Improvements to Increase Your Home Value

Improvements to Increase Your Home Value

If you are looking to sell your house in the future, you may want to finish some home improvements to increase your home value. However some projects may not pay off as well as others. So how do you know where to spend your money? Since 2002, a trade magazine for contractors and builders called “Remodeling” has been tracking common home improvement projects and how much of the cost of each project is recouped when the home sells.

Houselogic has sifted through years of past results and aggregated the numbers to get an idea of what projects made the most of your dollars year after year. Then they overlayed that background with the data from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®’ “2015 Remodeling Impact Report” to determine current project costs and the cost recovery percentage, and to get some other fun facts, such as how satisfied homeowners are with the projects when finished.

They also have a few things in common. The projects are:

– Low-maintenance
– Good — but not necessarily the highest — quality
– Energy-efficient
– Not too costly

Check out what Houselogic says are the top 2 best long-term remodeling investments you can make:

1. Replacing Your Front Door

Your faithful front door works tirelessly — day in and day out — to usher in you and your guests, and to seal your house up tight. But when Old Faithful gets tired and worn out, don’t hesitate to call in a replacement. Year in and year out, replacing your old front door with a new steel door is a project that kicks up curb appeal and yields the best payback.

“It gives you the best bang for your buck in terms of transforming the look and feel of your home,” says Brandon Erdmann, president of the remodeling firm HomeSealed Exteriors in Milwaukee. “Plus, old exterior doors can be a huge source of energy loss. So you’re improving the look of your house, improving energy efficiency, and you’re able to do it without breaking the bank.”

It’s also a relatively low-cost project. According to the “2015 Remodeling Impact Report,” a new steel front entry door has a national median cost of $2,000 installed, and can recover 75% of that cost at resale.

2. New Siding
Old, worn siding, along with generally sad curb appeal, can contribute to a loss of up to 10% of your home’s value, according to some appraisers. New siding, on the other hand, practically screams “my owner takes care of me.”

What to choose?

Vinyl siding is low-cost, durable and it hits all the right notes when it comes to getting a return on your home improvement dollars. Best of all: It’s a low-maintenance feature that frees up your time.

Today’s vinyl siding includes fade-resistant finishes and transferable lifetime warranties that are much better than the 10-year guarantees of just two decades ago. There’s good payback, too. According to the “2015 Remodeling Impact Report,” the $12,000 national median cost of a vinyl siding replacement job returns a solid 83% if you should decide to sell your home.

Streamline Enterprises is located in Lansing, Michigan and have been providing the surrounded areas with quality exterior home improvement services since 1998. They are certified by leading manufactures and their products are backed by guarantees, not just pro-rated limited warranties. Contact Streamline Enterprises for additional information on their products and services.