Considering Curb Appeal When Remodeling Your House for Resell

The resale values of some houses these days are high in some areas. If you are selling your property, remodeling it beforehand can have a good return on investment. Those little changes that might not seem so obvious can have big impacts when it comes to reselling your house.

In hotter markets, doing some updates in your house will give as much return as its cost. Not unless it is in a rapidly inflating location. The lesson here is not to avoid remodeling, but to rethink your expectations. Try to ask yourself first if you want to enjoy the updates for some period of time or do you want to make it immediately appealing to homebuyers?

If you are remodeling your house, updating has a reasonable purpose which is unquantifiable. For example, when you increase the area of your house, update its systems and fixtures, or rearrange the traffic flow, you are improving the functionality of your home. You may also change the wall colors, window coverings, and flooring in order to add beauty to your home. If you’ll decide to sell it later, you'll already have an advantage that will attract homebuyers.

However, it is not the same case if you're remodeling for the next buyer because you will not be able to know if the elements that you choose will appeal to the next buyer. But there are some parts of your home where renovation have to be done. For example, you may replace your roof for approximately $20,000. According to Remodeling Magazine, it will only yield a return of approximately 72% of the costs. However, a new roof could make the difference whether or not an FHA or VA buyer will buy your home. It is also a way to pass the government inspection.

On the other hand, there are a number of small updates that can have big impacts in terms of curb appeal. It is affect the safety and building integrity of your property. Take a look at the top five cost-to-value projects that earned the most return in 2015 along with its corresponding percentage:

- Replacing the front door with a 20-guage steel door – 102%
- Manufactured stone veneer -- 92. 2%
- Fiber-cement siding -- 84.3%
- Garage door replacement -- 82.5%
- Wood window replacement – 78%

With the following information, you’ll see that the most rewarding projects for resale were all about curb appeal. Try to attract your buyers on the exterior to favour your home over the other properties.