"Door County Real Estate" by: Kevin Nordahl, REALTOR®
Remodeling for resale
Rebuilding the inner sanctum of one’s home can be an alluring proposition. Take any number of television remodeling programs for example. Bob Villa and Trading Spaces sure do make it look easy. But, at what point does it start costing too much money? And how much rebuilding is too much? When in doubt consider one thing above all, your home’s resale value.
Not to be outdone by your own happiness and sense of belonging to your space, your home’s resale value should be the prime consideration if your remodeling goals are short term (less than five years). This also applies to condominiums as well. Consider these comparisons.
Adding a second or third bath may significantly improve your home’s overall value. Adding a tile floor or a new $2,500 shower door does not. Remodeling your kitchen by adding a new $3,500 refrigerator does not significantly improve value. Adding a refrigerator with an ice maker does. Adding a shower to a bathroom that once had an old rotted-out tub does not significantly improve value. Adding another sink to that same bathroom does. Adding an indoor pool to a 1,200 square foot modular home on a half acre is just a bad idea. There is no market comparison and most purchasers of indoor pools rarely desire living in a modular home. Adding a covered porch to an old farmhouse or a set of double glass doors to a waterfront patio are great ideas. Consider your home’s genre when making any addition.
Here is the general rule. If a fixture or item existed when the home was purchased it does not greatly affect the value of the home to have it replaced. Consider it routine maintenance. If you are adding a fixture or item to a home where one did not exist before, then you are likely creating additional value. That is because the improved home would compare to sold prices in a new category of home, one with four bedrooms as opposed to three for instance. A complete gut-job to a home can pull a would-be disaster from the ashes and elevate that home to trophy status. There is a fine line between remodeling, fixing and over building.
Now take into consideration the person who adds wood blinds, tile and hardwood floors, new plumbing fixtures, air conditioning and a whirlpool tub to their condominium unit. Guess what? Add a whirlpool tub and air conditioning to the list of significantly valuable improvements. Why? Because floors, plumbing and window treatments where there when you moved in. To say that one’s $20,000 list of improvements isn’t worth $20,000 doesn’t set well with many people. This is especially true in condominiums where the evolution of space is a limited factor to the four walls of the unit. Unfortunately we REALTORS® often have to explain the mystery.
There is an upside to upgrades. While you will unlikely recover 100% of the cost for upgrading in the short term, it is much more likely an upgraded property will sell quicker in an average market time. This is true of homes that have been gutted and completely refinished as well. This is because a majority of people innately like nice things.
Undoubtedly we have all dreamed of living in a colossal mansion at one point in our life. Every year, people from all over the world travel to unique destinations to gaze upon the architecture and décor of the very wealthy. Seeking out the majestic dioramas of the upper 1% is hardly a new fascination. Bringing elements of that world into our every day life can be quite costly but very rewarding not to mention environmentally friendly.
Remodeling around an existing home saves natural resources and the posterity of the land beneath it as opposed to abandonment and building anew. Call an appraiser before you lift the hammer if you have any doubt about bringing down the house.
Kevin Nordahl is a life-long resident of Door County, a REALTOR® and a member of the Door County MLS. He is active President of the Door County Board of REALTORS® and has been a Sales Consultant at Coldwell Banker Door County Horizons in Fish Creek since 1996. He may be reached online at www.doorcountyrealestate.com or by phone at (920) 493-4004.
Kevin Nordahl is a life-long resident of Door County, a REALTOR® and a member of the Door County MLS. He is active President of the Door County Board of REALTORS® and has been a Sales Consultant at Coldwell Banker Door County Horizons in Fish Creek since 1996. He may be reached online at www.doorcountyrealestate.com or by phone at (920) 493-4004.