Top Home Improvement Projects – Best Payoff Return At Resale

You might be considering a variety of home remodeling projects to improve the quality of life for your family. However, before deciding on a remodeling project, you should consider the return on your investment when you resell your house. So with that in mind, let’s review the top home improvement projects that offer you the best future payoff return.

TOP HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS – BEST PAYOFF RETURN AT RESALE

Before you open your wallet for upgrades to your home, consider your budget, your goals and what renovations yield the highest return for the money. Because your budget is the primary pain point you will have when dealing with home improvement contractors.

Besides the obvious benefit of adding to your personal enjoyment, home remodeling also increases your home’s value over time. Accordingly, at the time of resale, an appraiser will take into consideration renovations to assess your home’s current market value.

1 – Manufactured Stone Veneer

First in the top home improvement projects list is manufactured stone veneer. Basically these manufacture stones are composed of Portland cement, aggregates, and iron oxides. When installed on the exterior of a home, they add solidity, rich texture and beauty of stone to your house. Since this is used normally to replace vinyl siding, stone veneer offers a big curb appeal upgrade for your home.

For this discussion, the project consist of removing 300 FT2 of old vinyl siding and replacing with manufactured stone veneer. Also the installation includes two separate layers of water resistant barriers laid over bare sheathing, with corrosion-resistant lath and fasteners.

Manufactured Stone Veneer Benefits

Some of the benefits of manufactured stone veneer replacement project include:

• Improved Appearance – The breath of stone veneer textures and colors allows wide variety of style, climate and neighborhood locale.
• Reduced Energy Costs – As part of stone veneer replacement you can add insulation (additional thermal barrier) to the exterior surfaces. Also, the new siding material will help reduce heat lost in winter and cooling in summer.
• Enhanced House Integrity– New stone veneer replacement materials offer greater protection from water damage to interior walls. Also, there is an additional benefit from potential high wind damage.
• Improved House Value – When you do a stone veneer replacement, the resale value of your house increases. Basically this is due to improved appearance, reduced energy and maintenance costs for a new buyer.

Manufactured Stone Veneer Investment Return

Based on an average of twenty two manufactured stone veneer remodeling projects in 2020:

• Project Cost – $9,357.
• Resale Value – $8,943.
• Cost Return – 95.6%.

This cosmetic design improvement is likely to catch the eye of a potential buyer. Also, it’s a great way to improve the look and value of your home without being overly expensive. So you can expect to recoup nearly 96 percent of your renovation costs.

2 – Garage Door Replacement

Second (previously first) in the top home improvement projects list is a garage door replacement. When you replace your old garage door with an modern insulated garage door, it will provide significant value to home. While increasing esthetic curb appeal, a garage door replacement makes it easier to resell your home and for more money.

For this discussion, the garage door (16×7 FT2) is a four-section, high tensile strength steel with factory applied paint. Additionally the garage door is installed in a new galvanized steel track. Finally, it is foam insulated (R12), with windows in the upper portion that are 1/2 insulated glass.

Garage Door Replacement Benefits

A garage door replacement offers the homeowner a variety of benefits during the time of ownership, including:

• Improved Appearance – Modern garage doors come in a variety of colors, finishes and styles.
• Reduced Cooling and Heating Costs – An insulated garage door will act to keep the cool air in during the summer and the cold air out during the winter
• Less Time and Maintenance – A pre-finished color metal garage door is extremely low maintenance. So this requires just a little soap and water to keep clean.
• Improved Home Security – Modern garage doors use new sophisticated coding systems. So that make it almost impossible for a thief to generate the code that will open the door.
• Insurance Benefits – Improved family safety and home security lend themselves to reduced insurance costs.

Garage Door Replacement Investment Return

Based on an average of twenty two manufactured replacement garage door remodeling projects in 2020:

• Project Cost – $3,695.
• Resale Value – $3,491.
• Cost Return – 94.5%.

This homeowner improvement will catch the eye of a potential buyer. Also it’s a great way to improve the look and value of your home, save energy and lowering insurance costs. Consequently you can recoup nearly 95 percent of your renovation costs.

3 – Minor Kitchen Remodel

Third in the top home improvement projects list is a minor kitchen remodel. Despite being the most expensive remodeling investment, homeowners choose this option for lifestyle enjoyment and increased value of their home. But a kitchen remodeling project needs to be pragmatic in scope to get a good return on their investment dollar.

The kitchen is the hub of family life and basic functional activities. When you upgrade your kitchen you boost the enjoyment of everyday cooking, sharing of meals and social entertaining. Also, to potential buyers, a kitchen remodeling, offers tangible and visible benefits that translate into a home’s intrinsic value.

Enhancing the appearance of your home generally needs to start with a kitchen remodeling. Because a kitchen undergoes many years of wear and tear (grease, oil, water, and traffic), it is difficult to repair.

For this discussion, a minor kitchen remodeling project area is 200 FT2, with 30 linear FT of cabinets and countertops. Firstly there is replacement of appliances (cook-top and refrigerator) with more energy-efficient models. Secondly refacing the cabinets with a more modern style. Thirdly installation of new countertops, sink and faucet (mid-priced). Fourthly, adding new flooring and repainting walls, trim and ceiling.

