Remodel Your Way to the Perfect Home

Need additional living space?  Tired of looking at those outdated kitchen cabinets and appliances? Getting ready to put your house on the market and realize it needs some major upgrades to compete in today’s tight market?  For those reasons and others, a major home remodeling project can be a great investment if it’s done well, and to professional standards.

The most important thing to consider when remodeling is: what is your motivation to do so?  The "why" will often determine the "what" and the "how much".  If, for instance, you plan to convert your basement into a home theater or game room because you intend to live in your home for many years and you've always wanted that feature, your motivation will be more about increasing your enjoyment of the home than about improved salability and return on investment. On the other hand, if your kitchen sports harvest gold appliances and patterned linoleum flooring and you're planning to sell it in the next year or two, you'd be better served to forego the basement remodel in favor of putting the wow factor in your kitchen and bathrooms, where you'll realize a greater return on your investment and probably lessen the time on the market when you do put the house up for sale.

Americans spend billions of dollars a year remodeling their homes. For some, the opportunity to design their living space into a dream home and choose the features and amenities they want is particularly appealing.

For others, remodeling, whether structurally or cosmetically, is more of a necessity.  For instance, in a slow real estate market such as now, it might make more sense to remodel a home to make it more livable, rather than to try to sell it for a lower price. Conversely, if you are selling your home in a market already glutted with inventory, you should consider doing some remodeling to increase the wow factor, especially if the baths and kitchen don't stack up to the competition. Real estate agents say that a gleaming kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances, attractive flooring, stone countertop and lots of cupboard space can sell a house the instant a prospective buyer sees it, while an outdated, dingy, cramped kitchen will scare buyers away from an otherwise acceptable house.  The same holds true for bathrooms with less-than-pristine looking fixtures and tile.

Improvements that can go a long way in enhancing the appearance of your home and generally recoup most of their costs include mid-range kitchen or bathroom renovations and exterior home improvements like new siding and landscaping.

Simpler improvements that update a home’s appearance include fresh paint, new hardware and replacing faucets.  Finishing touches that add appeal are crown molding, cornice and window trim, wide baseboards, recessed lighting or new contemporary fixtures.

Regardless of the return on investment, a home remodeling project should be a personal choice that is unique to you and your home. While the likely increase in the value of your home as a result of improvements is worth consideration, remodeling should suit your needs as well as your lifestyle.