Making Improvements on Your Home to SELL

Making investments in your home can improve the “bottom line” when the time comes to sell your home.  The trick is knowing what to improve.  Making home improvements prior to listing it is a common practice.  However, improvements should be selected carefully if the primary goal is to increase the profitability of your property.

"Return on Investment" is a phrase that quantifies how much an investment returns compared to what you spent on the investment.
For example, if you remodel your kitchen, and then sell for a higher price, (after covering the remodel costs), then you achieved a positive return on investment.

One way to maximize returns on your home improvements, renovations or other projects is to accomplish them prior to the sale, with the added benefit of enjoying the fruits of your labor. It is important to remember, though, that not all improvements guarantee additional profits.

General guidelines suggest that you should not spend more than 20% of your home’s value on an upgrade of the kitchen. And beware of “trends” – these are the fashionable upgrades that are popular in the moment, but may not be practical in the long-term. Media rooms, spas, and wine-cellars all seem like great features, but they tend to cost more to put in than you may get back in return.

In fact, experts generally agree that you will often see the highest return on investment for projects that simply bring your home up to the standard of those around it. When you keep the budget for projects in line with the overall worth of your home, you are more likely to get the most money back for the amount you put in.

Here are the top five improvements real estate professionals consider the best returns on investment:

1. Kitchen
2. Bathrooms
3. Interior Painting
4. Roof
5. Heating/Cooling systems

Hope you find this helpful!