Best Return on Investments... - HomeModders.com

ScrapinSTi · 02-01-2008, 11:38 AM

Well, im probably going to sell my house in another year or so and move west towards Colchester... But I figured might as well do what I can to increase my home's value since its on the smaller side...

What refinishing/additions can I do to get the best return on my investment? Here are some ideas of what I want to do on my house..

#1. New Windows around the rest of the house
#2. New Vinyl Siding to replace the Wood Siding.
#3. Remodel bathroom. New Sink/Vanity, Toilet, tile floor, Door, & Paint.
#4. Remove all wainescoating in living room/kitchen & replace with Drywall.
#5. Replace rear door & small window with Sliding Glass Door.
#6. New Furnace (Current Furnace is 50 years old)
#7. Build 1-2 car garage with "Mud room" in between to house furnace & washing machine. #8. Knock out walls to current laundry room and expand Kitchen/Living Room.

My house is currently 2br/1ba, 850 sq ft, on .75 acres. Built in 1964.

eg6sir · 02-01-2008, 12:06 PM

just about anything can add value to a house..

dual pane windows, new roof, new paint, sink/sink fixtures.. basically updating should add more value to the house

briansol · 02-01-2008, 12:20 PM

I dunno man. right now in general is a real bad time to sell. I don't know that any of those will ROI even, yet alone above.

ScrapinSTi · 02-01-2008, 12:42 PM

Thats why I am figuring remodel this year, and sell next year... The only thing I have going for my house is that it is small... and cheap... so people will be able to afford it... And by next year, i should be able to afford something a little bigger...

My main thing im wondering is if the garage would get me a quick ROI... I can build the garage/mud room for roughly 15k (20k if i include my new washer/dryer/furnace)

eg6sir · 02-01-2008, 12:48 PM

i'd build another room w/ bathroom before a garage if you're looking to up the value

chestercheeto48 · 02-01-2008, 01:00 PM

Just be careful not to overspend/overbuild in terms of what the neighborhood can support. I can't remember where I read it but somebody said it is better to be the worst house in a good neighborhood than the best house in an average neighborhood. I haven't seen your neighborhood but make sure you can get back at least what you spend on "upgrades". To answer your question I would rather see an upgraded furnace, windows, siding and paint over a garage if I was looking. A garage is not that hard to do if the room is there. Also it is going to take longer than a year to have the market rebound.

Most people are doing these things just to keep the value of their house where it was before the market slump. Take a look at the house we are buying. It started at 240,000.00 with no updates and finally sold at 209,000.00 to us after 8 months and updating the kitchen, painting the interior and a few other concessions.

ScrapinSTi · 02-01-2008, 01:25 PM

I am the smallest house in my neighborhood by an easy 400sq ft. I think i'm going to finish my sons closet in the next week or two, then start on the bathroom i think...

Do things like a sliding glass door add/remove to the value of the house?

Bob Vila · 02-01-2008, 01:42 PM

You'll never lose money on two main areas -

Kitchen
Bathroom

Everything else is up in the air. I necessarily wouldn't spend the cash to build a garage/mudroom knowing that you're going to sell. That 15-20k would be hard to recoup if you were to sell in the next 2 years (especially in today's market).

Updating your bathroom can be done relatively inexpensively: Our condo for instance - this remodel was done on 550 bucks and included:
New Toilet
New Sink / Vanity
New Floor (carried over from the kitchen but included in price)
New Paint
New Light (which was 100 bucks)
New Mirror
Crown Molding
New Baseboard Heater
New Plumbing from wall to sink
New Hardware, etc.

Kitchen was the same story - spent about 4g's on redoing the kitchen and definately received that back and then some on the sale...

ScrapinSTi · 02-01-2008, 02:43 PM

See... That i could totally do...The toilet is actually only 3 years old... I was thinking about replacing it with something a little different shaped... The main thing I want is a new sink & vanity... I was thinking about a bowl sink, but i had seen YOUR EXACT vanity and really like that... I like the drawer at the bottom for extra storage...

My only other problem with the bathroom... its my only bathroom... So I cant have downtime in it... I can go without the sink for a few days, but obviously not without the shitter.. lol..

Im tempted to just go pickup some tile in the next week or two and just start on the tile floor & the vanity..

Jeefsilverado · 02-01-2008, 05:01 PM

Noah, learn from my mistake on doing my tile floor in my bathroom. I only have one shitter like you. The floor had been down for a few hours so we decided to put the shitter back in so I could have it for the night. We cracked a tile doing this. So try to stay somewhere else for the night for the tile to dry or crap in a bucket for a day. You are lucky that you probably have somewhere to go outside, but in my condo I don't.

I would say try to make every room looks good, like fix major flaws. If something looks like a hack job, even if relatively minor it might turn off some buyer who can't turn a screw driver or think for themselves. New paint, floors, carpet if its older. Then like Steve said kitchen and bath. I have about 500 into my bathroom without changing the shitter or tub since they are newer. I have a small kitchen that cost me about 2grand for new cabinets (Home Depot Mills pride, they look good for a condo but I wouldn't do them in a house worth over 200k in CT. I put in new fridge, stove, dishwasher, sink, tile, counters, and lights. My kitchen is like 10 x 8.
I don't know about the siding if it would be worth doing unless your wood siding is in bad condition. I would watch some shows on hgtv to see what they are doing to sell houses on there.

