Home Improvement Projects That Pay

by Mandi on January 27, 2011

source: Lauren

Owning a home is expensive, in more ways than one, and often the home improvement projects that we want to do aren’t the same ones that pay off in equity. I was a licensed real estate agent in the metropolitan D.C. area in the early 2000s, and we had to break the news to a lot of people that their $20,000 swimming pool didn’t really increase the value of their home by nearly that much (although they were a lot more likely to recoup that money at the height of the housing bubble than they are now).

However, there are plenty of projects you can do — for budgets of all sizes — that will increase the value of your home. It’s important to note that very few projects yield a 100% return on investment. However, these updates improve the livability of your home, the appeal to potential buyers and the value enough to make them,worth considering:

1. Bathroom Remodel.

Updating your bathrooms is one of the best ways to increase the value of your home. For smaller budgets, start by replacing fixtures. You can also replace builder-grade vanities with nicer versions and refinish or replace older tubs and shower stalls to instantly make the room feel fresher!

2. Kitchen Remodel.

The kitchen is the heart of most homes, and upgrading appliances, counter tops and cabinets is a great way to upgrade the value of your home. Major kitchen projects include knocking out walls to create an open floor plan and adding an island to increase counter space.

3. Paint.

Painting the walls of your home is probably the simplest way to increase the value. Older paint — especially in homes with small children — can be dingy or dirty, and fresh paint makes everything feel cleaner and newer. For resale purposes, be sure to choose neutral colors that match any decor, although that doesn’t necessarily mean they need to be white (try to avoid swine pink, though).

4. Flooring.

Replace linoleum and vinyl flooring with ceramic tile or laminate flooring to instantly improve the value of your home. Again, be sure to choose styles and colors that have broad appeal if you’re planning to sell!

5. Curb Appeal.

Improve the curb appeal of your home by painting the trim around doors and windows, keeping the lawn well manicured, pulling weeds and adding landscaping in the front. Be sure to fix or replace cracked stepping stones and sidewalks. For older homes (and larger budgets) consider replacing the siding or repainting the exterior as well.

6. Outdoor Living Space.

Decks and outdoor living spaces increase the value of most homes. If you have a deck, powerwash and reseal it to keep it looking new. If you don’t have one, you may want to add a deck or patio.

7. Finished Basement.

Finally, finished basements can increase the value of your home, although it may not increase it dollar for dollar if you hire a professional crew to do it for you. However, the additional square footage and living space will definitely increase the appeal of your home for buyers, which means it will likely sell faster and for more than it would otherwise.

Of course, increasing the value of your home isn’t the only reason for tackling house projects. Because it is your home, you should also consider your enjoyment of the space, especially if you plan to stay in your house for a while!

What house projects are on your to-do list? Do you consider the long-term value of house projects before you begin?

http://talesofamommymonster.blogspot.com/ Sheena

Just curious – what are your thoughts on new windows? We just replaced the original windows in our house last week, and I’m hoping we can recoup our money when the time comes to sell.

Anonymous

Hi Sheena! From what I understand, windows definitely increase the value of
older homes with poorly insulated windows. I think you’ll also save money
over time because they’re more efficient in both hot and cold temperatures.
Sounds like a good investment to me!

Anonymous

We have done some major remodeling on our home in the past, tearing out walls, etc. We refinished our kitchen cabinets at the time, giving them a distressed look, but now they are just looking worn. Some doors are starting to sag and one drawer is messed up badly. One day, we want to sell this place, and the fact of the matter is we will need to redo the cabinets before that time comes. Now if I can just convice hubby to do so sooner rather than later so I can enjoy the new cabinets myself!
Bernice

Anonymous

Such a good point! Each time we’ve moved, we’ve done work just to sell our
home, and I’ve ALWAYS regretted that we didn’t do it sooner!

http://www.moldremediationremoval.com Mold Removal

This is an impressive entry. Thank you very much for the outstanding post provided!
Rebecca

Oh my goodness, this is brilliant. So true. I’ll be doing fine until I have to feed my daughter (nursing) and then its like my whole day is shot. I don’t really have an alternative at this point, but I just have to force myself to get up and back to work when she’s done eating.

Angie

Enjoy your time nursing your child!! Don’t let your to-do list rob you of these precious moments. These are some of my best memories. The dishes can always get done, but your baby will be 11 years old in a blink of an eye. Enjoy it, spend time with her, hold her, love her, kiss her. There is nothing more important than this.

angie

What? Are you kidding me???!!!! Don’t sit down?? I make it a point to sit down every day. I can be up from 6 am to 10 pm doing laundry, cooking dinner, picking up toys, vacuuming, walking the dog, exercising, playing with the kids, breaking up a toddler fight, kissing a boo boo,…. The list goes on and on!! I look forward to those times in the day when I can relax, read a book, pray, look at a magazine, read a cookbook, connect with a friend, complete my devotional, catch up with a friend on facebook. And you’re telling me to NOT sit down?? Moms expect way too much from each other. We can give birth to six children & still do all the laundry, make delicious meals, have a clean house & beautiful children. It’s really okay to sit down. Especially if you’re a mother giving birth to your sixth child. We cannot expect perfection. We can only do our best & if we are exhausted, we cannot do our best. Give me a break— sitting down!!! Please!!!!!!!!

http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

I think you misread the point of this post. The point was not to *never* sit
down. It was that if you struggle with motivation, don’t sit down in the
middle of trying to get things done, or it’s harder to get back up. If you
read through the archives, I talk about taking time for yourself, to
recharge, etc., all of the time. There’s a big difference between
intentionally taking time for those things and getting sucked into a black
hole of lazyness because you can’t find the motivation to get back up and do
the things that need to be done! It doesn’t sound like you know what that’s
like, but I do, and not sitting down is the key for me.

