Getting the Best Return on Your Home Improvements

Getting the Best Return on Your Home Improvements

First Up: FLOORING!
Quick fixes before selling a home always pay off, but which repairs bring the biggest return? Specific answers to this often-asked question largely depend on a variety of factors such as:
•Time of year
•Location of the home
•Market temperature
•Competing inventory

There is no hard and fast rule. But there are general guidelines that apply to most homes. For example, the National Association of Realtors publishes each year the Cost vs. Value Report with Remodeling Magazine, which features various home project costs and returns in four regions, including a national average.
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Flooring Fixes

In my neighborhood, most of the homes were built in the late 1940s, which means the floors are original, hardwood oak. Wood floors are a hot item today, but preferences over the years have changed. Carpeting became popular -- like with lots of consumer products -- after somebody figured out how to get the government to pay for it. When vets returned home from WWII, housing was at a shortage. Homes were sold with newly installed carpeting because the cost for the carpeting could be rolled into government-insured (VA) loans.

Then carpeting became vogue in the 1960s. Some homes today, sadly, still sport '60's shag carpeting. The final movement away from hardwood happened when installing hardwood floors became too expensive. Plywood was easier to obtain and faster to install. Plus choices in carpeting were plenty. It's still relatively inexpensive to install carpeting.

•Hardwood Floors
If your home has hardwood floors, that's what buyers want, and it would pay to have the carpeting removed and the floors refinished.

•Carpeting
If your sub-floor is plywood, then replace the carpeting with light tan. Neutral carpeting is your best bet for resale.

•Ceramic
Replace chipped or cracked tiles. Clean or replace the grout. But don't install ceramic (it's too expensive) unless it's for aesthetic reasons in an entry way.

Talk to your realtor about what is best for your house. Remember that flooring is one of the top 3, if not the most important renovation you can make when selling your home.