Need advice...Paint golden oak trim white or leave it?

[Jason M.]

I'm working on a small town home flip in Cottage Grove, MN. Purchase price $110k, rehab budget $12k, ARV $145-$149. I have been debating what to do with the golden oak trim and cabinets. I was planning to paint everything white but then I had unexpected plumbing and sheet rock repairs that cost $2k. I'm now in a situation where I'm trying to cut costs if possible to maximize profit. The oak trim is not in terrible shape and I can probably fix, replace and repair what's there for about $300 versus $2000 to paint. I installed a laminate floor that I have used in several small flips and it looks great with white trim and gray walls. I'm not thrilled with the way it looks with the oak as the oak looks orange. My question is...in this price point does it really matter or if I spend the money to paint it? would it be worth it? If this was a rental (my plan b) I'd probably just leave it. I've done several similar rehabs that I rented just fine. Looking for someone who rehabs in Minnesota or the twin cities to chime in. My gut was saying to leave it alone but after installing the floor I'm not sure.

[Kuba F.]

@Jason M. You have a picture? Kitchen is what sells, so it might be that your property is going to sit on market that much longer (though I don't know your market) and the difference in price no longer matters.  $2000 to paint seems steep for cabinets though.  I would think closer to $500.  How much trim are we talking about?

[Lucy Iburg]

I had the same situation in lakeville and my realtor told me not to do it.

I did it anyways because it looks nicer and it will sell quicker

People now want modern and the orange trim makes it look dirty

[Jason M.]

it's 1250 sqft.  The $2k was for painting trim doors and cabinets 

[Jason M.]

[Samantha Klein]

@Jason M. I would paint them white, it's a timeless look and many people love it. If you're handy, you can paint the doors and trim yourself, I would still hire out the cabinets.

[Aaron Abraham]

Paint

[Kuba F.]

Seems pretty much like consensus.  While you're at it I'd do something with the chandelier, the seventies called, and they want it back :)

[Paige Rockaway]

Hey Jason,

I think white cabinets would make it flow - and it's the trendy thing. I would check Zillow in your area and look at pictures of what people are selling around your price point that are rehabbed. Like Samantha said, you can always paint the doors and trim yourself - I would definitely hire someone to paint the cabinets. 

Good luck! I love the flooring and the gray you chose looks really nice! 

[Dan B.]

I would think twice about putting that money in to this project. Cottage Grove is not Edina or Uptown. Think about your audience and what they are looking for and willing to pay for. I would say that you should get at least 2x return in the sale cost for doing it ($1700*2)

Do a quick search of what else is around on the market right now. Hopefully you have been watching what has come and gone in your neighborhood over the last 6 months or so, but you can at least check out what's pending, etc. Unfortunately it's January, but if you are going to be listing in March I wouldn't bother. I just sold a SFR last spring with golden oak in the north metro, we got top dollar in less than 2 weeks. It's not the newest trend but it still looks fine and you're selling a townhome (ie starter home), not a high end $1M flip. I am personally not a fan of painting trim - it can look great but depending on the previous finish it can be a mess. Cabinets are more expensive, but it's often easier, cheaper, and definitely better quality to just replace trim. I just did this in one of my rental units and cost was minimal.

Whatever you decide, remember your audience and consider what is important to them.

[John Mathewson]

@Jason M. I would def pain them. Golden Oak is just so dated right now, painting think is a simple thing that an really update the space. Rental I could see just leaving it but trying to sell I would def paint it. 

[Andy N.]

Jason M. I'd def. paint! The floors look awesome! What product and color is that?

[Edmund Chiang]

Definitely paint the trim white!! It makes the room look modern and also makes the wall color pop!!

[Jason M.]

Thanks everyone for the responses.  I will paint the trim

and doors white.   Any thoughts on the stair case hand rail color?

[Jason M.]

