Are you prepping your home for sale? In today's market, some simple, low-cost solutions are now available to help you do that as expeditiously as possible...for as little as possible.

Remodeling for Optimal Value

In today’s housing market, many homeowners and investors are taking extra steps to make their houses more attractive to potential buyers who continue to hold a huge advantage when it comes to choices and prices. But which remodeling projects will garner you the highest returns — or even the most interest from local buyers?

Two or three years ago, you could spend five figures or more on an interior remodeling project and expect to recoup that money easily and quickly when selling your property. Today, according to real estate agents nationwide who participate in Remodeling magazine’s annual “Cost vs. Value Report,” the remodeling ROI is trending ever downward

Remodeling analyst Kelly Reidinger agrees. The longer you plan to stay in a home, the more likely you’ll recoup the costs of the remodel when the house is sold, she says. But often, people plan a major remodel with an eye toward selling in a year or two. If that’s the case, says Reidinger, it’s better to consider smaller projects in which you modernize or add a few upgrades.

Think simple on the inside

Investors and homeowners alike usually pick kitchens and bathrooms as their first areas for remodel. But the experts agree any changes in these rooms can be relatively minor if the main purpose is to improve resale value.

It’s quite another matter, however, if you’re working on your personal home, and you plan to stay there for several years. “If your hobby is gourmet cooking, then by all means go all out on the kitchen remodel,” says Reidinger. “You need to take your quality of life into the decision as well as the monetary value.”

Otherwise, a kitchen or bathroom remodeling project should focus on sprucing up the room with small touches. For example, instead of replacing cabinetry — one of the biggest expenses in a kitchen remodel — refinish the cabinets and replace the hardware and other fixtures.  A great source for kitchen hardware replacement is a new company on the market, Vicinity Hardware.  Vicinity trains sales consultants to come right to your door, complete hardware selections in hand and help you choose what is most cost effective and design appropriate.  What’s more, they will defer your payment through closing.  Visit www.vicinityhardware.com for more information.

Whomever you choose to do business with, Designers and Real Estate Professionals alike agree:  “Get rid of the brass,” explaining that brass fixtures in the kitchen and the bathroom are dated. Also, anytime you’re remodeling the bathroom in an investment property, you should skip the Jacuzzi tubs and focus on installing larger showers.

The No. 1 remodeling project to avoid is turning a spare room into a home office. Even though more people are working from home, the home office recoups only slightly more than half of its initial costs.

In fact, Reidinger says remodeling a spare bedroom into some other type of living space is the worst move a homeowner can make; it completely knocks down the resale value of the home. “Bedrooms and bathrooms sell houses,” she says.

If you must remodel a bedroom — or if you’re adding a spare room that could possibly be used as an extra bedroom — make sure you either leave or add a closet. “As long as you leave the closet, the room can be marketed as a bedroom,” adds Reidinger.

Stick with what works locally

There are, however, differing opinions about some remodeling projects. The “Cost vs. Value Report” states that sunrooms recoup only 59.1 percent of their value — third worst on the survey above a home-office addition or a built-in, back-up generator system. But Black and Holmes say sunrooms are popular amenities in their area of Tennessee. Reidinger advises against garage conversions; Black and Holmes are seeing a brisk business in that area.

So, before you begin any remodeling project, whether it’s just a spruce-up or a major remodel, Black and Holmes recommend talking to real estate agents and contractors in your area to determine what is attracting homebuyers. And the most important factor, they say, is to make sure the home is up to the standard of others in the neighborhood.

And remember, simple touches can be all you need. For example, in many homes replacing the lighting fixtures with a more modern option and adding crown molding can make a world of difference in how quickly the house sells.

“People are particular,” Reidinger says. “No matter what you do, the new owners will make the house fit their needs. So it’s best to do as little as possible if you are planning to sell the house soon.”

Reprinted with Permission from Growing Wealth Magazine

Echo Garrett, Triad Distributing NW, Inc, http://www.triad-dist.com