Is it worth it?

Before spending a little or a lot, look ahead. Are the kids still young or are they nearing the time when they’ll be leaving to strike out on their own? Or is there a new one on the way? Are your heating costs likely to rise rapidly because you depend on a single system (oil, electricity, natural gas, etc)? Can you easily add a back-up that will give you an alternative?

Look around. What about the neighbourhood? Are property values likely to rise or fall? Certain trends appear to favour a baby boomer migration from the inner cities to the suburbs or even the countryside. Is it worth investing tens of thousands of dollars in an inner city home that will be difficult to sell? Conversely, it may be a very profitable to upgrade a country or suburban home that may be in demand for a long time to come

A major home improvement must satisfy two essential conditions i.e., your family’s comfort and enjoyment, and the addition of value to the property in anticipation of an eventual sale (Payback). In both instances, it will be up to you to determine your renovation projects according to your needs and budget, but also bear in mind that certain types of renovation projects add more value to your home than others.

For sale…

If you’re renovating with the single intention of selling in the near future, avoid over-personalizing the project. Since it’s not unusual for new occupants to immediately redecorate the principle rooms of their new home, if you need to paint, avoid using loud and vibrant colours or hang eccentric wallpaper or install flashy ceramics in the kitchen and bathroom. Rather than improving your chances of finalizing a sale, these initiatives may go as far as causing an eventual buyer to reject your home. At the bare minimum, prior to putting your house on the market, you should repaint the walls, replace damaged countertops and cupboard doors, and clean and re-grout dingy or worn floor and wall tiles, etc.

For comfort…

Of course, we don’t remodel or renovate solely for the purpose of selling our homes. The need to improve a space, change one’s surroundings and upgrade old and worn out appliances and systems becomes inevitable over time. The scope is important. Although a kitchen or bathroom remodel can cost but a few thousand dollars or tens of thousands, in the long run it may be worth the price to do the remodel that suits you. And don’t forget payback.

An important word of advice: Be it for comfort or for sale, you owe it to yourself to do a quality job, as a poorly executed renovation initiative will be a constant irritation to you as the home occupant and it will definitely be a major obstacle when the time comes to sell your home.

Your house, an interlocking system

Consider your house as an interlocking system where a change in one area may impact on the entire home. For instance, in a bathroom remodel, you may add an additional sink, a larger Jacuzzi-style bathtub or even a fully equipped second or third bathroom in the basement. But did you think of the water heater? A forty-gallon unit may no longer suffice. As well, more hot water use will produce more water vapour and may upset the humidity balance in the entire home causing condensation and the risk of dangerous mould. Can your existing ventilation system handle the additional load?

New high-efficiency windows and doors may cause the same problems. Even though not efficient from a heating point of view, the old windows and doors probably allow some air flow in and out of the house. New units are designed to prevent this and thus, you may experience a buildup of humidity with all the problems that result.

Renovating the bathroom

The scope of your remodeling project will come into play. Some studies indicate that while an upscale bathroom remodelling recouped 85% in payback, a more modest remodelling recovered 90%. Most of your budget will be spent on bathroom fixtures such as the toilet, the sink and faucets, and the bath. When redesigning the bathroom, keep storage in mind. Unless you can increase the size of the actual room, bathrooms are usually small, yet expensive. Depending on the choice of fixtures and cabinets, you can easily spend $12,000 for this project. Adding an extra bathroom will mean major plumbing and electrical work that could result in an even more expensive project.

Renovating the kitchen

This could be a very expensive project if not planned properly. Most of your spending will go towards the cabinets, the countertops and, if needed, the appliances. Since this is the centre of your home, you should carefully plan and design your renovations. A deficiency in design or material quality will result in a lower payback and can go as far as to decrease the value of your property. Although it will greatly vary with your choice of materials, be prepared to spend at least $20,000 for this project. Also, the payback spread for is less perceptible in a kitchen renovation. In this case, 80% for the upscale remodelling and 79% for the more modest version. When renovating prior to a sale, at the very least, the kitchen should be thoroughly cleaned and repaired before the home goes on the market.

Finishing the basement

If you are thinking more in terms of changing the flooring, adding a fireplace or wood stove or even a laundry room, your payback won’t go much higher than 15% to 50%. However, they will surely add to your comfort and convenience. Factors that improve basement payback are items such as the amount of natural light and direct access from the outside.