02-01-2008, 11:38 AM	#1
ScrapinSTi Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: In Debt. Posts: 252 Rep Power: 5	Best Return on Investments... Well, im probably going to sell my house in another year or so and move west towards Colchester... But I figured might as well do what I can to increase my home's value since its on the smaller side... What refinishing/additions can I do to get the best return on my investment? Here are some ideas of what I want to do on my house.. #1. New Windows around the rest of the house #2. New Vinyl Siding to replace the Wood Siding. #3. Remodel bathroom. New Sink/Vanity, Toilet, tile floor, Door, & Paint. #4. Remove all wainescoating in living room/kitchen & replace with Drywall. #5. Replace rear door & small window with Sliding Glass Door. #6. New Furnace (Current Furnace is 50 years old) #7. Build 1-2 car garage with "Mud room" in between to house furnace & washing machine. #8. Knock out walls to current laundry room and expand Kitchen/Living Room. My house is currently 2br/1ba, 850 sq ft, on .75 acres. Built in 1964.

02-01-2008, 12:06 PM	#2
eg6sir homeless Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bakersfield, CA Posts: 93 Rep Power: 5	just about anything can add value to a house.. dual pane windows, new roof, new paint, sink/sink fixtures.. basically updating should add more value to the house

02-01-2008, 12:20 PM	#3
briansol Administrator Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Central CT Age: 32 Posts: 499 Rep Power: 10	I dunno man. right now in general is a real bad time to sell. I don't know that any of those will ROI even, yet alone above. __________________ 1997 2050sqft Split Level

02-01-2008, 12:42 PM	#4
ScrapinSTi Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: In Debt. Posts: 252 Rep Power: 5	Thats why I am figuring remodel this year, and sell next year... The only thing I have going for my house is that it is small... and cheap... so people will be able to afford it... And by next year, i should be able to afford something a little bigger... My main thing im wondering is if the garage would get me a quick ROI... I can build the garage/mud room for roughly 15k (20k if i include my new washer/dryer/furnace)

02-01-2008, 12:48 PM	#5
eg6sir homeless Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bakersfield, CA Posts: 93 Rep Power: 5	i'd build another room w/ bathroom before a garage if you're looking to up the value

02-01-2008, 01:00 PM	#6
chestercheeto48 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 73 Rep Power: 5	Just be careful not to overspend/overbuild in terms of what the neighborhood can support. I can't remember where I read it but somebody said it is better to be the worst house in a good neighborhood than the best house in an average neighborhood. I haven't seen your neighborhood but make sure you can get back at least what you spend on "upgrades". To answer your question I would rather see an upgraded furnace, windows, siding and paint over a garage if I was looking. A garage is not that hard to do if the room is there. Also it is going to take longer than a year to have the market rebound. Most people are doing these things just to keep the value of their house where it was before the market slump. Take a look at the house we are buying. It started at 240,000.00 with no updates and finally sold at 209,000.00 to us after 8 months and updating the kitchen, painting the interior and a few other concessions. Last edited by chestercheeto48; 02-01-2008 at 01:03 PM.

02-01-2008, 01:25 PM	#7
ScrapinSTi Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: In Debt. Posts: 252 Rep Power: 5	I am the smallest house in my neighborhood by an easy 400sq ft. I think i'm going to finish my sons closet in the next week or two, then start on the bathroom i think... Do things like a sliding glass door add/remove to the value of the house?

02-01-2008, 01:42 PM	#8
Bob Vila Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: In a house Posts: 107 Rep Power: 5	You'll never lose money on two main areas - Kitchen Bathroom Everything else is up in the air. I necessarily wouldn't spend the cash to build a garage/mudroom knowing that you're going to sell. That 15-20k would be hard to recoup if you were to sell in the next 2 years (especially in today's market). Updating your bathroom can be done relatively inexpensively: Our condo for instance - this remodel was done on 550 bucks and included: New Toilet New Sink / Vanity New Floor (carried over from the kitchen but included in price) New Paint New Light (which was 100 bucks) New Mirror Crown Molding New Baseboard Heater New Plumbing from wall to sink New Hardware, etc. Kitchen was the same story - spent about 4g's on redoing the kitchen and definately received that back and then some on the sale... __________________ Bow to my presence...

02-01-2008, 02:43 PM	#9
ScrapinSTi Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: In Debt. Posts: 252 Rep Power: 5	See... That i could totally do...The toilet is actually only 3 years old... I was thinking about replacing it with something a little different shaped... The main thing I want is a new sink & vanity... I was thinking about a bowl sink, but i had seen YOUR EXACT vanity and really like that... I like the drawer at the bottom for extra storage... My only other problem with the bathroom... its my only bathroom... So I cant have downtime in it... I can go without the sink for a few days, but obviously not without the shitter.. lol.. Im tempted to just go pickup some tile in the next week or two and just start on the tile floor & the vanity..

02-01-2008, 05:01 PM	#10
Jeefsilverado jeef Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 70 Rep Power: 5	Noah, learn from my mistake on doing my tile floor in my bathroom. I only have one shitter like you. The floor had been down for a few hours so we decided to put the shitter back in so I could have it for the night. We cracked a tile doing this. So try to stay somewhere else for the night for the tile to dry or crap in a bucket for a day. You are lucky that you probably have somewhere to go outside, but in my condo I don't. I would say try to make every room looks good, like fix major flaws. If something looks like a hack job, even if relatively minor it might turn off some buyer who can't turn a screw driver or think for themselves. New paint, floors, carpet if its older. Then like Steve said kitchen and bath. I have about 500 into my bathroom without changing the shitter or tub since they are newer. I have a small kitchen that cost me about 2grand for new cabinets (Home Depot Mills pride, they look good for a condo but I wouldn't do them in a house worth over 200k in CT. I put in new fridge, stove, dishwasher, sink, tile, counters, and lights. My kitchen is like 10 x 8. I don't know about the siding if it would be worth doing unless your wood siding is in bad condition. I would watch some shows on hgtv to see what they are doing to sell houses on there.