How Improvements Can Affect the Value of Your Home
Many home improvements are considered on the
merit of how they improve the value of your home. But according to
experts, improvements such as structural changes that are largely
unseen, may not add to the resale value as much as you would think.
Many of these improvements are considered necessary maintenance. For
instance, a new water heater can certainly save you a lot of grief
such as water flooding the inside of your home, and it will
certainly be a selling point to some extent, but it doesn’t have
that wow factor that will spur the new buyer to pay a few extra
thousands because it looks so great.
Of course a buyer will want to know that your foundations are sturdy
and the electrical wiring is not eaten away by time or vermin. They
will be more likely to buy a home where the plumbing is up-to-date.
But if they walk into the home to find shabby carpet and paint
flaking off the walls, they won’t be thrilled – unless they are
buying the house as a fixer-upper.
Then you have to realize that $60,000 worth of renovations will not
gain you another $60,000 onto the asking price. Still, home
renovations every so often are necessary to keep it in tip-top
condition. Once a house is allowed to fall into a state of bad
repair, not only does the value fall, but it can cost you extra in
living expenses. Poor insulation will increase your heating and
cooling costs; guttering that is allowed to rust out may cause water
damage to your walls. That will cost more to fix than the guttering
would have.
When you are thinking in terms of home improvements, start off
small. It’s amazing what a difference new cupboard knobs can make to
the look of a room. Updated light fixtures, paint, floor and window
coverings are all simple improvements that give a good return for
money spent as far as the wow factor goes. That is, they are readily
seen and appreciated. They add heaps of value to your home and they
give a great deal of satisfaction, something that should never be
overlooked. Value is not always just in financial terms.
Always keep financial records of the improvements you’ve made on
your home. Although the first $250,000 profit on the sale of a home
is tax-free, ($500,000 for a couple) if you’ve lived in that home
for a long time, the profit from selling may surprise you. So if you
can subtract all your renovation expenses you may be able to gain
significant tax savings.
About the Author: D. Benjamin is the owner of
iapsales.com LLC - a family business specializing in HVAC products. We
are distributors of
Qmark Heaters,
electric tankless water heaters,
bathroom heaters,
patio heaters, electric heaters,
portable air
conditioners & electric towel warmers. Shop on line at
www.heateroutlet.com for these great home improvement products.
Iapsales.com LLC was established in 2003 and is the sister company to
Innovative Air Products located in historical Exeter, NH. We are a 2nd
generation manufacturers’ rep firm dedicated to providing residential &
commercial heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment. We offer
a great selection online at the lowest prices anywhere. We can also be
found on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube