Return on Renovation Investment?
Question:My wife and I purchased the home (our first) we live in just over a year ago. It is small, and 100+ years old, with no room for additional living space, and lots of problems. Here are some: 90 year old detached garage with a dirt floor, Leaky roof on the rear of the house, uninsulated attic, unfinished basement, sinking sun porch, bad gutters...I could go on..I'll just get depressed...LOL
We don't know how long we will live here, but I would bet between 2 and 12 more years. My goal is that when I retire from the Army (12 years left) that we either buy or build a new and our last home.
The leaky roof deal...is #1 on the priority list of repairs. My question is, would renovating the garage (into a workshop...only big enough for two motorcycles or a Kia), adding a deck, installing central air, and insulating the attic be worth the time and effort (and MONEY) or, do I just focus on upkeep of the existing structure, and save the money for the next house, or the kids' college etc?
Answers:
Definitely the roof. Also fix the gutters. Leaky gutters will cause other problems for you to sink money into later. Insulation will pay for itself whether you get value added or not. Maybe not in two years, certainly in twelve.
Central air depends upon cost and your climate. If it is a single story, cost will be less than two story. If your climate is on the warm side, you will certainly benefit.
Finishing a basement of this vintage will usually not add enough value to cover the cost. Garage is same story. Leave those as projects for the next owner unless you really need the space. Otherwise keep your money.
Well lets see
If the garage is 90 years old I'd leave it alone, something is going right on that one.
Insulate is a must do and it pays itself back on energy savings not on re-sale calculations
I agree on the # 1 being the roof. That will cause more internal damage to the nice ole house.
All said I would spend money to keep the house in first class shape but not try to modernize the place. I think the charm is the old not the modern conveniences.
Any way most upgrades do not raise the price of a place, they just look good but a 100k house today is a 100k house tomorrow.
i think that it is worth it to put the time and money into fixing up your house because when you sell it, it will have way more resell value to it
More Related Questions & Answers...