Thinking of remodeling or renovating? Make sure you do not ‘improve’ your home out of the neighborhood. It is okay to do this if you want to stay living in it, but if you are making improvements to sell your home at a higher value – beware!
Realtors accept that there is a ceiling in realty prices, no matter which location you live in. The catch-phrase ‘location, location, location’ is not just for fun; every location has a ‘bottom price and a top price’. If you live in a top location area – the sky is the limit – but sadly most of us do not!
If you are living in a lower price area and put in a swimming pool and an outdoor kitchen before you list your house, it will most certainly bring the buyers to your home. It will no doubt bring in offers for your home and all this is good news.
However, while you will be able to sell at the top neighborhood price, the sale price may not reflect the total cost of your improvements.
In order to avoid this error of judgment, ask an expert in the field of neighborhood prices – your local realtor! He or she will be happy to come and advise you on which specific improvements may potentially add value to your specific home in your specific neighborhood.
This is the type of advice that you want if you are improving solely to make money. Many home improvements have been ‘analyzed’ to see which ones give the best returns on their initial outlay.
For instance, in the ‘Money Magazine’ they recommend adding a quality deck to bulk up the potential square footage of your property. It should be no larger than the one third the size of your home.
A deck can be transformed into a luxury class fairly inexpensively – outdoor lighting around the deck area, waterproof speakers and an entry via French doors will help. If you use ‘cute’ strings of outdoor lighting and decorate with potted trees, the deck will have an appealing ambiance.
A report from HomeGain.com suggests that the outlay for updating a kitchen can add double of the initial cost of the improvement to the value of your home. If you have a closet that you can turn into a pantry – go for it!
The pantry is a sought after feature in a kitchen at the moment. Islands are another wished-for feature, although preferably with a secondary function such as a sink or breakfast bar stools.
Once again, keep a ceiling on your prices. If your neighborhood is for the average family, it is not worth investing thousands of dollars in top of the line appliances if this will price your home out of the local market. The report suggests that looks and newness are the most important factors.
