Three Tips to Consider Before you Renovate!

Renovating your home to update its look, or better fit your family’s needs, is a great investment in your life, especially if you plan to stay in your home for the next several years. However, it’s also important to have a sense  of the kind of return your renovations will give you, should you decide to sell. A few things to consider…

Understand Your Neighbourhood!

There are certain renovations that are simply a must. For example, in my neighbourhood, a home will not sell for good money with carpeting on the main floor. So, installing hardwood becomes a “must-do” item for any seller wanting to attain at least market value for their home. Updates that bring your home up to the “market standard” should be considered a priority.

On the flip side, there is such a thing as having too many updates. If you “over-improve” your home, you may bring it outside the norm for your neighbourhood and make it difficult to recoup your costs.  While your home will be more appealing, buyers are generally not willing to pay $1M for a home where the average selling price is $900K.

Top ROI Renovations

Kitchen and Bathrooms  

These are two areas that a potential buyer will be focussed on when they walk into your home. You may be interested in doing a large-scale remodel, with a stunning gourmet kitchen that you can enjoy! However, even smaller scale changes can have a big impact. Consider quartz counters, new handles and faucets, designer lighting, and if your budget allows, stainless steel appliances.

Exterior and Interior painting

A fresh coat of paint can dramatically improve the aesthetics of a home and really modernize a space. Consider using the help of a designer to select a colour palate that suits your specific lighting conditions and creates an eye-pleasing flow through the house. And just like everything else, popular paint colours change over time so it can be an easy fix to keep your home current. 

Flooring

If your flooring is dated, in rough shape or inappropriate for your neighbourhood standards, consider replacing with hardwood or a higher-end laminate. In some cases, you may be able to simply re-finish hardwood flooring, or lay a high-end vinyl flooring directly on top of existing floors. Beautiful flooring can make a hight-impact impression and is achievable at a variety of price points. 

Invisible Improvements

In general, you will not see any significant returns for projects such as a new plumbing system or HVAC or even a new roof.  Buyers expect these systems to be in good working condition and consider them part of the regular maintenance and upkeep of a house.  

Taking all this into consideration, your house should be your sanctuary… the place you can’t wait to come home to at the end of the day. An investment in your family home is an investment in your life, so make choices that will make you happy! 

As always, if you would like to speak about the various options and how much money is worth spending, I am always available to chat!