How Renovations can Increase the Value of Your Home
Value is a complicated concept and is defined according to an individual’s personal priorities. For most people, real value can’t be measured just in dollars and cents, but is also measured by the quality of their life experiences. Transforming a home into an expression of the personal style of its inhabitants is one of life’s most enjoyable experiences.
Some of those transformations result in increasing the financial value of a home. For example, a home with a new roof can command a higher price than one with an older roof. Other transformations result in increasing your home’s personal value. Turning a spare bedroom into a ballet studio to nourish your child’s love of dance is unlikely to elevate the resale price of your home, but videos of their recitals may be priceless. While it’s sometimes necessary to choose between financial and personal value, there are some home improvements that can increase your home’s value in more ways than one.
Renovation Heating and Cooling
Ceiling fans are a great way to reduce energy costs, prevent illness, change up your décor, and elevate the value of your home all at the same time. Today’s ceiling fan designers offer a wide variety of styles, colors, and even shapes, as well as incorporating some spectacular mood lighting elements. Not only can they blend successfully with almost any type of décor, they can even serve as beautifully sculpted decorative focal points. Even the most elaborate ceiling fan is relatively inexpensive compared to many other types of home improvement projects.
Heating water uses up to 30% of an average home’s energy costs. A tank-less water heater can not only save you money every month, but homes with tankless water heaters sold an average 43 days faster than those with traditional water heaters. Tank-less heaters only use energy when you need hot water and only heat the amount you need, rather than drawing energy at all times. That’s one reason they last a lot longer than traditional water heaters. With the new trend towards smaller homes, and mortgages, tank-less water heaters are becoming an increasingly popular choice because they take up so little space.
Renovation Health and Conservation
While adding to your curb appeal may be important to banks and real estate professionals, replacing leaky piping is more important for you and your family. Leaky valves can cause structural damage that require costly repairs as well as potential health problems. Leaks that go undetected for a long period of time create optimum growing conditions for hazardous mold and mildew. Many recommend switching to ball valve as they have better flow rates while being quite sturdy. Once you’ve inspected and repaired any leaks, you might want to invest in new faucets in the kitchen and bath. Some of the new designs are breathtaking as well as unsurpassed in terms of functionality and water conservation.
Conserving water has become top priority for many people, and more people are replacing lawns with fruit trees and vegetable gardens. As the number of headlines about dangerous pesticides and genetically modified foods increase, so does the value of the ability to produce fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables for personal consumption with a minimum of effort. No matter how ecologically conscious, most homeowners just don’t have a lot of time to spend keeping up landscaping. That’s why many are replacing wasteful sprinkler systems with drip line irrigation watering systems hooked up to timers. These systems offer full control and enable people to water plants with different moisture needs simultaneously in a very precise way.
Spending time outdoors in the fresh air improves our quality of life as much as fresh food does. A great way to increase your quality of life while increasing the value of your home is to build a deck or patio, both of which offer a good financial return on your investment. Homeowners that invest the amount of $10,000 in a wooden deck can expect to recoup up to 80% of the cost. Stamped concrete patios are also becoming an increasingly popular option. They cost about half as much to install, last longer, and you can recoup about 50% of the initial cost.
Investments that increase your quality of life as well as the financial price of your home are the ones that provide the most true value.