The 5 Best Home Improvements to Add Resale Value
Dusty Rhodes • March 2, 2020
Whether you’re planning to sell your home this year or a decade from now, remodeling projects can improve both the resale value and the appearance of your home. But it’s challenging to know which upgrades are worth the investment and which are a waste of time and money.
Here are a few home improvement projects to consider that are almost certain to improve your resale value and the look of your home.
1. Minor Kitchen Remodel
Kitchens in older homes weren’t designed to be as functional as they are today. If you’re still cooking in a kitchen that pre-dates your birth, a minor kitchen remodel might be just the thing to make you love the culinary arts again, all while increasing the value of your home.
Upgrade your appliances with energy-efficient models, replace outdated cabinets with newer options, and redo your counters. The average return on investment for a minor kitchen remodel is 81 percent, with the average cost of the project coming in at around $21,000.
Always over-budget for your project. It doesn’t matter what you decide to replace or upgrade—remodeling projects will pretty much never cost less than you anticipate. You can make choices to save money, but in the end, you will almost always end up spending as much or more than you expected.
2. Wooden Deck Installation
Adding a deck to the back of your home gives you a great place to throw a barbecue, host an outdoor dinner, or even install a hot tub so you can enjoy the outdoors without getting dirt on your feet. It is also a great way to add value to your home, as long as you choose a design made of wood instead of one made of plastic or composite. A wooden deck will cost you an average of $10,500 to build, but most homeowners recoup 85.4 percent of that cost—one of the largest returns on investment that you’ll find on this list.
If you do choose wood, make sure that you’re ready to sand and refinish it periodically to ensure that you can enjoy your deck without worrying about you or your guests getting splinters.
3. Garage Door Replacement
When was the last time you replaced your garage door? An old or out-of-date garage door doesn’t just damage your home’s value—it can be downright dangerous. While they were made safer in 1993 when a law was passed mandating that all garage doors be equipped with an auto-reversing feature, they’re still the biggest and heaviest moving object in your home.
On average, you’ll spend around $3,600 to replace your garage door and all the associated equipment, but you’ll reclaim nearly all of that in value for your property. The ROI for a garage door replacement is an astonishing 97.5 percent, in addition to making your home safer while improving the property’s value and curb appeal—all in one neat package.
4. Update or Add a Bathroom
Older homes might only be designed with a single bathroom, but if you’ve got more than two bedrooms, you’ll be hard pressed to sell a home that’s only got one bathroom. Depending on where you live, adding a new bathroom to your house can give you a return on investment of anywhere from 50 to 70 percent. It might not sound like much, but for someone who is shopping for a new home, that extra bathroom could mean the difference between choosing your property or passing it over for another option.
You don’t even need to add a full bath—one that includes a bathtub, shower, toilet, and sink. A three-quarter bath, which includes a shower but not a bathtub, can save money while still providing the kind of return on investment you’re looking for. As long as your home has at least one bathtub, you’re good to go.
5. Siding Replacement
The exterior of your home has a lot to do with your property’s value. They say you never get a second chance at a first impression. And for a potential buyer, the exterior is that first impression. Upgrading or replacing your siding is like giving your home a facelift. Replacing the siding on the entire exterior of your home will usually cost around $14,000, but you will usually recuperate between 77 and 80 percent of that cost in terms of increased property value.
Don’t pick crazy colors or things that will make your home stand out from all the other houses on your block. Part of curb appeal is making sure your home looks like everyone else’s. You can certainly make it stand out in other ways, but don’t opt for choices that are too bold (like neon green siding). That will end up costing you money.
All Around Wins
It doesn’t matter if you’re planning to sell your home next week, next year, or in the next decade—or if you don’t plan to sell it at all and are just improving your property value because you’re going to refinance—these projects can increase your home value while making it more comfortable for you in the long run. Enjoy your new upgrades.
Dusty Rhodes Properties is the Best Realtor in Myrtle Beach! We do everything in our power to help you find the home of your dreams. With experience, expertise, and passion, we are the perfect partner for you in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We love what we do and it shows. With more than 22 years of experience in the field, we know our industry like the back of our hands. There’s no challenge too big or too small, and we dedicate our utmost energy to every project we take on. We search thousands of the active and new listings from Aynor, Carolina Forest, Conway, Garden City Beach, Longs, Loris, Murrells Inlet, Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Pawleys Island, and Surfside Beach real estate listings to find the hottest deals just for you!
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NAR says introducing competition into the credit scoring process has the potential to lower costs, improve efficiency and open the door to more qualified home buyers. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are moving forward with updated credit scoring models for all forms of mortgage lending. The announcement was made by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William J. Pulte. The FHA followed suit announcing it would accept Vantagescore and a new FICO score beginning in 2027. The move builds on Pulte’s announcement last year that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would begin testing VantageScore 4.0 as part of the mortgage underwriting process. The National Association of REALTORS® welcomed the change, saying a more modern approach to evaluating credit could broaden access to mortgage financing. The updated models may be particularly helpful for consumers with limited traditional credit histories, giving more prospective buyers an opportunity to qualify for a mortgage. “The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s announcement marks an important step forward in modernizing the mortgage marketplace,” says NAR Executive Vice President and Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn. “For years, the National Association of REALTORS® has advocated for a more competitive and innovative credit scoring system, one that better reflects how consumers manage their financial lives today.” VantageScore 4.0 was created by Equifax, Experian and TransUnion and is designed to evaluate credit behavior over time. The model can also incorporate certain payment information that has historically received less consideration in credit scoring, including rental, utility and telecommunications payments. Consumers who consistently make those payments on time could benefit from having that information reflected in their credit profiles. The Fair Isaac Corporation, commonly known as FICO, is working to implement its own modern score. “Introducing competition into the credit scoring process has the potential to lower costs, improve efficiency and open the door to qualified borrowers who may have been overlooked under older models,” McGahn says. “By allowing multiple credit scoring models that consider rent, utility and other payment histories, this policy can provide a fuller picture of a borrower’s creditworthiness and open the door to homeownership for more Americans.” NAR says the availability of additional credit scoring models could increase competition within the credit reporting industry while potentially improving accuracy and reducing costs. NAR will also continue to monitor the mortgage market and the experiences of lenders and consumers as these models are implemented to help ensure they are working as intended. This includes evaluating how the models affect access to credit, accuracy and consistency in mortgage underwriting and the broader homeownership market. For more information, visit fhfa.gov/policy/credit-scores.
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