With real estate prices on a steady upward trend it’s now more important than ever to protect your investment. The easiest way to do this is to stay on top of any necessary repairs and updates that your home might need. Whether you own real estate primarily as an investment and plan to rent it out or flip the unit or you’re living in the home yourself, staying ahead of any necessary repairs and renovations is the best plan for protecting your investment and ensuring you get the highest return.
Why should I renovate my home?
There are many reasons why now is a great time to renovate your home. If you are planning to flip or rent out your house some simple renovations can really up your rate of return and bring in more money than you originally thought. The ROI of renovations is typically significant so having a plan to make these updates either quickly or slowly over time can help you get the most out of your investment.
Even if you don’t intend to sell or rent out your home anytime soon, it’s always easier to do renovations in chunks over time than to have to do it all at once at the end.
What renovations should I consider?
Did you know? While painting the interior may provide the biggest bang for your interior-reno buck, new siding on a home (whether you have siding now or are covering another type of exterior) is the exterior equivalent. New siding for your home can provide a transformation that can make an older home look new (or a great home, breathtaking)! In Hamilton, Burlington & Oakville we’re transforming homes every day with our exterior renovation services!
When considering what renovations to take on first, you have to think about what affect you’re trying to achieve. While exterior renovations cause a potential buyer or renter to form their first impression, interior renovations may rank higher on the must do list for a variety of reasons.
Interior vs Exterior
Consider what part of the home needs the most attention. If the interior is mostly cosmetic and can benefit from simple adjustments here and there, you might be better off to focus on the exterior and really wow with that curb appeal. However, if the interior need quite a bit of work and you have to focus on one or the other for budget reasons or otherwise, you might want to just do some surface work on the outside and really spend your time and money on the inside.
Kitchen or bathroom updates
In hot housing markets like the GTA, doing renovations on your kitchen and/or bathrooms can often result in a significant return on your investment. These areas are where people often spend the most time in their homes so they are often the most expensive in terms of construction costs. But these are also spaces where buyers and renters can tell whether money has been spent to update them.
Home exteriors with curb appeal as a focus
Features like the garage door, siding, front door and even garden can help draw people in to view your house. If you spend all of your money remodeling the inside to look amazing but your curb appeal misses the mark, you might not even get the opportunity to show off the inside. Ensuring the roof isn’t in disrepair, the siding is fresh and the eaves aren’t falling off or looking worn are all fairly easy fixes that can make all the difference, both visually and in actual resale value.
Replacing siding (or siding over brick)
The exterior update that is most noticeable and transformational is to add new siding to your home. That means replacing old siding, but also the opportunity to cover other older exteriors like brick, wood, or stucco with new siding. With infinite colours available as well as materials, this change can be right within budget (often surprisingly).
Replacing the roof
No one wants to buy a home with a leaky roof or one that looks like the shingles are breaking off. Though a roof replacement can be a costly job, it’s also one that not many new homeowners will want to take on. Being able to list your home with the words ‘new roof’ in the description make it an appealing choice for many buyers and renters.
Adding a porch, deck or backyard patio
Many homebuyers are looking for a great space to entertain guests so having a well-defined area that they can see themselves using often increases the value of the home enough to completely cover the cost of adding one. And if you aren’t looking to sell anytime soon, you’ll no doubt enjoy this addition!
Invest in home renovations to protect your largest investment
Whether you are thinking about listing your home, looking for renters or are still happy in it for the time being, keeping ahead of the trend with renovations and updates like siding or roofing repairs, kitchen updates or remodels and outdoor space upgrades can help you secure a higher property value for your home. Taking small steps to enhance your investment over time is the best way to ensure you’ll get the highest rate of return when the time comes.
