.

Improving the Value of Your Home
Part I – the Kitchen

As real estate prices rose in many of the New Jersey towns we serve, homeowners were able to just sit back and watch the equity roll in. But as anyone who’s ever watched a commercial for an investment advisor knows, past performance is no guarantee of future performance. This is as true in the housing market as it is in the stock market.

But you don’t have to sit around and wait for the market to add value to your house. Be proactive: Make an honest assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your property and find ways to enhance them by adding physical value, making home improvements.

This could mean a project as big as renovating a kitchen or bathroom or something as small as sprucing up the landscaping in front of the house. Whether you do it yourself or hire professionals, the goal is to give your house what we call the “Wow Factor” – something that will make your property stand out from the crowd.

When thinking about how to create “Wow” spaces in your home, remember that people buy two things: space and light. So whatever projects you choose, plan to lighten your dark spaces and visually open up areas that seem small.

Here and in the following columns, we offer a few home improvement ideas that will add value: KitchenEverybody eats – and now more than ever before, family life is focused on the kitchen – so that is usually the one room you can count on to "sell" the house all by itself. And whether you invest a little or a lot, you should see a good payoff. The average return on an upgraded kitchen is 168% of the investment.

A few minor improvements can add significant value here: Consider painting the cabinets – nothing changes the look of a kitchen faster. Or, give cabinets extra flair by staining them with three different stains: a light shade on the upper cabinets, one slightly darker on the drawers, and the darkest on the bottom cabinets. Probably the easiest (and least expensive) way to update the look of your kitchen is to install new cabinet hardware. Specialty stores carry many shapes and finishes to fit a range of styles. Long, rectangular handles and drawer pulls are quite popular these days, and brushed nickel always looks nice. Adding molding to cabinets is another simple, but very effective, fix: Panel molding redefines flat doors and drawers, and crown molding placed where the cabinets meet the ceiling creates an elegant look. While you’re at it, add a tile or beadboard backsplash to the countertop. Backsplashes are wonderful additions that have a great return. Finally, clean up the appearance of tiled countertops by recaulking or laying down fresh grout.Appliances are among the most costly items in the kitchen – but they’re a doubly good investment to make in a kitchen upgrade. First because they contribute to the updated, modern look that will help to sell your house and second because you’ll be able to take everything that’s not built in to any new home you purchase. Coordinate all of your appliances, whether they’re black, white or stainless steel – perhaps the most popular look for kitchens today – to match colors in your decor. Maintaining one color theme will make your kitchen look polished and efficient. If your existing dishwasher is white and the rest of your appliances are black, don’t despair – most modern dishwashers come with interchangeable covers, so you might be able to flip it over or replace just the facing. Consider replacing linoleum or other flooring with ceramic tile for a fresh, modern look. The kitchen will receive the most traffic in your home and this flooring will be the first thing a potential buyer will notice. Homeowners who upgrade their kitchen flooring have seen a 101% average return on Investment If your kitchen has windows, consider dressing them up with wooden blinds or Roman shades made of colorful fabric. Just adding some sort of window treatment will brighten the room. Updating the lighting in your kitchen can help your house sell faster as well. Consider installing track or spot lighting. Track lighting gives off more ambiance and is most useful in the kitchen. Gourmet cooks will appreciate your enhancements – and you’ll appreciate them too when you consider the average return on investments made to change lighting and brighten up the kitchen is a whopping 865%!Finish the room off by painting it in a pleasant, neutral color that will compliment the patterns in your ceramic tile or countertops. The average return on investment for a fresh paint job in the kitchen is 148%. Improving the Value of Your Home

Part II – The Bathroom

In our last entry, we talked about why home improvements can be a great investment – whether or not you plan to sell your house in the near future. We started with the kitchen (see Part I) because more and more it has become the center of family life in our homes. Upgrading this room not only gives you a more pleasant, more efficient space while you’re living in the house, it also provides the “Wow Factor” that will make your house stand out from the crowd whenever you’re ready to sell it.

Whether your investment is large or small, whether you do the work yourself or hire professionals, you can expect to see a good return on the money you spend.

