How To Increase Your Home’s Value

Someday you’ll want to sell your home. This means that if you’re thinking of doing any remodeling, it’s a good idea to consider what your project would or wouldn’t do to increase your home’s value.

Replace old windows

One of the best things you can do to increase the value of your home is to replace old windows. New windows will not only add to the aesthetics of your house, they are the easiest way to cut your cooling and heating costs. If you replace your windows with ones made of wood or vinyl, you will reduce your utility bills and should get almost a 77% (wood) or 80% (vinyl) return on your investment.

Update your bathroom

If you decide to do a complete bathroom remodel, which could include tearing out walls, repairing wall studs and joists and changing the layout such as switching a shower and a toilet, you may have to spend more than $50,000. However, you should be able to get back nearly 71% of these costs when you sell your house.

Remodel your kitchen

Remodeling a kitchen is typically the most expensive and time-consuming job you can have done. But it also has one of the best ROIs. In fact, you can expect to get an ROI of nearly 71% – even if you spend as much as $100,000 to do a complete update.

Add a deck

If you can’t afford to have a composite deck added to your home, you might be able to afford one made from wood. A wooden deck will probably cost around $10,000 but should add more than $8,600 to the value of your home–which is an 81.8% return on investment.

Replace the siding

Your best bet to increase the value of your home if you decide to replace its siding is to use fiber-cement or foam-banked vinyl. However, vinyl siding replacement can still be a good choice. In fact, you should be able to recoup almost 81% of its cost, which means that if the siding cost $10,000, it will probably add about $8,200 to the value of your home.

Basement remodel

Do you have a good, dry basement? If so, you should think about remodeling it to squeeze all the value out of it that you can. If you remodel or finish a previously unfinished basement, you should get nearly 73% of your investment back in terms of your list price when it comes time to sell your home.

Add a bedroom in your attic

Any time that you can add a bedroom to your house you will add to its overall value and its selling price. If you have an attic large enough to convert into a bedroom, you might want to do so. You’ll not only get more sleeping space, you should enjoy a nice 74% return when you put your house on the market.

A minor kitchen remodel

Finally, you might do a minor kitchen improvement rather than a major updating. This can not only be a frugal choice, it can be financially wise as well. A major kitchen remodel can return a nice 70% ROI, while, believe it or not, a minor kitchen remodeling can mean an even higher ROI of 79.5%.

If you can get the necessary credit

If you have enough in savings or can get credit at a reasonable interest rate, it’s worthwhile to consider those home improvement projects that will yield the best ROI for your money and time. Of course, you will want to make sure to work with a licensed and reputable contractor and get detailed bids upfront. This can help avoid costly budget overruns. Also, be sure to check with your county assessor to see if the project would increase your property tax bill dramatically.