Remodeling – Will You Get Your Money Out of It?
May 07, 2012My husband pulled a “home makeover – bathroom addition” on me! Knowing I was traveling on business, my husband thought it would be the perfect time to put new floors in our bathrooms, kitchen and entry ways. Now, he is a smart man so he didn’t totally surprise me with new floors – we spent many hours choosing the perfect color together. He did schedule them to be installed when I was away.
He was the one who had to put up with the refrigerator being in the middle of the living room, the piles of wood all over the house, tile chipped away, the toilets off, and all the dust! When I left we had beat up looking linoleum and drab looking tile – very sad looking. When I came back, I walked in to a beautiful wooden entryway and stepped on freshly shampooed carpet as I took a tour of the place.
When we decided to put in wood floors, we did it for our enjoyment, knowing we’d be here for many years, and if we ever decided to rent this place out, the floors would help sell the coziness and warmth of the mountain condo. It’s kind of scary these days putting money into our homes when the housing market is so sluggish.
You can over improve your home. When real estate values were skyrocketing in the mid – 2000’s, you could easily do an entire bathroom remodel and get all of your money back when you sold. Today is very different. Before going into a remodeling project, make sure to go in with your eyes open. Check the numbers – how much you can recoup if you sell. According to remodeling magazine, I found that in the mountain states where I live, homeowners who did a bathroom remodel only recouped 62.2% of their investment when sold. That’s not much.
The best addition for the buck? Topping the list was a new entry way door! That was a surprise coming in at 73% replacement recouped. Of course it was a steel door – so I am thinking this could either be for security reasons or just making a great first impression. The first thing you see is the front entryway so when you think about it, it does make sense. Kind of a boring addition in my book.
The second best was adding an extra bedroom to your attic. Homeowners who did so recouped 72.5% of their money. This one totally makes sense. An extra room is very desirable in a tough economy – move Junior upstairs and your mother-in-law into the downstairs bedroom! Extra space is always important for a guest room or a growing family.
What remodeling decisions are the worst in terms of recouping the money? A home office remodel and a sun room addition recouped less than half of the money spent. Anything you do to your home that you see as unique and interesting may strike others as odd or difficult to adapt to. Be careful when putting money into something like a greenhouse, wine cellar or sauna – though each would be really wonderful to have at home. See remodeling magazine’s annual survey by clicking here.
Sadly, these days most people who make improvements to their homes won’t get back what they put in … at least until the real estate market comes back. Who knows when that will be? In the meantime, if you plan to stay in your home, making improvements that will improve the enjoyment and quality of your life might be worth it. A little sprucing up can certainly change the look and feel of your home – and lift your spirits.
And when they are done when you are out of town, even better!