Value of remodeling
Timothy’s comment on August 10 asked whether you can recover the full cost of a remodel upon selling.
Let’s see: Find two houses right next to each other with the exact same floorplan, with exactly the same landscape, and same condition. Remodel the kitchen of one of them, but not the other, leaving everything else the same. Put both of them on the market at the same time, and see how much more the one with the remodeled kitchen will sell for.
While some people in the industry has tried to put a percentage or dollar amount of investment recovery you can see, there is really no scientific way of determining this accurately. There are too many factors in the sale of a home that is not measurable.
With that said, let me say generally speaking, you do not get back 100% what you put in. There are a couple of possible exceptions to that I can think of. One, you do the work yourself. If, and it’s not for certain that you will, sell higher than your cost, then you have just paid yourself the price of your labor. Two, your house is fixer-upper in obvious need of repairs and nothing has been updated for 40 years.
So unless you fit either of the above, do not put in money to remodel for the sole purpose of selling for more. I would do the three hints I blogged about yesterday, along with a new coat of paint.
If you do remodel, here are a few points of advice, based on common sense along with 20 years experience in the market place and gut feeling:
Do not buy the most expensive material. A $100 kitchen sink will probably get the same amount for your house as a $500 sink.
Stay with a neutral and timeless look. Any too trendy will narrow your field of buyers and have them thinking they will have to remodel again.
Adding lighting in a naturally dark room or area gives the feel of a bigger house.
Use inexpensive accessories and special touches to give your remodel a custom look, such as accent paint, upgraded faucets, upgraded door handles, etc.
Thank you for your good question, Timothy.