Showing A Bit of Discipline with Home Improvements
Home improvements represent the realization of a dream. You love your home, but know that certain improvements can really make it into that magical castle. If only you had that extra bedroom. If only you had those high end windows that canter from the center. If only you had those bathroom fixtures that run $400 a piece. Ah, the list is endless and there is no better time than now to get it all done, right? Well, maybe not.
More than a few people have come to regret massive home improvements to their home for one huge reason – they can’t recover the cost of said improvements. The homes in your neighborhood fall within a range of prices. Typically, this range is fairly limited with not much more than a hundred thousands dollars being the difference between the dump and the pristine residence.
If you are not careful, you can spend a ton of money on improvements that go beyond the value of the neighborhood. In such a situation, you end up with a home that you cannot sell for a profit because the ceiling on the market in your area is lower than all the money you poured into the property. Much like the buyer and seller versions, this is known as home improver’s remorse.
Assuming you realize the market cap in your neighborhood, you can still have problems with overdoing your improvements. If you are married or living with someone, each of you has particular improvements you would like to see done to the house. The problem, however, is the right hand may not know what the left hand is doing. This typically occurs when one party caves in and tells a contractor to go with the rare German mega toilets throughout the house one day while the other person is not around. A few days later, the opposite happens with some other aspect of the home. By the end of the project, the cost has gone up tens of thousands of dollars. You laugh, but this happens all of the time.
If you are going to make improvements to your home, sit down and map out your budget. Know exactly what the market will support and how you will spend your money. After that, you just have to stick to the plan!
