We are by no means Realtors, this we know. That said, we work with a lot of them and do a fair bit of consultation with several in Kansas City. One of the questions they get asked a lot, and us too, is what remodel will help your home gain resale value…which remodel can I get the best return on investment? We would still defer to the professionals in the real estate business, but here’s what we hear the most from them.
Kitchen remodels, bathroom updates and additions, and adding usable square footage such as a basement finish, or converting attic space.
If your kitchen is similar to the picture above you either love honey oak or you are living in a house built likely in the ’80s to mid/late ’90s. There’s nothing wrong with that, but our market is loaded with kitchen’s just. Like. Yours. A kitchen remodel is the most intrusive remodel that a homeowner can live through, it’s also likely one of the most expensive remodels you can tackle in your home beyond a basement finish. All of that being said, according to experts, a kitchen remodel can oftentimes bring nearly a complete return on investment in most situations. It’s also one of the most obvious and “splashy” remodels you can do to any home, where families spend a vast majority of the time.
Hopefully, none of you are rocking the master bathroom pictured above. Sadly, some of you are. Sweet flower wallpaper, plastic faucet fixtures, there’s that awesome honey oak again, not pictured but definitely there…the brass “Hollywood” light bar. Let’s not glance past the carpet in the bathroom. Once again, nothing seriously wrong with this master bathroom, but in terms of resale or a place to wisely spend money on an update, this is your space. Fortunately, compared to the kitchen, the master bathroom remodel is an inconvenience for many, rather than a full-on trip driving the struggle bus. An updated master bathroom is another spot that gets a lot of attention on the sale market and a good return on investment.
I previously mentioned bathroom addition. If you live in a house with only 1 bathroom and everyone around you has 2, then you’re the low home on the totem pole. Finding space to add a bathroom would bring you up to equal to the rest of the homes in your area. Being equal may not sound that exciting, but in terms of the resale valve and “comps” as the pros call them, you’ll be doing yourself a long-term favor.
One thing to keep in mind. Not everyone has the same budget or space for a particular remodel. Having a dream kitchen remodel is great, having an understanding of what it would cost to make that dream a reality is another thing altogether. The above kitchen looks amazing to me, but when I look at it I see a lot of custom work. Custom work doesn’t always bring a return on investment. Work with your contractor and talk with them about design and their understanding of what they are seeing in the remodeling of a particular space right now. In the end, the final decision is yours, it’s your home! Don’t discount the experience and trends your contractor is seeing currently, in the long term, it could earn you money…
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