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ready2moves

Cabinets in garage

ready2moves
14 years ago

We are planing on putting our home on the market next year. We are working on decluttering and just getting rid of stuff now. And painting.

We have custom made cabinets in our garage, that we plan on taking with us.

We did have them in our previous home we sold, and stated then that they did not stay. No problem over 15 years ago.

We have everything from light bulbs to tools in them. And get into them quite often.

They are attached to the walls by screws only. The are not kitchen type cabinets or rubbermaid ones. There are 7 cabinets, on 3 different walls.

With the market being as such, and most likely staying next year, can we tell potential buyers they do not stay?

(We do have built in shelving that WILL be staying.)

With all the neutralizing, de-personalizing, and staging we will have to do, I wonder how to keep my home so we can actually LIVE still in it.

My question is how will keeping them in the garage and telling people we plan on taking them with us affect our selling the house?

Comments (11)

  • jrdown
    14 years ago

    In this market climate I would think that if you point out that the custom cabinets STAY with the house that will give you a step up on the competition. I know that you brought them from your last home and I sure understand you wanting to take them with you.

    We are planning on putting our home on the market either this year or next. My husband made cabinets in our garage that we store things in and we have already decided that they will stay with this house because most people don't have that and extra storage is a very good thing.

    Is there a way that you can make new cabinets in the next home you buy? I know it isn't the same but it could be a nice selling feature for your current home. Let me know what you think.

    Robyn

  • pamghatten
    14 years ago

    If you really want to take them with you. Take them down before you list the property and store them OFF the property. That guarantees they will not become a bargaining point.

    I did this many years ago with an awning. I removed it fromt he house, filled in the holes and stored it in the rafters int he garage where people never looked. I didn't want the awning to become a bargaining point.

  • Adella Bedella
    14 years ago

    I'd suggest taking them out also. If you want them, don't even let them be a part of the discussion.

    I had issue with curtains in the last house I sold. I had purchased nice, expensive thermal ones that I wanted to keep and I also had a set that matched the design of my master bedroom. The contract specified that window treatments be left. I had a quandry over whether that meant blinds and curtains or just blinds. I ended up switching out a few.

  • graywings123
    14 years ago

    I would put a clearly visible sign on the cabinets saying that the cabinets do not convey:

    Sorry, these garage cabinets do not convey.
    (Cabinets were hand crafted by owner's now deceased father.)

  • ready2moves
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    The Cabinets can NOT be made again, because the person who made them is not up to it.
    I'd gladly move them somewheres (the wheres the problem), and build ones to stay if it would help. wood's cheap.

    graywings, you are very close to the truth.

  • User
    14 years ago

    Don't dangle the carrot if you're hiding a stick. If something won't stay, then don't even put it into a potential buyer's mind that it's part of the deal. Remove it from the scene entirely. Rent a storage unit for all the things you're going to have to remove from the house and put those cabinets in there. Get some cheap garage cabinets or shelving from Harbor Freight if you need to store stuff and let those stay with the house.

  • phillipeh
    14 years ago

    We had some cabinets in our former garage. We had planned on leaving them (they were attached only with screws), but the buyer specifically asked for them. They were very easily and inexpensively replaced, so it was no problem. I would either place a note on them that they were not part of the sale (non-negotiable) or remove them prior to showing the home.

    If they will fit, you can rent a PODS or something similar for storage -- they deliver the container to your house, you put whatever you want in it, and they pick it up and store it. When you move, they will deliver it to your new home. We did that, and it worked very well.

  • sylviatexas1
    14 years ago

    You could just take them down & cover them with sheets.

  • graywings123
    14 years ago

    The advice about taking down and removing the cabinets would make sense in a hot market when you expect the house to sell in days. But if you are likely to be on the market for months, why inconvenience yourself? By the time buyers reach the garage, they have made up their minds; a few cabinets in the garage will make no difference whatsoever.

    If these were built-ins surrounding the living room fireplace, then it would be a different story.

  • lazy_gardens
    14 years ago

    Adellabedella . The contract specified that window treatments be left. I had a quandry over whether that meant blinds and curtains or just blinds. I ended up switching out a few.

    As a buyer, I would be extremely annoyed to discover that the window coverings I saw during the showing, that were specified in the contract as staying, were not there after closing.

  • ready2moves
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    I have two painted really wild colors. Did it more to amuse my kids and also for them to find things for me. All I would have to say is look in the Green one.
    I think I will paint the rest, maybe that will deter someone wanting them.

    They really don't look that good, but I have had several guys from the construction want to buy them from me.

    I also agree that by the time a buyer would get to the garage, they would have their mind made up if the house was for them or not.

    I have put in other shelves that will stay. And they look built in, very obvious. I would not take them out.