These home upgrades are your best return on investment

Upgrading your home is, without doubt, an endeavour undertaken with the intention of producing a higher standard of living for yourself and/or family. This process is always an exhilarating and creative one that allows you to customize your living space into exactly what you dreamed of.

As you review the countless home magazines and home style blogs, the choices will start to pile up leaving you with a long list of options that you can include in your build that may seem appealing at the outset. These items may include several cool and innovative features and products that appeal to the average home or condo owner due to the instant gratification of enjoying such an item. Unfortunately these are not always value-based upgrades for the build. Instead these upgrades focus on the final finish as opposed to the addition of another desirable feature or best practice construction.

In order to avoid losing sight of value in the whirlwind of selections and upgrades, check out this list of home improvements below, organized from lowest to highest, and based on return on investment. It is advisable to keep the following ratios in mind as this train of thought can help you start with a solid base when completing investment projects, like resale, where the difference in the quality of your selection are quickly recognized and reflected in the final sale price. These figures represent the typical return on invest for different areas of your home and, despite being very simple, can lend a good train of thought when completing your next home improvement project:

High Return on Investment

Bathroom renovation (75% - 100%)
Kitchen renovation (75% - 100%)
Exterior paint (50% - 100%)
Interior paint (50% - 100%)

Medium Return on Investment

Central air installation (25% - 75%)
Roof shingle replacement (25% - 75%)
Deck building (25% - 75%)
Paving with concrete (25% - 75%)
Basement renovation (50% - 75%)
Construct a garage (50% - 75%)
Recreation room (50% - 75%)
Fireplace installation (50% - 75%)
Flooring upgrade (50% - 75%)
Heating system upgrade (50% - 75%)
Windows and door replacement (50% - 75%)
Garage construction (50% - 75%)

Poor Return on Investment

Skylight installation (0% - 25%)
Swimming pool (0% - 25%)
Whirlpool tub installation (0% - 50%)
Interlocking brick walkways (25% - 50%)
Home theatre (25% - 50%)
Building a fence (25% - 50%)
Paving with asphalt (25% - 50%)
Landscaping (25% - 50%)

As you can see, there is a clear path to success that you can follow within this information as you can simply select to upgrade the items that provide the highest return. That plan can work and, despite the fact you receive a significantly smaller return on investment for some of the less apparent upgrades, these features are often equally apparent as a whole when considering the sale of the home you are renovating. It is because these features support a clean and crisp final product that many buyers will be looking for to ensure the renovation was not completed in the cheapest manner possible. This may include upgrading the insulation to today’s building code if you have the opportunity before enclosing the walls with drywall. There is a fine line to walk when choosing the finishes to invest in that will provide you with the best return for your money through both the sale of your home and the creation of equity for a “forever home”.

Regardless of your vendor, ensure that you consult a professional design-builder who is able to provide you with a clear plan to achieve these value based goals.