Remodeling your bathroom is one of the best things you can do to increase the…
Increase Homes Value with a Bathroom Remodel
Guess what? You can increase your homes value with a bathroom remodel. Contrary to popular belief, the bathroom is the top room to remodel to increase your homes value. It’s true. A fresh renovation of your bathroom(s) will add more value to your home than remodeling the kitchen.
According to a report on Yahoo Finance, contrary to popular believe, the bathroom and not the kitchen is the best home renovation to do to increase resale value. Redoing a bathroom is more about functionality where, it could be argued, a kitchen renovation is about style. Furthermore, according to data from Zillow a mid-size $3000 remodel on the bathroom can result in $1.71 increase in value for every $1 spent on renovation.
Consider Your Home’s Value
If you do decide you want to dive in and make some major renovations in your bathroom, keep in mind the value of your home and how much that value is actually going to increase by doing a given renovation. What percent of the renovation cost are you going to recoup upon resale? Zillow has crunched some numbers on The Value of Home Improvements and for a variety of remodel jobs that could be done in a home and estimated the recoup value. They also have a great link to create your own estimate.
Keep the resale value of your home in mind when you are planning a renovation.
Don’t Go Overboard
I was surprised to learn that some people have in fact done renovations on a home that cost more than they could sell the house for. Don’t do that. Consider things like the home’s value and the value of the houses in the surrounding neighborhood and don’t go overboard.
Talk to a real estate appraiser and get an idea of the kind of renovation that will increase the resale value of your home. Maybe your home doesn’t really require a bathroom renovation but the basement needs to be redone. Remember a renovation, if done right, can be an investment in your future. Get some help from professionals who do this kind of thing for a living.
Be practical in your bathroom renovation choices, keep it neutral and classy.
Stay Classy
When making decisions on your new bathroom design, stay classy. Classic appreciates in the long term or you can suffer the consequences of stylistic depreciation. Making wise decisions in redesigning a bathroom now will help you get a return in the future. Keeping your bathroom design classy will mean that it will still be an acceptable design in years to come. Use nice tile, neutral colors and classy fixtures. If you are looking to decorate around a theme you can do that with towels and other accessories. Don’t do anything that would forever doom that bathroom to a certain color or style because of permanent features.
Like the color orange? Good, buy orange towels. Don't tile the whole bathroom that color. Bad idea.
Avoid Quirky
Don’t make the mistake of making quirky design choices. Sinks and vanities are a basic example. Don’t go over-the-top with an unusual vanity design because it fits the theme you are currently obsessed with. Just because you love a rustic, western theme does not mean that installing a wooden barrel as the bathroom vanity is going to go over well with potential buyers in the future. Maybe you are super into vintage and really want to buy used colored fixtures from the 1950’s. Don’t do it. The chances of you finding a buyer who has your same taste in home décor is slim and if you have to sell the house you may need to sell it fast.
This might be cute to you, but I guarantee that people who feel the same are few and far between.
Keep the Buyer in Mind
If you are having trouble reasoning with yourself about reigning in your design preferences, put yourself in a prospective buyers shoes. Buying a home that you are going to have to immediately renovate is not a fun prospect. Your pockets will already be feeling empty because you bought a house. Now you have to either scrape together enough money to rip out those hideous brown bathroom fixtures that the previous homeowner thought was such a great idea back when they designed the bathroom in the 1970’s.
If you don’t believe that brown bathtubs, sinks and toilets exist, trust me, they did at one time. I have vivid memories of the brown bathroom at my friend’s house when I was about 6-years-old and how much I hated using it. I never could tell if it was clean or not and she had a handful of brothers. Ick! I can only hope that the world has since been purged of these heinous porcelain fittings. If you happen to have just such a porcelain set in your bathroom, my heart goes out to you and I highly recommend changing that posthaste. I am certain it will increase the value of your home and make it sell faster than it would have otherwise.
This is at least a neutral color choice. However, I don't know that the style would carry through the years.
I personally would knock a home off my list of potential homes if it had something quirky I couldn’t stand to live with because I don’t have time for a remodel. I am pleased to report that my friend’s family was able to renovate their bathroom and remove the previously mentioned brown bathroom fixtures—15 years later. You wondered why and now you know. They had to put up with that nasty bathroom for a long time. I am all for spending money wisely and avoiding debt but if you can afford to fix a problem that will improve your quality of life and increase your home’s value, do it. At least start saving and planning for it.
This a a beautiful and timeless bathroom design that will still be acceptable for many years ahead.
The fact is renovations are expensive and eventually you get used to below par living situation in your newly purchased home and start to put up with what you have. Yeah, you’re planning to get around to changing out that nasty tile, but it’s working for now. I appreciate frugality but the idea of renovating a bathroom so you can sell the house is appalling to me. Renovate the bathroom now so you can enjoy it. In the same breath, always bear in mind that any home renovations need to benefit you in the possible future event that you have to sell your home.
This is another example of an extreme bathroom design that, although cute, may turn off potential buyers.
Get a professional appraiser to look at your home and determine what needs to be updated or improved. Set a budget and don’t go overboard. Make classic choices and avoid quirky, permanent installations like colored fixtures. Do it now so you can enjoy the benefits of a newly remodeled bathroom instead of looking back and wishing you had done it years ago when you could enjoy it.
At Five Star Bath Solutions we know how important it is that your bathroom is both beautiful and functional. We help you choose the best and most beautiful solutions for your bathroom design needs and go above and beyond to give you the high quality service you expect. We have many locations to serve you. Request your free estimate today!
