A lot of homeowners will place equity at the top of their list when they find they have some money to put towards remodeling. You can greatly increase the value of your home simply by touching up some areas of your house that people will tend to look at in the buying process. Most residential realtors will tell you that there are some very specific areas that buyers look for when they enter a home and are considering purchasing it; these areas can make or break a deal, or even justify a greater cost to the tune of thousands of dollars. The specific areas are the main bathroom, the entrance, the kitchen, and the master bedroom. If you have some extra money and are looking to add value to your home by remodeling, these are the areas to start. If you have just purchased or are in the process of purchasing a new home, you will want to look at these areas for the negotiating process. If you think they need some remodeling, then you have a couple of opportunities. The first is to bring down the asking price of the buyer. Many mortgage brokers will offer a loan that can be incorporated into the mortgage to apply to remodeling costs, so the best time to remodel will be when you first purchase that new house.
Many of us have at least one area in our room that just has to be done. In my house it is the downstairs bathroom. The room is just an insane space, cramped, dirty, old fashioned, and basically unusable to anyone who has to sit down. This room is not an emergency; it is a have-to project. It is the room in our house that we will eventually have to remodel, but it must come after any other household needs are taken care of. It may seem strange, but it is actually kind of nice to have an area of the house that needs to be taken care of- it gives us something to look forward to in the event that we should come by some extra money, and it is also nice to picture it as a completed project.
Perhaps the most important consideration of remodeling is the budget you are operating on. Once you get started on the project, it is very easy to get carried away and send a lot of money down the drain. You should price your whole project ahead of time, taking into consideration the fixtures you will need, any labor you will have to employ in specific areas, and costs of other materials. This will all be contingent upon the room or rooms that you will be working on. Kitchens and bathrooms will be at the top of the list in terms of expense, with bedrooms and living rooms not costing quite as much.
Finally, take into account any emergency projects that need to be done. These projects may not seem as glamorous as others- for instance, a roof should be replaced every twenty years or so. You certainly will not notice the aesthetic qualities of a roof remodeling in the way you would if you had redone the kitchen, but ensuring that functional elements of your home remain intact is vital to every other room in the house.