Minor Kitchen Remodeling Benefits

Some of the benefits of a minor kitchen remodeling project include:

• Improved Functionality – A kitchen remodeling project focuses on improving the general purpose and use of the kitchen space area. Above all, cooking needs to be more efficient, easy and fun for all involved.
• Reduced Energy Costs – As normal part of kitchen remodeling is changing electrical appliances, both for appearance and energy savings. For example, this can include more energy efficient (ENERGY STAR) kitchen appliances and converting the illumination to LED technology.
• Enhanced Traffic Flow And Comfort – The kitchen area can be a busy place and full of congestion. Likewise to city traffic, movement is based on the time of day and social setting. So, a better use of limited kitchen area (e.g., kitchen isle), can reduce traffic and stress.
• Improved Safety – When you do a kitchen remodeling it’s time to review and upgrade electrical wiring and connections. Also, review the type flooring from the perspective of high wear and “non-slip” surfaces, given the traffic load.

Minor Kitchen Remodeling Investment Return

Using an average of twenty two minor kitchen remodeling projects in 2020:

• Project Cost – $23,452.
• Resale Value – $18,206.
• Cost Return – 77.6%.

This type of homeowner improvement project appeals to a potential house buyer due to its obvious functionality. Consequently, you can expect to recoup nearly 78 percent of your renovation costs.

4 – Siding Replacement

Fourth in the top home improvement projects list is a house siding replacement. Because this is a major investment, there are a variety of considerations that a homeowner should taken into consideration. For example, budget, materials, color and climate are factors that will affect the appearance and preservation of your home.

When a homeowner chooses this option it is usually because the existing siding no longer protects the house exterior. Consequently, new siding replacement is different from a fresh paint job or an updated decorating scheme. While it involves high labor and material costs, the improved appearance and protection provide a good return to the homeowner.

Vinyl is the most popular, is highly durable, can be installed over most existing surfaces and most affordable to install. Conversely, fiber cement is more expensive to install, but will last 50+ years and offers a variety of different textures. Regardless, both options provide excellent environmental protection for your home plus offer high resale value.

For this discussion, the two types of siding materials being considered are fiber cement and vinyl. Specifically the installation project consists of replacing 1,250 FT2 of vinyl siding with fiber cement siding, factory primed and painted. Also included is side trim using fiber cement or PVC.

Siding Replacement Benefits

Some of the benefits of siding replacement project include:

• Improved Appearance – The breath of siding textures and colors allows wide variety of style, climate and neighborhood locale.
• Reduced Energy Costs – As part of siding replacement you can add insulation (additional thermal barrier) to the exterior surfaces. Also, the siding replacement material will help reduce heat lost in winter and cooling in summer.
• Enhanced House Integrity – New siding replacement materials offer greater protection from water damage to interior walls. Also, there is an additional benefit from potential high wind damage.
• Increased House Value – When you invest in a siding replacement, the resale value of your house increases. Overall this is due to improved appearance, reduced energy and maintenance costs for a new buyer.

Siding Replacement Investment Return

Using an average of twenty two minor siding replacement remodeling projects in 2020:

• Project Cost – $17,008 (Fiber Cement); $14,359 (Vinyl).
• Resale Value – $13,195 (Fiber Cement); $10,731 (Vinyl).
• Cost Return – 77.6% (Fiber Cement); 74.7% (Vinyl).

This type of homeowner improvement project appeals to a potential house buyer that is adverse to short-term exterior maintenance costs. Likewise this can allow you to recoup nearly 75-78 percent of your renovation costs. Also it’s a good way to improve the look and value of your home.

5 – Window Vinyl Replacement

Fifth in the top home improvement projects list is a window vinyl replacement. While this is a major investment, the specific reasons and timing when to do this will vary greatly by homeowner. For example, this might occur when repair costs are similar to new replacement or when preparing for a house resale.

The size of a windows replacement budget will be determined primarily by the number and type of windows. Of course the easiest and least expensive option is to replace with the same type of windows.

There are many good reasons to replace old windows. However, if the decision is to use a different type of window, aesthetics is key to good home resale value.

There are obvious energy savings with replacement windows. But windows represent only 5% of the external area of the house. Consequently this results in total energy savings of only about 15%.

For this discussion, only windows vinyl replacement (10 units) are being considered. Vinyl is the most popular choice with wood or wood aluminum covering (cladding) as the alternative. Whereas both options provide excellent environmental protection, avoid “down-scaling” the replacement windows to ensure good home resale value.

Window Vinyl Replacement Benefits

Some of the benefits of a window vinyl replacement project include:

• Improved Appearance – The breath of window textures and colors allows wide variety of style, climate and neighborhood locale.
• Reduced Energy Costs – As part of window replacement is the option to convert to energy efficient double pane windows. Also you can add multi-layer weather stripping to reduce energy loss with the exterior
• Enhanced Noise Reduction– New window vinyl replacement offers a greater barrier from external noise.
• Improved House Value – When you do a window vinyl replacement, the resale value of your house increases. Basically this is due to improved appearance, reduced energy and maintenance costs for a new buyer.

Window Vinyl Replacement Investment Return

Using an average of twenty two minor window vinyl replacement remodeling projects in 2020:

• Project Cost – $17,641.
• Resale Value – $12,761.
• Cost Return – 72.3%.

This type of exterior home improvement project appeals to a potential house buyer adverse to short-term maintenance costs. Likewise this can allow you to recoup nearly 73 percent of your renovation costs. Also it’s a good way to improve the look and value of your home.

TOP HOME IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS CONCLUSION

We reviewed the top home improvement projects to help a homeowner when it comes time to reinvest in their home. Accordingly, we encourage you to do your research, ask questions and consult with a professional service contractor before moving forward.

Please Contact Us for a free, no obligation conversation about how to turn your home improvement remodeling project into reality.