American homeowners are expected to spend a staggering $340 Billion on renovations this year alone.
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In this article we’ll be discussing why you should jump on this bandwagon!
So, why should you? (jump on this bandwagon)
Simple! It can significantly increase the value of your home. Which, should you decide you want to sell your house down the line, is GREAT news for your wallet!
Indeed, when done correctly, you can get some outrageously-no-brainer returns on your investment. (We’ll be discussing some of these later in this article! Also, if you’re looking for something quick and easy and sure to be worth it for your wallet, read till the end!)
And the best part about all of this?
The National Association of Home Builders says small-scale renovations are the most cost-effective and quickest way to add value to your home! Meaning you don’t have to splurge at all to see healthy returns!
Another angle home renovation bulges your wallet is via money SAVED. Whether you’re upgrading your floor or windows, the net effect is typically that your home will become more energy efficient.
This can save you a healthy chunk of change each month, allowing you to splurge a little more freely around the holidays without any guilt! Knowing you’re well within your limits!
Another reason why you should jump on this bandwagon and join your fellow American homeowners is (and don’t underestimate the importance of this, especially times being what they are!)
it’s fun!
Assuming it’s a DIY project, it’s a great opportunity for the whole family to bond. It will turn your house into a hectic hub of liveliness, laughter and excitement.
While no doubt providing new fun stories to share around the table. This is what happens when the whole family is engaged in a fun DIY project together.
It’s also a great parenting opportunity to teach your kids some of these very valuable life skills they will cherish their entire life. You don’t want to pass on this!
Oh, and there couldn’t be a better time than now to do it, since, for a lot of you us, we have more time at home than ever!
This (to me at least) sounds like a great trade-off in exchange for transforming your house into a truly elegant sanctuary that makes you smile every time you walk through it, rather than a place that makes you cringe!
Lastly (definitely not least!) is that renovating your home improves your quality of life!
I don’t know about you, but I don’t think anyone opts for a DOWNGRADE when it comes to renovations, so undoubtedly, your life will become easier in some way!
Want to Be an Exquisite Host?
Excellent home décor, thanks to your new renovations, will go a long way in dazzling your special guests, setting the foundation to entertain them even better.
Granted, this option may not be available right now, courtesy of lockdown, however, it will… eventually!
Thus, making it a great opportunity to (eventually) wow your guests, amazing them at your home upgrade(s), showing them that you haven’t been playing around during lockdown!
OK – now that we’ve outlined the benefits, we’ll be sharing with you some ideas and insights on various home projects, so you can choose which one is right for you!
Ready? Good! keep reading!
Bathroom Remodel
For this one there are a few key questions to ask, such as which bathroom you’ll be remodeling? Will you be doing a full or a half-bath? What about the powder room?
If the bathroom in question is the master bedroom, will you be incorporating other elements too? Are you looking to completely start anew, or keep some elements of your current set-up?
Answering these questions allows you to know exactly what you want.
And the great part?
You can expect a healthy return of 70% on your investment! Meaning for every $1 you invest, $1.70 will be your return on the project!
Thus, making this one of the best ways to increase the value of your home! (For the purposes of ROI, there are even better ways we’ll discuss later!)
And for the icing on the cake…
A full renovation isn’t even necessary to receive these healthy returns. Even if you only have the time and budget to make small improvements, focusing on bathrooms is a very savvy move.
Kitchen:
The key questions outlined above that help you to know exactly what you want will apply here too… and to the rest of the renovations we’ll be discussing below! (of course, they’ll need to be adjusted to apply to kitchen and the corresponding projects…etc.)
So, Why Kitchen?
For a start, the ROI on kitchen upgrades ranges from 53% all the way to 77%! That means, for every $1 you invest in upgrading your kitchen, $1.77 will be your return on the project!
And the best part?
It’s the minor kitchen remodels that have the highest ROI when compared to their more extravagant counter-parts (pun intended)
If you intend to sell your home, for this project we recommend you don’t budget (and definitely don’t spend!) more than 20% of the home’s value. Otherwise, your profit margins will vanish into thin air.
The minimum we recommend is around 15% for this purpose. That means if the home is worth $250,000, the budget for the kitchen should be between $37,000 and $50,000.
New Flooring for the Home
For these we recommend installing the same flooring throughout the kitchen, living room and dining room to create cohesion.
We also recommend choosing a colour that will stand the test of time by working with various color schemes and decors.
With this purpose in mind, a neutral, wide plank, hardwood floor with a scraped or brushed surface to anchor the décor and allow for easy maintenance and cleaning is a great choice!
We also recommend floors with zero added formaldehyde (there are great options out there that don’t break the bank), these not only provide cleaner and healthier air quality for your home, they also increase its value!
As for the expected return on investment, this one would be rude NOT to do!
The average ROI starts at 70% and can go up to an impressive 80%. ($1 invested = up to $1.80 returned when complete) With hardwood floors being known to boost the resale value of a home by a not too shabby 2.5%!
So it’s easy to see why this is such a popular choice!
New Garage Door
Ahh, another no-brainer!
The near-perfect return on this project (up to an impressive 98%!) is due to the improvement in both the home’s aesthetic appeal as well as it’s functionality. Features faulty doors pointedly lack!
These faulty doors (which are far too common!) not only do they put off potential buyers, but they can also allow floods into your house, effectively wave goodbye to your home’s energy efficiency (pilling up your bills!) AND you may as well advertise “burglars welcome!” for the effect this has on opportunistic stealers!
So, it stands to reason, a new garage door is a very smart choice. If you go for this one, we recommend getting a double-layer door with added insulation and a galvanized steel skin if you live in a region with extreme weather.
Although they cost a little more than average, just like anything of quality, it will be more than worth it down the road!
Landscaping
This is an often-underrated investment, but did you know – grass, dirt, bushes and trees can account for around 10% of the price of your home?
So don’t sleep on this one… good landscape design can even add up to as high as 20% to your home’s value.
The best part is that these renovations can be fairly easy to do yourself and are relatively cheap too! For example, six applications of fertilizer and weed control cost roughly $330 while returning a bountiful $1,000 at sale!
Smart Home
For the trendier approach, opt to upgrade your home to acquire the coveted status to not just be any home, but a smart one!
This is a growing trend amongst homeowners and it’s easy to see why. A smart home will introduce increased safety, style and convenience into your home.
So much so that, once you add some of these features, such as smart security systems (services we’re renowned for here at Cransten!)– you will never go back!
Smart Security increases in home value have been stated by some databases to be as much as 10-15%. We take a much more conservative approach and let customers know they can sell homes faster with a smart home and usually sell a home for $2-5 k more for having one.
For example…
Let’s say you walk into four houses in the same neighbourhood, and one has a smart thermostat and that you’ve been told it will save you 10 to 12 percent in heating and cooling each month, do you think that will stick out in your mind?
No doubt!
If you’re looking for something quick and easy, though – we’ve got you…
Quick and Easy Renovations…
Ever find yourself feeling blue?
Funnily enough, simply painting your interior a light shade of blue can wipe those blue away!
Confused? That’s what we were at first!
But it’s true, painting your interior that color can pocket you an extra $5,440! (If you decide to sell your home, that is) At least that’s what a study from Zillow found!
Other easy renovations include windows and insulations. New windows freshen your home’s appearance and help save you anywhere from $25 to $450 a year in heating and cooling costs! Insulation can save you a lovely 15% each month too!
Thank you for reading! We hope you received something valuable from this article!
If you need help with any of these projects, Cransten can help you with all of these projects and any others we didn’t mention in this article – so do not hesitate to contact us for a free consultation, we’ll be more than happy to help!