The Edinburgh housing market is saturated with high prices and competitive buyers.
Among those hoping to sell, many consider renovating their home in a bid to add value.
The kitchen is an important element of any property when selling and advertising. A good kitchen can it add value and, in turn, help sell a home more quickly.
READ MORE: Stunning traditional, three bedroom flat hits the market in The Grange
A group of leading UK real estate experts, however, have warned that, depending on what changes someone chooses to make to a kitchen, it could devalue the home and put prospective buyers off.
Here's our rundown of top kitchen tips from the experts who know best;
Poor lighting and cluttered surfaces can devalue your property
Daniel Copley, consumer spokesperson at Zoopla said: “As the focal point for many households, it's important to ensure that, where possible, your kitchen is not devaluing your property with features like poor lighting, broken cupboards and cluttered surfaces all having the potential to make your home harder to sell.
"The devil can also be in the detail, and small superficial issues like dirty walls, mouldy sealant and limescale build up on kitchen fittings can also devalue your home and make it harder to sell, although the positive is that these issues can often have quick fixes."
Stay away from poorly fitted kitchens
Old fashioned and poorly-fitted kitchens can be a turn off to prospective buyers.
John Wetherell, regional managing director for Your Move and Reeds Rains warns that colours, style and fitting is something to be considered.
He said: “Some buyers factor in the cost of a new kitchen when considering buying a property with old fashioned, shabby or perhaps brightly coloured kitchens often being a ‘turn off’ - as well as poorly fitted or mismatched units.”
A kitchen island that is too big can be an issue
Foxtons’ South Kensington sales manager, Robert Swann, said: “There are a few things that can put buyers off when viewing your home.
"These include cheap or thin plastic worktops, electric hotplates, coloured or patterned tiles as a splash-back and a big island.
"A big island is fine, but if it takes up too much space, it can be an issue.”
A kitchen with strong colours can lead to a slower sale
Finally, Foxtons’ Guildford sales manager, Christian Dickson, explained how to increase the pool of people who would want to buy your house - kitchen and all.
He warned colours are often a personal choice and something to carefully consider.
Christian said: “If you add a kitchen with strong colours, that is very much a personal choice but less likely to appeal to the majority, so you could decrease the market of people that are likely to offer on your house and a smaller pool of candidates can lead to a slower sale and lower price.
"Sticking to colour schemes which are popular should avoid the situation where applicants say, “sorry, but I don’t like the kitchen and I wouldn’t be willing to put in a new one, so I won’t be offering” or where a buyer says “I’ll pay less because I have to change the kitchen.”
Following these tope tips should hopefully create a kitchen that won’t only attract buyers when the time comes to sell, but create one that any current owner would love to spend time in.
