Making the Decision to Renovate
Before you start you need to weigh the pros and cons of moving vs renovating.
Some Reasons to Renovate:
- Renovating allows you to customize your home to meet your needs and wants.
- Renovating means that you don’t have to give up a familiar neighborhood and schools.
- Renovating can be stressful, but few experiences are more stressful than moving.
- Renovating means you are investing in yourself – add value to your existing home by making changes that will pay off down the road.
- Making improvements to how your home works is a great reason to renovate and will help to prolong the life of your home.
- Go Green – Paying too much for utilities? Maybe you want to decrease your environmental impact.
- Adding to your living space is another great reason to renovate. Consider where in your home there may be potential extra square footage that you could make usable. You could also make improvements to your outdoor living area to add more usable space.
- Renovating to update your style – updating your home’s style can be based on necessity in an older home or simply on a new trend.
- Renovating to make it your own – planning a renovation allows you to personalize your space.
- Renovating can have a shorter time frame – if you do your prep work, a renovation doesn’t have to last for months on end.
- Financing – changing mortgages rules might impact what you can afford and limit the type of house that you are able to buy.
While there are many reasons to renovate, the bottom line is that it makes your home a more enjoyable place to live. The intangible value of this pleasure needs to be considered along with any resale value you may gain.
All renovations are not equal. The rule of thumb is that any renovation that you do which will bring your home up to the level of your neighbors’, is a worthy investment. It doesn’t necessarily pay to be the most expensive house on the block.
Potential buyers will be comparing your home to newly built ones. You’ll want to look at the design trends and amenities being built into new homes such as great rooms, master bed and bath suites, and high ceilings, as well as up-to-date features and finishes.
Renovating kitchens and bathrooms create the greatest return on investment as these are two of the most used rooms in the home, and receive the most scrutiny from potential buyers.