The Big Question
When contemplating a remodel, it is common for homeowners to ask themselves “How much will this improvement add to my homes value?”
Often times it doesn’t add as much value as the project actually costs and certain renovations will offer more bang for your buck than others. Here are a few examples of improvement ideas that do result in a higher payoff when adding value to a home.
A Kitchen Upgrade
If you have an apparently dated kitchen and are selling your home, it might be advantageous to do a remodel. Potential buyers may look at your current kitchen and think it’ll cost approximately $30-$40k to modernize it and redo the look of the room. When in reality, the average cost of a modest kitchen remodel – including cabinet refinishing, countertops, sink, faucets, appliances, paint & hardware, is closer to $21k. Cost effective homeowners can usually do it for less than what the buyer assumes. Assumptive buyers often overestimate the cost of an update. Point being, that kitchens are very important when selling your home. They yield a higher return on investment than even bathroom upgrades.
Current Home Improvement Trends
Before 2008, when the real estate market crashed, additions were among the most popular remodeling projects, and the preferred remodeling choices were family rooms, kitchens, and master bedroom suites. However, nowadays home equity lines of credit have pretty much dried up and it seems easier to just get a mortgage and just buy a bigger house! So, homeowners are now tackling smaller home improvement projects like replacing outdated and inefficient windows, siding, and insulation. People then stay in their homes making money saving changes like installing new energy-efficient heating and air conditioning systems and appliances.
Existing Structure Renovations
Renovations that don’t require you to add-on or build an addition, especially without having to expand the foundation or roof, will often have a bigger ROI than if you build extra rooms onto your house. Also, since there is no reason to change the roof line or expand the foundation these types of renovations are often much cheaper. Projects like converting an attic or a basement are great examples of this idea. Transforming these often under-utilized spaces into more useable areas is both a popular and a profitable improvement option. Another great idea would be to wall off a hall bathroom to make a bedroom suite. This type of project doesn’t require any additions to the house and can easily be tackled by the casual handyman.
Inexpensive and Less Common Changes
A relatively easy and fairly inexpensive option to consider is replacing your sliding glass doors with more decorative French doors that will open to the backyard. This can make the room seem more open and your home just feels more spacious. This concept will work on any sliding door that leads to the backyard, living room, family room or kitchen.
Another easy home improvement option is replacing your front door. Year after year, this is the top-ranking home improvement! The most important thing to remember when planning this project is, it must be the RIGHT door. Another school of thought is that painting your existing front door sometimes offers the same payoff as replacing it. Be sure you choose the correct paint and a color that gives you the look you’re going for.
In general, painting is a great idea for an inexpensive home improvement. Fresh color on the walls and trim can breathe new life into any room. Painting is relatively inexpensive, whether it’s DIY or you hire someone to do the job. Check with a local painting company for products, materials and ideas. Most DIY’ers get excited and want to dive right into the painting project, but it’s extremely important to make sure prep work is done right…NO SHORTCUTS. Masking off and covering areas that aren’t being painted is a tedious task but well worth it in the end.