The weekend splurge
Its been a while since I went splurging. I mean I just had a check put into the account on Friday and we acted like a bunch of teenagers who just got money in their pockets! We spent it! (However I did get my bills paid and I had some extra money set aside, and we were shopping for items in the house). We bought a couple new fixtures to the bathroom at Lowes. She wanted a towel bar in the bathroom that wasnt a towel ring bar, but a hand towel bar. I still dont know what the difference is in use. We spent about $300 upgrading the master bathroom and just adding some personal touches (things to decorate and MORE candles, thanks to target and yankee candle).I do though have a quick question if anyone out there knows, but does anyone know if there is a site dedicated to improving the value of your home. I mean I've seen articles at bankrate.com and home improvement sites, but nothing that really tells you what other little things can boost the value. Most of the suggestions were basic, like add a new garage door, change appliances, powerwashing, etc. but I'm always looking for fresh new ideas to make sure I'm maximizing my dollar when I go to home depot or lowes? Savings up 5% today; added some money to ING after paying the rest of the bills.
2 Comments:
I have not come across any blogs that specificly detail which home improvements add x dollars of value. The general rule is Kitchens and Bathrooms sell homes. Hardwood floors are more valuable than carpet. Having upgraded structural improvements is always attractive to buyers (new roof, new windows, new boiler, new water heater, upgraded electrical, etc.) Improvement value can be subjective and varies widely from community to community. A seaside home with architectural style vinyl siding may be very valuable (because of salt corrosion and maintenance) while the same siding in a suburban area may be considered a negative since wood shingles are considered more desirable.
If you do plan on doing home improvements that you hope will increase the value of your home think neutral colors, classic design, and improved functionality.
All that said, unless you purchased a fixer-upper and plan on sellling shortly after upgrading most improvements will not pay themselves back fully.
Thanks for the great insight! We are doing a complete kitchen/bathroom remodeling however the burber carpet needs to come up, which will take more and more money... trying to work out a system of expenditures/retirement vs. home improvements is a daunting task.