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| Home Improvement Projects Can
Increase The Value Of Your Home |
By: Emerson Lockwood |
Home improvement projects can improve the look and value of your home
dramatically. Though in some cases, using a home improvement project as a way to
increase the value of your home can actually backfire and cost you money. So how
will you be able to tell if the project that you have planned will add to the
value of your home or decrease the value of your home?
The first thing that you need to know is the appraised value of your home. You
must know the appraisal value, or estimated resale price, of your home before
you can determine if a project will increase or decrease the value of your home.
Although you may feel that your home is worth a certain amount of money, and
that a home improvement will increase the value by X amount of dollars, your
feelings will not set the final selling price, the appraisal will.
When completing a home improvement project that you believe will dramatically
improve the resale value of your home, you need to consider your neighbors
houses. If you have the nicest house in your neighborhood, but you are trying to
sell it for twice as much as the appraisal value of other homes in the
neighborhood, you will be disappointed.
A general guide is to not try to sell your home for more than 20% of what the
surrounding homes will sell for. For simplicity, let us assume that the homes in
your neighborhood are appraised at a value of $100,000. This would mean that you
could expect to get about $120,000 out of your home if you make selective home
improvements.
What this means for you as a homeowner is that you should seriously rethink any
home improvement project that would cost more than $20,000 going by our above
example. Using the above example, it is easy to see that a $30,000 home
improvement project would cause you to lose money in the long run.
Now, if you can make a home improvement that costs very little, but results in a
higher resale value, it may be a good idea to pursue that project. Going back to
our example, if you can spend $5,000 on a project and this results in your home
being appraised at $115,000, then it is a great investment idea.
You also want to consider the appeal that your home improvement project would
have to a future owner. For example, swimming pools and hot tubs may be
something that you enjoy, but would a potential buyer pay extra for those
features? There are some fairly safe projects that you can pursue that other
home buyers generally find valuable. Some of these include kitchen remodeling,
adding or remodeling a bathroom, adding a new room, landscaping, etc.
Also keep in mind that maintenance projects do not usually result in an
increased value for your home. Replacing a broken furnace or hot water heater
usually will not improve the value of your home when selling it. These are
considered maintenance issues that all homeowners expect the home to have
working. Most people would not consider paying full price for a home that does
not have these basic features in working order.
The bottom line is that if you are interested in increasing the resale value of
your home you need to make smart decisions. Smart decisions on which home
improvement projects to tackle can put extra money in your pocket when you sell
your house.
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About the Author:
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Emerson Lockwood write on topics related to Home Technology, Home Improvement
and Home Financing. You can see more of his work at the Super Home Ideas
website:
http://www.SuperHomeIdeas.com . Super Home Ideas covers everything to do
with your home: Home Improvement, Home Repair, Buying and Selling a House,
Financing a Home, Buying Homeowners Insurance, Gardening and Landscaping.
© 1996-2005 American Floor
Coverings Inc. All rights reserved.
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