Top Ten Value-Added Home Improvement
Jobs
| by Broderick Perkins DeadlineNews.Com Build a better kitchen, bath or bedroom, install new windows and siding and add on by the room if you want the most return for your money on home impovements. Home owners who updated a home's most frequented rooms, added some curb appeal or tacked on more living space enjoyed the biggest bang for their buck on home improvements, according to Remodeling Online's latest "Cost Vs. Value Report". This year's annual report is the result of responses from dozens of real estate professionals in 60 markets nationwide after the magazine asked the pros what level of return a given remodeling job would provide. Experts say newness and spaciousness are key. "It's all psychological. You get the value because it's all new. People spend a lot of time in certain parts of the home, the kitchen the bedroom. Even though they are unconscious for most of the time in the bedroom, they want to know it's nice when they wake up. It's all just psychological," said Ken Willis, president of the non-profit League of California Homeowners, an Ontario, CA-based home remodeling, real estate transaction and financing information portal with 15,000 members. From a minor kitchen remodeling job's average return of 92.9 percent to an average 80 percent return on a family room update, here's a look at the remodeling jobs that give you the best returns for your money. Keep in mind, your return begins to diminish over time, typically after the first year, as the improvement ages and gets out of step with contemporary upgrades. The value of returns listed are averages that can vary by community, market conditions, work quality and a host of other factors.
In all cases, home improvements' returned value is greatest when several conditions work in unison. Curb appeal Curb appeal is the impression your home's exterior conveys. It should create an emotional desire to own the home and to live the lifestyle and status it represents, which hopefully continues inside. Curb appeal is what gets the prospective buyer inside to see your new master suite and remodeled kitchen and bath. Local standards If most of the homes in your neighborhood don't have a second story and you add one, the neighborhood could drag down the value of your home. If however, you rip out the old kitchen and put in a new one, your home will sell faster and at a better price than comparable homes with original kitchens. Quality control Ask family, friends, co-workers and others you trust for referrals to licensed contractors specializing in the work you need completed. In states that don't license contractors, seek those with strong association ties and proof of insurance. Interview several contractors and don't favor the one with the lowest estimate. "Frequently they don't have enough money to do the job and will leave you hanging," says Salem, OR-based Myron E. Ferguson, author of "Better Houses, Better Living: What To Look For When Buying, Building Or Remodeling" (Home User Press, $24.95). "Get everything in writing and don't commit to a verbal contract," he added. Willis says the best contractors have lots of solid work they are willing to show off and home owners with remodeling magazine centerpiece quality remodeling jobs often have no qualms about showing off their homes. "For really fine finish work, you just about have to go see something else that this person has done. Fine craftspeople always have some clients willing to show off their kitchens. If they don't they are just putting up smoke and mirrors," Willis said. Copyright © 2005 DeadlineNews.Com -- Broderick Perkins, is executive editor of San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews.Com, an editorial content and consulting firm. Perkins has been a consumer and real estate journalist for more than 25 years. |