The Bathroom
Like the kitchen, the bathroom is a space that everyone uses, so it’s a major selling point. That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to do a major remodel in order to have a major impact on the look and feel of your bathroom. Here are some relatively small, easy projects – any one of which can be completed over the course of a weekend. The best news of all: A bathroom update can average a 168% return on your investment. The first order of business is painting – walls and trim. In a bathroom you can step up your creativity and play around with different painting and glazing techniques. For instance, stippling or sponging can give your home variety and break up the monotony of the paint schemes throughout your home. If you think you’re not good at this sort of thing, don’t worry. You can buy kits with templates, designs, and all the tools you’ll need for this project. And when you’re done, you can expect a 148% average return on your investment.Replacing the cabinets can transform the bathroom quickly, especially in an older home with ugly, outdated cabinets. A cheap fix is to paint the cabinets and replace the hardware. (See our comments on Kitchen renovation for some cabinet-refreshing ideas.) Update your faucets and toilet. Toilets are relatively inexpensive, but they should be professionally installed. Make sure you consult a plumber when choosing your new toilet, so you buy one that fits. Faucets can make a fashion statement – contemporary and bold – or fit in with the style and period of your home. There’s an exciting range of styles available these days at a number of price points. Whatever you choose, new fixtures will make your bathroom sparkle and seem polished.
Installing custom shower doors is one of the most dramatic changes you can make. You’ll be amazed how much it will improve the appearance of your bathroom. There are a lot of different styles to choose from such as sliding glass, swinging, fixed, and frameless which can be had with colored glass, etched glass, mirrored glass and more. Many options are available off-the-shelf or on order from home improvement stores, or you may choose to have a door custom-designed. For a project that’s likely to take more than one weekend to complete – but that will pay big dividends – look down, at your bathroom floor. New flooring will quickly change the look and feel of your bathroom. Tile is the best choice for bathroom floors – either ceramic, porcelain or natural stone or, if you’re feeling extra fancy, marble. All of these choices are available in a range of styles and colors. This project requires extensive planning and preparation, and although it is possible to do the work yourself, we recommend investing in professionals. Average return on investment for new bathroom flooring is 101%.Finally, consider repairing or replacing any defective plumbing or electrical items in your bathroom. Call around for estimates and get references from previous customers to make sure the job will be done right and on time. Yes, plumbers can be expensive, but repairing faulty plumbing can yield an average 260% return on your investment when you sell – and if you don’t make those repairs now, you could end up having to make them later, after your home is under contract and subject to home inspection. Improving the Value of Your Home

Part III – Indoors and Outdoors, Upstairs and Down

Your home must flow, and if you’ve updated the kitchen and/or bathroom (see our previous two posts), then the rest of your home must reflect the same modern sensibility – inside and out, from the top floor to the basement.
Outdoors
Start with the yard. The lawn is the first thing a buyer will see, and if it has been poorly maintained then most buyers will shy away from even looking inside your home. Start by removing personal effects from the front yard and storing them elsewhere, out of sight. If your time is at a premium, hire a gardener or landscaper to trim back the overgrowth, weed and feed the lawn and replant as needed. Give your lawn the regular maintenance it needs to maintain a healthy, green appearance, with crisp edging around the driveway and sidewalk to give it a definite shape. You don’t have to turn your lawn into a botanical garden, just make sure it fits well into the neighborhood and reflects well on your house. The return on your investment in lawn improvements can average 426%. A new coat of paint will also improve your home’s curb appeal – and value. Repainting or resurfacing the outside walls of the house is enough to make your home stand out from its neighbors. Also, patch and repair any damaged areas. While you’re at it, clean out the gutters and replace damaged shingles.
Master Suite
People spend a third of their lives in bed – at least those of us lucky enough to get eight hours of sleep each night! – so the master suite can be a major selling point for your home. Most prospective buyers have wish list that includes a nice bathroom, lounging areas for down time, and a spacious walk-in closet. And all of it, of course, with a light, airy feel. Take the time to add storage and organization to the closet by adding shelves and drawer units – available in materials from wire to wood.
Basement
The basement may be the last thing that prospective homebuyers look at. A clean, well-maintained basement – finished or not – can quickly solidify the impression given by the improvements you’ve made upstairs and in the yard: that your home is well-maintained, modern and a great value for the price. A dirty basement that looks like a messy storage closet can ruin that good impression just as quickly. Rent a storage space or sell any excess items to clear up some of the space. Tend to any water problems your basement has. Give the walls and ceiling a fresh coat of paint. Install some sort of low-maintenance flooring such as industrial carpet. Remember, keeping every room clean continues the flow of your home. These are just a few ways that you can add value to your home. Whether you tackle all of the remodeling we’ve outlined, or just one key project, the returns can be well worth the effort.