way less than that & it looks amazing. Idk if you have to use a certain kind of paint on cabinets that aren't unfinished, but your price seems extremely high.
How much did the unfinished ones cost? If you don't mind me asking...
Investor · Arlington, TX · Member since 2015 · 22 posts · 13 votes
9y
Hey Vincent, I recently was faced with the same dillema. I bought a duplex and both sides had wood looking cabinets with some doors missing and needing an update. I ended up replacing the cabinets that were beat up the most and transferred the doors to the other side of the duplex that were missing. I ended up painting both side's cabinets the same color and to my surprise the older cabinets actually looked just as good. The trick for making them look good is the prep. Just to let you know I paid someone to do these and spent $600 on a small kitchen, but they said 90% of the work/labor cost is in the prep work.
After they painted them I added new hardware myself and they look good as new.
For those that wanted to know what the existing cabinets look like, here you go. These are solid really good cabinets. So what do you think about the color? No matter what they will get very nice new hardware and granite counter tops. The price point for the community is from 315 to 350k. The home is a 4/3 brick split level
Flipper/Rehabber · Pickerington, OH · Member since 2012 · 230 posts · 139 votes
9y
I painted kitchen cabinets once.
Never again.
If you do it yourself it's timely and unless you're a very skilled painter they won't look great. Just spend the money on new cabinets. You'll be much happier with the end result and buyers will notice.
Rental Property Investor · Scotch Plains, NJ · Member since 2016 · 38 posts · 11 votes
9y
Have you considered replacing just the doors for the cabinets? That could be a good compromise between the keeping and getting something more modern. If the cabinets are standard sizes you should have no issues finding doors locally or from the Internet. If you decide on changing color, painting just the inside of the cabinets is a lot easier and the flaws are less visible. In my opinion, replacing entire kitchen is very costly and should be your last option if nothing else works.
Investor · Orange County, CA · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
9y
Hard to say without knowing what the kitchen looks like or what kind of neighborhood it is in. You gave a price point of $350k, but that means nothing ... for example in my market that would put you into the heart of the ghetto while in the deep south or mid west it may buy you a palace.
Do you have a picture of the entire kitchen as it stands today? Is this an A,B,C, or D class neighborhood? Is the existing kitchen layout good (nice work triangle between fridge, stove, and sink) or wonky? To be honest the picture of the cabinet door did not look that bad at all, even though the color is not necessarily in trend right now, but you may not even need to paint at all if you pick the right tone of flooring, countertop, and backsplash. I agree with others that unless you are an experienced and skilled painter, don't try to DIY. A pro painter should be able to do them quickly and with a much nicer finish by using a fine finish paint sprayer (not a brush).
You may consider getting a design consultation if you can find a good designer that regularly works with flippers. Or perhaps a consult with a stager. It should be under a couple hundred. Designers that are not familiar with or work with investors regularly will likely be less than worthless to you, though. Much like a realtor that doesn't work with and knows nothing about investors ...
Real Estate Investor · Dayton, OH · Member since 2017 · 107 posts · 51 votes
9y
Hey Vince I love those cabinets & color!!! I say keep them and design your kitchen based off of the existing cabinets. That will save a ton of money & time.
Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
PAINT!!! Get some fancy knobs and it will look gorgeous! We often buy the cheap unfinished cabinets and then just paint them-- look great and its' very cost efficient!
Investor · Oak Park, IL · Member since 2014 · 307 posts · 150 votes
9y
The kitchen with the black-painted cabinets look great, but is that because it says trendy, or are they inherently better looking than natural wood? I remember when natural wood was trendy and painted cabinets were considered dated.
Architect · Papillion, NE · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 840 votes
9y
I would keep them as is! They look nice unless they are damaged. I hate white but that's personal preference. Look at adding modern hardware to the doors.