Allocating My Renovation Money: Give Me Some Tips!

In my last blog entry, we covered some key concepts in planning a renovation. To recap, the bottom line is all about preparation, vetting your vendors and assembling the right team of advisors (spearheaded by your real estate agent).

Next comes the sometimes tricky task of deciding how much, and on what, to allocate your renovation money. This can be a fine balance, as you want to optimize aesthetic appearance, yet still fortify the functionality of your property.

Generally speaking, cosmetic rehab has the best return on investment (ROI), but do not skimp out on the hidden elements that ultimately make these new, sexy looking spaces actually work. Herein lies a renovator’s biggest challenge. Part of this challenge is understanding the context of the local housing inventory and how improving, or not improving, certain elements of your home will impact your day to day living there, and the market’s perception of the place when it comes times to sell. Regardless of what you elect to do, or not do, my advice is get  written work estimates on EVERYTHING, that way you can save them for when you do go to sell, and give people tangible numbers on cost.

A good example of this in our market is windows. Much of our real estate is in very old buildings, with very old windows. If the choice comes down to renovating a bathroom for 10K, or replacing a handful of older windows for the same cost, and the windows are manageable, then it is a no brainer in my opinion to renovate the bathroom. This is because a marble bath with a steam shower and heated floors is way more attractive to future buyers than “new windows”, which sadly, will be taken for granted. If you really want your home to impress people, then consider checking out this Pantry Installation in salt lake city ut. 

It is somewhat expected and accepted that windows may be dated, and not function 100% in the vast majority of older buildings, especially in historic districts, now, this should not be a problem, as getting a window installation is very easy and quick. I see this as a hurdle easily overcome with future buyers if 1. you just disclose up front that windows are older, and 2. get a concrete bid prior to sale on what it would cost to replace them. several bi-folding doors and custom telescopic frameless glass doors. Changing to any of these window is very complicated, that’s why you should hire these window installation services for professional help.

Along the lines of adding max value, within the confines of a limited budget, is not to underestimate the “little things.”. It is amazing how far some relatively affordable fixes can add nice value. Visit here for more details, some of the examples of this are:

• Adding a nice tile backsplash, changing the hardware and either refacing or painting cabinets (versus full replacement) in a kitchen.
• Adding a  basic crown moulding ($2/liner foot) and changing all the door hardware
• A few new light fixtures (great looking stuff can be found at very reasonable costs
• Fresh Paint and refinished hardwood can make all the difference in the world