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Home Improvement Tips & Advice

How Does Adding a Sunroom Boost Home Values?

June 7, 2007

A three or four-season sunroom can be an excellent way to add living space and improve the energy efficiency of your home.

Getting the Best Bang Out of Your Remodeling Project

May 31, 2007

Spending money doesn't necessarily add money. When adding value to your home, start with a well-defined plan.

Kitchen Remodels: Increasing Your Home's Value While on a Budget

April 19, 2007

Pride of home ownership means, for most of us, a stylish well-kept house. Unfortunately, one of the first rooms to become outdated, and one of the most expensive to remodel, is our kitchens. What can you do to remodel your kitchen when on a budget?

Increase your home value with improvements

We give you some ideas to help boost your value of your house

For those homeowners whose property is "under improved" for their neighborhood, more substantial work may be warranted to bring the property up to the level of the surrounding homes. Although many homeowners are reluctant to tackle such projects, upgrading can be the key to realizing your home's potential.

Be careful not to push your home above the value of the neighborhood. It is rare that a house sells for more than 15% above the neighborhood median, regardless of the extent of the improvements. The following is a listing of common improvements and their typical return on investment for a 25 year-old three bedroom 1.5 bath cape.

The estimates are based on Practical Homeowner's How to Increase Your Home's Value. They are intended to be general guidelines. Each situation is unique.

Beyond the return financially, you should consider whether it is worth the aggravation and/or whether you intend to stay long enough to enjoy the improvements yourself. Please feel free to call me if you would like my input.

Interior Surfaces

New paint, carpeting and vinyl flooring for the kitchen and bath.
Professional job: 90% Return
Do-it-yourself: 150% Return

Bathroom Renovation

New fixtures and flooring for 7x8 foot bathroom
Professional job: 75% Return
Do-it-yourself: 200% Return

Kitchen Renovation

New cabinets, appliances, countertops and flooring
Professional job: 70% Return
Do-it-yourself: 150% Return

Fireplace Addition

Pre-fab unit with hearth, mantel and chimney top
Professional job: 70% Return
Do-it-yourself: Not recommended

Deck Addition

Footings, pressure treated lumber, stairs and handrails for a 224 square foot deck
Professional job: 65% Return
Do-it-yourself: 200% Return

Exterior Repainting

Scraping loose paint and painting trim and siding with one coat of paint
Professional job: 60% Return
Do-it-yourself: 1000% Return Attic Conversion
Two rooms, two closets, two windows, four doors, wiring, insulation, drywall and flooring for 16x36 foot attic
Professional job: 50% Return
Do-it-yourself: 90% Return

Wood Siding

1500 square feet of six-inch cedar siding
Professional job: 30% Return
Do-it-yourself: 90% Return

Basement Conversion

Suspended ceiling and paneling
Professional job: 30% Return
Do-it-yourself: 70% Return

In-Ground Pool

16 x32 foot plastic-lined pool with sidewalk and grading
Professional job: 35% Return
Do-it-yourself: Not recommended

Major home improvements should be carefully considered in relationship to the surrounding neighborhood. Unless your home is the exception to the rule, moderation is the key to gaining a return on your home improvement dollars.

Today's Featured Home Improvement Article

Choosing Home Improvement Projects to Maximize Home Value

By Karen Lawson
Home Worth Columnist

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No matter how much you loved your home when you bought it years ago, chances are you want to make changes now. Adding or expanding rooms, installing amenities like state-of-the-art appliances, countertops, and cabinets in the kitchen, and putting spa tubs in your bathrooms can enhance your enjoyment of your home and add value. How do you know which improvements are good choices for increasing the worth of your home? By choosing high-value improvements, selecting an expert contractor, and shopping for the best deal in financing.

Home Improvement: Choose Projects that Add Value
Real estate professionals can offer tips about home features popular among potential buyers in your area. Some additions add more value in different locations. For example, building a deck in a temperate climate like Hawaii or Southern California is a good bet. Dwellers in cities like San Francisco prefer family room additions, and these investments have generally returned more than their cost--approximately 140% in fact. If you're selling your home, it's smart to choose improvements designed to please potential buyers. If you're not selling soon, you need only please yourself. Or strike a balance between projects tailored to your preferences and those desired by potential buyers to add home value.

Getting Help with Home Value Estimates
The best way to ensure that an improvement truly adds value is to choose a contractor who will deliver quality work and do it on time. Get references (a trusted real estate agent is a good source), check with your state's contractor licensing board, and inspect other work the builders have performed. Get several estimates and spend some time speaking to each contractor. Builders are running out of work in many locations due to soft real estate markets. Now could be a great time to get high quality work and save money too.

Home Value and Financing Options
Once you know what your project is going to cost and how long it will take, check into financing. A home equity line of credit (HELOC) can be a great option once you've determined how much you'll need to spend. You can draw against home equity to pay for supplies and labor as needed. Although a HELOC may work like a checking account, it increases the mortgage lien against your home each time you use it. Knowing your current home value, how much home equity you have available to pay for improvements, and getting an estimate of your home value when remodeling is completed can help you plan successful home improvement projects.

About the Author
Karen Lawson is a freelance writer with extensive experience in mortgage banking. She holds BA and MA degrees in English from the University of Nevada, Reno.

Home Improvement Library

Visit Our Featured Home Value Resources

What is my home worth is something we all ask before selling or getting ready to refinance a mortgage. If you are here simply to find out the current house values of your property, then be sure to visit this page that will give you the current values in your neighborhood. If you're not ready to search for a comparative market analysis or look for house appraisals in person, you can receive a free home value report online by filling out our simple online form that will give you an estimate on the worth of your property.

We'll try to provide as much helpful info as we can before you decide to refinance your house, with so many choices it can be hard. Many home owners search online for information to refinance a mortgage but don't know where to start, or who to ask. We can also provide you with a way to refinance your mortgage online using our secure form that will help you get started.

If you want to increase the value for your property with home improvement that you can do yourself, we'll provide hints, tips and some suggested reading to help you increase house values before you sell. We have quite a few excellent books for sale on the subject, in addition to other resources to help you get started on home repairs or improvements.

Once your have sold your house you may be in the market to find homes for sale in your area. Well, what if you are a first time buyer and are looking for help? Or maybe you have bought a home before, but want to do it right this time. We'll do our best to set you on the right path with links and up to date information for the modern home buyer.

If you already know you want to sell, you're going to need to find a real estate agent to sell your home. Feel free to use our resources and find a qualified agent who is eager to sell your house at the highest possible price and shares the same values as yourself. We give you access to a large database of qualified real estate agents who want to help you sell.