Anonymous

Mandia, this is terrific advice for high-energy days. But for me personally, I find that putting my feet up for a few minutes on normal-energy days really recharges my batteries and helps me find the momentum to keep going. When I don’t take the time to enjoy a hot cup of coffee or surf the web mindlessly for even a few minutes, I end my day feeling very burned out. (Today was a day when I had not a minute to myself — home with three little ones and my husband was on a business trip. I can’t tell you how much I am enjoying sitting here on my couch at 10:30 pm with my feet up for the first time all day.)
Michelle

I completely agree with this post! I have much more energy and motivation if I keep moving than if I take a break. Especially if I work out and come home and do housecleaning, etc, I have tons of energy. BUT if I stop and take a break, it’s SO hard to get back up and going again.
http://www.farfromflawlesslife.blogspot.com Missy June

Oh please, please – Mommy’s we work so hard, do sit and let yourself rest…just give yourself a “time limit” and don’t stay that way. But more than saying “Don’t Sit,” I think Mommy’s need to hear, “It’s okay, sit down, write, read, cuddle – ” We guilt ourselves enough already!
http://livingthebalancedlife.com Bernice Wood

Yes, especially if you are working on a project where you need the momentum and don’t want to lose it, keep on going! Tell yourself when you get to *this point* you will take a break, but push yourself to keep going to get there!
This becomes my problem with decluttering or organizing an area, I will lose steam mid-project and then I just have a bigger mess than before!
Great tip Mandi, when used in the proper context!
Bernice
Speeding through Life
http://livingthebalancedlife.com Bernice Wood

I know this is just one thing, but I remember when I was working 80+ hours a week. We used styrofoam plates and cups. The last thing on my mind was washing dishes or filling landfills. And my daughter, she has 6 kids and runs a business and goes to school. She uses styrofoam a lot as well. Sometimes you just have to do what you can do.
Now that I am no longer working, no styrofoam AND I do my best to reduce and recycle as much as possible!
Thanks for sharing this Mandi, as sometimes many of us probably feel guilty for what we are or are not doing!
Bernice
Does having less stuff make life easier?
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_VPPRZLQ4T32OQV5D726OZNVGBU LizBK

This made me smile today, so thank you. As a working parent and sometime perfectionist, it’s easy to add things to the ‘to-do’ list, and not so easy to follow through. Thanks for the validation and encouragement.
http://www.facebook.com/mindiesther Mindi Anderson

I always opt for e-bills and e-statements, if possible. I also consolidated my accounts to eliminate unnecessary clutter from both my desk and my file folders. Keeping it simple is key.
http://www.asianefficiency.com/ AE Thanh

I’m all for storing your financial documents in digital form. Like mentioned in the article, go for online statements first.

Then scan all documents and store them somewhere save, preferably you have a local copy and a digital copy. For online storage Dropbox is a great solution.

You can go a step further and store them in Evernote. What’s great about that is that you can search within your statements with Evernote, because Evernote supports OCR scanning. So it can read PDF and image files and search for text.
Babyfrogtoes

I use my banks “Bill Pay” option to pay many of my bills. It can send a regular check to anyone and I don’t even pay for a stamp! I find it very easy to use for one time accounts like medical bills.
http://tinyurl.com/3z492qc Cheryl

I’ve become a huge user of Microsoft OneNote. It’s become a great way for me to keep track of my bills and also I can scan in any financial document and put it into my ”book”. I have my book set into catagories and it’s easy to find what I’m looking for. A real lifesaver!!

http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

I’ve used OneNote in the past as well, although I have NOT used it for
scanning documents — that does sound like a really good system!

http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

I especially love that you’re reviewing your goals from time to time — I
really think that’s the main problem with resolutions. So often we set it
and forget it, which doesn’t do any good.
http://livingthebalancedlife.com Bernice Wood

Thanks Ivonne for sharing it! Glad it was thought provoking!
Bernice
http://livingthebalancedlife.com Bernice Wood

Thanks LBDDiaries! Always feels good to succeed rather than fail, at least some of the time!
Bernice
http://yourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

Yep, that’s exactly what I meant!

How is your “Facebook fast” going so far?
Amy

I gave up Facebook because it was never for just a minute. I let myself sit there sucked into FB for hours and hours daily. Since giving it up I’ve done so much more reading and playing wtih the children. I still haven’t done much cleaning but playing with the kids and reading are more important to me.
http://lifeyourway.net Mandi @ Life Your Way

Isn’t it funny how that works? Sometimes it frustrates me that I can’t just take a break and get back up, but knowing it about myself helps me stay motivated to get more done before I sit down!