The Brunswick Citizen 2/25/2016

Lovettsville Real Estate News

By: Karen Wenner Cooper

This year I celebrate my 14th year in real estate, and by far, the question that I hear the most often is which home improvements will bring the most value to my home. In my experience, there are no home improvements that will give you a dollar for dollar return on your investment, however, some improvements will have a greater return than others both in terms of market value and sale-ability. Here are my top 3.

     - Kitchen & Bathroom Updates – Aside from adding square footage (in terms of a finished basement or addition), kitchen and bathroom updates will give you the most bang for your buck. These do not need to be incredibly expensive improvements! Replacing laminate countertops with a solid surface material (first choice granite, second choice corian), a fresh coat of paint, and new cabinet hardware can typically be accomplished for well less than $5,000 and bring an entire new look to your space. In your bathroom, swapping light fixtures and faucets, fresh paint, and new tile can be done for $1500 or less (depending on bathroom size) and completely transform the look.

     - Finished Basement – When an appraiser is assessing the value of a property for sale, their focus is above grade square footage, and they will “assign” a dollar value upgrade for a finished basement. For example, if you have two identical properties, one with a finished basement and one without … the one with the finished basement will receive a price bump of around $20,000. Keep this in mind when you are finishing your basement, especially if you are doing so only for resale purposes and/or do not intend to stay in your home for very long. I’ve seen sellers who have invested $50-100,000 in finishing out their basement with very high end and elaborate touches, only to be floored when they find out how minimally in comparison the value is affected.

     - Fresh Paint & Carpet Cleaning – This sounds obvious, but truly there is no substitute for a fresh, clean appearance when selling your home. A fresh coat of paint in a neutral shade (not necessarily just white) and freshly cleaned carpets will help your home to shine, even if it isn’t the biggest or the most upgraded or the newest. Buyers respond to this again and again.

We can’t have a home improvement conversation without mentioning in-ground swimming pools. People either love them or hate them. The bottom line in my experience is that a swimming pool will add negligible value to your property, and in the case of a small lot where most is taken up by the pool, it can actually have a negative effect. If you are deciding whether or not to install a pool (or any home improvement really), unless you know you are moving in the next year or so, go forward with your improvement with your family’s enjoyment in mind! It is impossible to know for certain how future buyers will react, and there are many variables including market trends and the health of the market. Keep your home well maintained, make improvements with your family in mind and enjoy them! The right marketing can take care of the rest.