Comments on: 2008-2009 Best Home Value Remodeling Projects

By: Bargain babe

Bargain babe — Thu, 14 May 2009 17:54:08 +0000

Wow, very cool info. My husband and I re-did the kitchen in our condo years ago and replaced the floors, counters, and cabinets. Kept the appliances. We did all the labor ourselves (with the help of my super handy Dad) and saved a ton of money. We sold it just as the market was starting to hesitate. In the end I’m not sure we got a return on our investment, other than being ABLE TO SELL the condo.

By: SavingDiva

SavingDiva — Thu, 14 May 2009 14:28:18 +0000

I am purchasing a condo (closing next week) and I am thinking about redoing the floors (carpet to wood).

By: Todd @ The Personal Finance Playbook

Todd @ The Personal Finance Playbook — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:39:34 +0000

One thing I would say about the siding – even if it doesn’t help the sale price quite as much, it will surely help to make the home look newer and sale more quickly.

By: barry

barry — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:15:35 +0000

I’ve taken some of this advice already. We will be trying to see our hourse starting next month. I replaced the siding last fall, and have had the entire outside and inside repainted. We did a “minor kitchen remodel” (new paint, countertops, sink/faucet, light fixtures/fans) a couple of years ago.

So, we will see how that works!

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:25:41 +0000

Not bad returns considering even if a contractor did the work. The biggest thing is to get enjoyment out of it and still recoup some of the cost.

By: Jake

Jake — Tue, 12 May 2009 13:32:56 +0000

Interesting! A couple of years ago I was going to sell my home.. i asked the realtor if it would be worth putting vinyl siding on my home to help it sell.. she told me I would not get my money back!

since the home market crashed, i ended up staying but HAD to do something to the siding, if i was going to stay or go, either way it had to be done!

Interesting to see what I may recoup from the investment!

By: mbhunter

mbhunter — Tue, 12 May 2009 03:00:39 +0000

If you DIY be sure to check local code. Even if you finish the project an inspection later could reveal the code issues that were glossed over. Then you won’t recoup as much.

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:30:33 +0000

Looking at the costs they’ve assigned to each project, it seems like they’re assuming that you’re going to pay someone else to do the work. It’s important to note that for most of the projects listed, you can come out way ahead by doing the work yourself. It’s not as hard as you may think.

By: ian

ian — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:08:20 +0000

[quote]… so the deeper you go the more accurate you can expect the numbers to be…[/quote]

Although the information may be more specific to your area, the number of houses included in the estimate is also decreasing and therefore the accuracy is going down.
It may be good to stay broad in your search to keep the sample size up and accuracy high.