Even if you plan on living in your home for many years to come, any time you think about renovations, the return on your investment should be at the top of your list of priorities. After all, no one really and truly knows what the future will bring! Children grow up and have their own children, and suddenly the house is too small during the holidays! Job layoffs and promotions are a fact of life, and selling your home quickly at a good profit is always something you want to be able to do! Home renovations with top ROI should be considered.
Contractors and architects alike advise that you always focus on basic home maintenance before you go and pick up countertop samples. For example, replacing the siding on a home gives close to a 93% return on that investment, while replacing roofs and windows can give you approximately an 80% ROI. The consensus is that a buyer will want to be able to assume that the basic systems in your home are solid: that the roof doesn’t leak and the HVAC will work well during the hotter and/or colder months of the year. Maintenance of the basic living conditions in a home can be extremely costly, and few home buyers will want to take that on right away.
The more luxurious items, such as steam showers and granite counters, will pay off, and bathroom and kitchen remodels continue to be two of the best investments that you can make in your home. These are the rooms that new home builders splurge on, so when a buyer is shopping, they are hoping to find those spaces in an older home as well.
As you consider home improvements and what you will want to do, always take the actual value of your home into account. You don’t want to spend ten or twenty thousand dollars for a futuristic kitchen with two refrigerators and the best oven/stove combo money can buy when your home is going to sell for $200,000. That doesn’t make any sense.
Here are the home improvements that will give you the biggest bang for your buck:
- A kitchen or bath remodel is a sure-fire investment. Often returning more than 100% of the initial costs, these are the areas in the home where a buyer can tell if money has been well-spent or not. They are the most expensive areas of the home in terms of construction and where people spend most of their waking hours in their homes. Lots of wood, walk-in showers, or adding a second bathroom to an older home are all good investment ideas.
- Basic home maintenance. The focus of every homeowner should be to keep the existing structure sound. If there are water leaks in the basement, it just doesn’t make sense to spend $20,000 on a kitchen remodel. The prospective buyer will be impressed, but only until they hit the basement stairs and notice the musty odor. Most buyers have a set budget for how much they can spend on a house, and if they know they will be facing expensive repairs before they even get to settle in, they’ll go elsewhere.
- Maintain stellar curb appeal. This is one of those facts that you hear so often it can get overlooked, but it’s true, nevertheless. If your home doesn’t look good from the street, most buyers will not come to the door. Flowers, paint, lighting – all these items matter. This area is also one of the least expensive ways to make your home attractive to buyers, which is why we highlighted here on our list of home renovations with top ROI.
- Create more space. Adding a room or two or even more can be a really good investment, especially if you live in a hot housing market. Whether it’s a sunroom or an extra bedroom or even a home theater, this can be very enticing. Space for another baby or aging parents, or a playroom for the dogs; people love to spread out and enjoy life. And then there are those who are in the short-term rental business, if your area allows that. These folks will want another room with a bath so that they have a great offering for their guests. According to market studies, every 1,000 added square feet of space will boost the sale price of a home more than 30 percent!
Call us here at Ascension General Contractors if you are ready to start renovating or adding space to your home! We are here to help you tackle home renovations with top ROI. You can reach us by phone at (615) 750 2345, or visit our website: Ascension General Contractors
