It's spring, and you know what that means. Time for a pedicure!
'Tis also the season to take a sledgehammer to the den's drywall and pick out the perfect shade of Corian for the kitchen countertops. According to a March survey by Champion Mortgage, the most popular home improvements this year are kitchen renovations, landscaping, and building an addition to the abode.
According to the survey, about one-third of homeowners making improvements said they are doing so to increase the value of their home, while another third are doing it to improve the appearance. Another 24% of cited both reasons for the construction bug. About one in five respondents plan to spend $10,000 or more in home improvements this year.
Before you re-route the plumbing and take a hacksaw to the garage, consider that most major home improvements will pay off in re-sale just 80 to 90 cents for each dollar spent.
Remodelingmagazine.com conducts an annual Cost vs. Value Report, which looks at the price of specific remodeling and home improvement projects, and the amount they would add to a home's price a year later. (You can search the report by project or by region.)
The best bang for your buck in remodeling is a "kitchen spruce-up," which includes refinishing cabinets and installing energy-efficient appliances, laminate countertops, new fixtures, wall covering, and resilient flooring at an average cost of $14,773, according to the survey. Should you sell your home with its new lemon-fresh kitchen a year later, expect to make back 88% of the money you put in, or $13,039. A two-story addition (at a whopping $67,743) will pay back 84% of the outlay. And adding a second full bath to a house with one or 1.5 baths for an average of $14,216 will recoup 82% of your dough.
Want to avoid living in a money pit? Think twice before getting a new roof (just 60% will be recouped), sunroom (average cost $27,081, of which you can expect back just 16 grand), or a home office (55% of an average $10,526 outlay).
The payoff depends on the value of your home and others in the 'hood, how fast property values in your area are rising, and the cost of materials and labor and the color you pick for your backsplash.
So, is it worth it? Before you start demolition, homeowner beware. Check out the transcript from last night's Dateline report on remodeling. Do the research and check in with the handy Fools on the Building/Maintaining A Home discussion board (membership or free 30-day trial required).
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