Most homeowners renovate so that they can take advantage of the immediate benefits: namely, living in a nicer home. You want to be proud of your living space, to move around it comfortably knowing that everything looks great and works well. But there’s nothing wrong with looking further ahead.
Renovating to add value is a completely valid reason to hire a general contractor – despite the immediate advantage of living in a nicer space, you want to see some return on investment as well. Unfortunately, in this regard, not all renovations are created equal. Some renovations offer a better return than others, and knowing what those are can make you a savvier renovator.
By no means an exhaustive list, the following four renovations rank among the best for ROI.
Bathroom Renovations
According to Remax, the top real estate franchise in North America, the conventional bathroom renovation is one of the best ways to upgrade your home, value-wise. With the help of a good bathroom contractor, your renovation can net you an average 62% return. The reason for this is that when walking through, prospective buyers pay close attention to the bathroom; a good bathroom can be a potent selling point, and, conversely, a poorly maintained one can put a buyer off quickly.
Siding Replacement
You might hear the term “curb appeal” thrown around in reference to house value. In essence, that refers to the attractiveness of your property as viewed from outside. It is, in other words, the real estate equivalent of making a good first impression. Because of this, siding replacement is considered one of the highest return renovations you can get. Depending on the materials chosen, it’s also a fairly inexpensive renovation.
Deck Renovation
A new deck, especially a wooden deck, ranks as one of the better value renovations. One estimate puts the cost recouped at 75.6 percent, certainly no slouch, especially for those planning to get some use out of the deck before they think about selling. For a less expensive renovation, you can also consider a fiberglass deck, which comes with the added benefit of being relatively low maintenance.
Kitchen
On a good kitchen renovation, you may stand to recoup the entirety of your investment. That’s how powerful a beautiful kitchen can be. A modernizing facelift, giving the kitchen up-to-date appliances, modern design elements and well-crafted cabinets, is not only going to make weekday dinners a whole lot nicer, but it will add major value as well.
If you are lost as to a starting point for your kitchen renovations, don’t fret; that’s exactly what a kitchen designer is for, and hiring one can ensure your new kitchen has a focused design and smart functionality.
Even if you’re years off the idea of selling your home, renovating is still a good idea. Especially with the above four renovations, you get a better, more attractive home without sinking your money into something that won’t pay off. As far as home ownership goes, that’s considered a win-win!