Things you can do to increase the value of your house

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Tue, Nov 10 2009 | 0 Comments

It is difficult to sell a house in normal times unless your house is “priced to sell.” With the recession and falling home prices, selling a home is an even more tedious and time consuming process.

There are little things that anyone can do to increase the value of their home to not only make the quality of life while you’re living there better, but also improve the appeal of your home to potential buyers.

More expensive projects:

1) Window Replacement – This is one of the things that will not only help you save on your utility bills, but you will also see a 77%-80% return on your investment depending on if you put vinyl or wood windows in (vinyl gets a better ROI).

2) Siding Replacement – With an 87% return on investment(on fiber-cement siding), this is a pretty good way to make your home seem more practical to potential buyers, and like putting new windows in, it will help save on your utility bills. Even when replacing your current siding with a foam backed vinyl siding you could still see up to an 80% return on your investment.

3) Major Kitchen Remodel - Remodeling a kitchen can cost a lot of money; typically with a major remodel homeowners can expect to pay up to and over $110,000. With a figure like that one must weigh how much the remodel will cost versus how much they can realistically get for their home. While some may be able to see a 71% ROI, if your home is only going to fetch $150,000 at the high end for your neighborhood, then spending over $100,000 for a kitchen probably isn’t feasible.

4) Bathroom Remodel – A bathroom remodel is another one of the things that will cost a lot depending on what all you want done to the room. Bathroom remodels often include tearing out walls and moving plumbing inside the house. This type of remodel can cost $50,000 or more, but if the neighborhood and other property values support it, it could return 71% of the cost.

A few more budget friendly suggestions:

1) The addition of a wood deck - While adding a wood deck versus a composite deck isn’t going to fetch the same ROI, it will increase the value of your home thanks to more people wanting to entertain in their own homes. Wood decks are cheaper than composite and “only” cost around $10,000. A wood deck can also fetch somewhere in the neighborhood of 81.8% return on investment.

2) Minor kitchen remodel – This is something that is far more economical and in some places, smarter. A minor kitchen remodel includes doing things such as replacing appliances and maybe counters. No walls would be torn out to do a minor remodel. Minor remodels are seeing a higher ROI than even major kitchen remodels right now at 79.5%.

3) Basement Remodel – That unfinished basement could become an entirely new set of bedrooms if you so chose. Finishing and remodeling an unfinished basement could net you a 73% ROI. Basements don’t have to be drab places either. I have family members who have a remodeled basement in their house and it is my favorite place in their whole house.

4) Attic room – Adding a bedroom will almost always increase the value of your home. Adding a bedroom in the attic could mean a 74% ROI. The only thing that I question about this (and perhaps it has to do with the attic in my own home), but if the attic is only accessible through a fold down ladder and a “trap door” then is it really possible to do this?

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Related posts:
How you can increase the value of your house in this market
Clean your house and save money at the same time
Save money on home repairs and improvement

Tags: bathroom remodel, siding replacement, return on investment