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As with any investments, how you spend your money to remodel your home requires carefully weighing the importance of your goals against how much you’re prepared to risk. Of course, you may not place a dollar value on every investment you make; some things are not measured in dollars and cents — things like comfort or safety, for example.
Read more: Lumber Liquidators vows to stop selling hazardous flooring
When you look back, you’re likely to find the best home improvement investments were the ones that most closely satisfied your personal values, so before you choose the smartest way to spend your budget, prioritize what you need or want most.
Typical goals for remodeling your home might include one or more of the following:
While there are some booming U.S. housing markets today where you can easily recoup more than 100 percent ROI on nearly any reasonable home upgrade, no one can guarantee how much return you will see when you sell your house. Real estate booms and busts are as inevitable as the rise and fall of the stock market. You pays your money and you takes your chances, as they say.
Real estate agents, home appraisers, house flippers and your Aunt Sadie may tell you to update your kitchen, bathroom, landscaping or front door to attract offers, but in the end, you may sell your house to someone because they simply ‘felt’ it was ‘the one.’ Likewise, deciding to invest in your home with a few nice upgrades or just some long-needed updates may come down to making the home more comfortable and appealing to only you and your family, based on your budget.
Read more: Should you pay down your mortgage or invest extra cash instead?
These upgrades and remodels hit multiple goals:
Other smart home investments include ways of making your home environment safer such as universal design remodels for aging in place, young children or disabled household members. Home security systems that alert you via smartphone to smoke and carbon monoxide or strangers at your door and inside your home can be relatively inexpensive investments. You can’t always apply ROI in dollars and cents to convenience or peace of mind.
Read more: New website tells you if someone died in your house!
Want more money-saving advice for your house? See our Homes & Real Estate section.
This post was last modified on March 22, 2017 3:11 pm
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