@Dan B. thanks for your response as it's exactly what I was asking...does spending the money make sense at this price point in this area.   I wanted some reassurance, which is why I posted the question.   Now the problem is most think I should paint but you answered my question perfectly.  Does white look better and more modern, yes of course.  Does spending the money on this peticular property make sense?   I have been watching the market and most all the comps in the area, specifically this development, have golden oak.   I'm not convinced spending the money to paint it will result in a higher price or quicker sale...but it might.   What are your thoughts on painting just the base and casing in the lower level and leaving the upstairs trim and kitchen cabinets oak?  

[Jason M.]

@Kuba F. thanks for the response.  The light fixtures will be replaced, that's the last thing I do!  Haha

[Jason M.]

@Andy N. it's from Home Depot.  Traffic master lakeshore pecan.  $.79/ft.  My wife and I use it on rentals and lower price point flips 

[Sarah D.]

@Jason M. are you doing the painting yourself or hiring it out?  

We just painting the same color trim white in s rental; cost was $50 materials and my time. Looks way better, but if I had to hire it out I might have thought twice. Also, we did it before flooring went down so I didn't have to be particularly careful, which always factors into my painting decisions. 

[Todd Solberg]

I agree, white on all. You could dark stain the hand rail to set it off a bit.  Holding costs are real costs. If you can move it two weeks earlier by white paint it can be a huge difference. You may want to bake white paint cost into each home considering the popularity. If you decide not to paint you add to your buffer on something else. Good luck!

[Jason M.]

Sarah Dumm I was originally planning on hiring it out which was in my budget before I had some unexpected repairs. This why I was struggling with spending the money on it now. I may just have to do it myself. Thanks

[Joe Splitrock]

@Jason M. I agree with the idea to paint it white. I like your choice on the paint and floors. Would you mind sharing with me the wall color / brand of paint and the flooring type / brand. Feel free to PM it to me if you don't want to make it public.

[Jason M.]

The walls are Requisite gray from Sherwin Williams. The floors are laminate from Home Depot...traffic master Lakeshore Pecan

[Justin Fox]

It's a shame you waited until after the floors as you could have sprayed.  I would hand paint the trim and spray the cabinets/doors.  Oil base all the way, latex doesn't hold up on cabinetry/trim.  Also, you don't want to be THAT flipper.  A painter is going to charge you ~500/coat on the cabinets.  So 500 for the primer and 1000 for the paint.  

Harbor freight sprayer has sprayed two new constructions now and my kitchen was like $200.  You can also buy a product to put in the oil base paint to thin it and make it easier to work with a brush.  A 211 tip will run you ~$40.

I do agree with @Dan B. though, are you sure that not painting the trim and cabinets will affect your selling price significantly?

[John Weidner]

Golden Oak is the worst BUT I don't like then the stair handrails are painted white either.   Banisters yes but not the actual handrail.   Might be quicker to replace the newel posts and rail than try and sand it out.   Other option would be to paint the newel posts while and the handrail do a quick sand on so you can restain to match the floor. 

Cabinets yes I would paint. 

[Dan B.]

@Jason M. If most comps in the area have Golden oak still then you could go either way in my opinion. White will be better long term and should definitely give you an edge, but you still 

Painting the trim but leaving the cabinets looks decent in my opinion, some are saying that is going to be the new look but I'm not a designer. I did just have one of my rental units redone this way because the trim needed replacing but the doors were solid. It's a darker stain on the doors though. Turned out pretty good. I'm not sure that I would try that with Golden Oak though. You could try to just darken up the cabinets and do white trim - that would probably be easier and cheaper than doing all white.

By the way, the house we sold (built 2001, golden oak throughout, sold for $265k in Lino) was our residence so the 2 weeks was no problem for us. If we would have dropped the price by $10k we would probably have sold it the first weekend.

Best of luck

[Brittany Kuschel]

@Jason M., I don't know much about the Cottage Grove market, but I am a licensed agent in Duluth, MN.  If it were a local property and an investor client asked me about this, I would not recommend spending the extra money to repaint the trim and cabinets at this price point unless they were in poor shape.  

One cheaper/quicker option to update the kitchen instead of paint might be to use a gel stain on the cabinets to give them a darker, more contemporary look.  General Finishes is the brand I would use.  If you choose your color wisely, it might even tie very nicely with the new floors.