The real estate market is still in quite a slump, and more and more people have decided that instead of selling their homes right away and NOT getting the value they want, they will instead stay at the house and live there until the real estate market goes up a little more. In the meantime, many of these homeowners have decided to do renovations. The renovations are twofold. First off, they allow the homeowner, while they stay in the house, to live comfortably. Second off, when the homeowner does decide to sell, these valuable assets will add value to the home so that they can get the amount of money they really want. If you are curious about the BEST renovation options to increase your home value (and temporary comfort on your part) here are a few things to consider.
Bathroom Renovations
If you have a home with only one bathroom, or even two small ones, you can recoup your investment by adding another one or making the 2 smaller ones, bigger. Estimates can go from 80% to 130% of whatever you spend on the bathroom(s). One of the great things about bathrooms; adding an extra one or making the ones you have now bigger, is that you can find all sorts of unused potential spaces to do so. Some ideas: Look for closets that are not functional or not used, under the stairs, cubby holes, etc. These are all fantastic spaces that are being wasted! Another space: Pantries. Pantries are really useful but if you have one that is not, or its in an odd place, you could convert it to a nice bathroom! Just make sure you aren't tearing down spaces that are functional!
Remodelling the Kitchen
Many people consider the kitchen to be the heart of the home. It’s the place where you spend the most time, especially if you love to cook and entertain. This is the biggest reason why this part of the house could see a potential 60% to 120% recoup on your investment. But, remember, you don’t need to go overboard with this. Its important that you neutralize the space along with the rest of the house. For example, if you have a pretty good sized house, but you put all the money and space into the kitchen, and yet made the bedrooms, living rooms and bathrooms very small and plain, this is going to not only look out of place, but it’s also essentially wasted space. Instead, if you want to make a luxurious modern kitchen, that's fine, but it should also mesh well, with the rest of the house and its space therefore, while remodelling the kitchen, make sure to select right type of material even as small items like selecting backsplashes for the kitchen walls since they become permanent to the kitchen.
Deck Additions
Another great way to increase value of a home is to add on a deck. It doesn’t need to be incredibly big. But, it should allow the next owner to live comfortably outdoors, entertain, maybe add a grill, table, some chairs, a few plants, etc. The backyard has always been and always will be a place to relax, unwind and entertain. So this is without a doubt a definite option to consider for a renovation. People that add a deck on to their house will see an influx of 65% to 90% of a recoup on their investment. Also, decks tend to be pretty inexpensive, depending on the materials you use and how big it is, so this is a really nice benefit to you as well. A deck can usually cost $2,000 to $10,000. But, of course they can go up much higher if you really want to create an amazing outdoor space! The $2000 to $10000 is just a median price.
Basic Updates
A few basic updates to consider are things like a new roof if its leaky or needs new roof tiles, painting the entire house (a neutral color), replacing wood rot or getting a new siding for the house. The biggest reason for theneutralpaint is that it allows your potential home buyers to imagine the room how they want it to be and it depersonalizes it from "your" home to "their" home. Also, neutral colors are a great way to create a blank canvas so that they can picture their stuff in your rooms. You couldn't very well do that with bright red, neon green or black on the walls, could you? The great thing about these updates is that they can be done over time. If you do plan on selling, make sure that down the line you re-go over all these updates to make sure you have them re-updated, for example, the paint will probably need to be redone again before selling!