What are the 9 Best Ways to Invest in Your Home?
The home remains one of the safest and smartest places to invest, allowing you to enjoy your investment while potentially improving your home’s future value and marketability.
Explore some options of ways to invest various amounts of funds, depending upon your own preferences and long-term plans. A small windfall now – if properly invested – can make a dramatic impact on your home’s future value. Here are some of the best ways to invest in your home.
While we’d love to just jump right in with suggestions for investing in home improvements, there are some first steps to consider. Before making any investments, you really should consider first paying off or paying down any high-interest credit cards you might be holding. Increasing your home’s value by $5,000 will be meaningless if you’re paying $10,000 over the years in interest and fees. However, not all debt is created equal. While credit cards and small loans should be paid off first, other low-interest loans like any student debt or mortgage might be worth keeping, particularly if the interest on those loans is tax deductible.
Once you’ve cleared any high-interest debt, you’ll want to take a good look at what options you might have to invest money into your own home. Your choices will be impacted by the amount of money you want to invest, how long you plan on staying in that home, your preference between improving your home’s value and improving your own livability in the home, and your long-term goals. Some popular options for consideration are:
$5,000 Investments
Minor Kitchen Remodel
Most homeowners know that one of the best places to get a bang for your investing buck is in the kitchen. While $5,000 won’t allow you to do a major overhaul, it should be enough for cosmetic upgrades (like painting the cabinets, replacing the knobs and hardware, and upgrading the lighting fixtures) as well as hopefully some appliances. A reliable, energy efficient dishwasher can be very appealing when you go to resell your home.
Replace ten old windows with double-pane, easy to clean, energy efficient vinyl windows.
Replacing the windows won’t only improve your home’s value, it’ll also lower your heating and cooling bills while you’re still enjoying the home.
Landscaping
Another place you can make a big impact with relatively little money is in landscaping. To stretch your investment, start with your local nursery or gardening center – some may offer free classes or consulting services. Think about the plants you have and your land’s rainfall and daily sun. And when considering upgrades, take a time to also look into more durable investments, like a flagstone walkway, stone retaining wall, or beautiful flower beds.
Let There Be Light!
A dark and poorly-lit home isn’t only uninviting for guests and home buyers, but it can also be unsafe while you’re living there. For $5,000, most homes can significantly improve their lighting systems, from adding dimmer switches to a room, putting in sun tubes to take advantage of natural lighting, replacing drapes with curtains that allow for more sunlight, replacing light fixtures, to adding track lighting where needed.
$10,000 Investments
Remodeling a Bathroom
One of the best ways to improve a home’s value is through a minor bathroom remodeling project. For $10,000, you should be able to put in a new floor and tile walls, install a new tub, toilet and sink, and add some snazzy fixtures. New bathrooms are a major draw for home buyers and typically one of the best values at resale.
Exterior
Many homeowners don’t think about improving the look of their home until they are just about to put it on the market and their real estate agent has a sit-down with them regarding curb appeal. But investing early in your home’s exterior can have a real impact on its value and the time it sits on the market. New siding might be a good investment, or you might be able to get by with replacing some of the wood and then painting or pressure-washing the walls. Think about adding some splashes of color or even building a dramatic entry via a new porch or backyard deck. Just be sure to check with your Homeowner’s Association before making any commitments.
Big Ticket Maintenance
Very often, homeowners only look to replace their aging big-ticket items such as the air conditioning and heating system or roof when they finally fail. And while there is some logic to that approach, you might be able to take advantage of lower costs and rebates by shopping for these things at your leisure. New roofs or new HVAC systems can also dramatically lower your heating and cooling costs in the near future. But if preemptive replacements are not your style, consider setting aside these funds into a separate savings account that will be specially earmarked for these future expenses.
$20,000 Investments
Moderate Kitchen Remodel
While you likely won’t have enough funds to fully gut and rebuild an entire kitchen, most homes can get a significant kitchen upgrade with $20,000 including new cabinets, new appliances, new counter tops, and the like.
Convert your Attic or Basement into a Bedroom
While a full attic renovation can easily triple this cost, a modest conversion that makes use of existing roof lines and walls might be doable in this price range and will directly increase the livable square footage of your home.
Embrace Green Energy Options
Depending upon your location, zoning, and the facing of your home, you might be able to install a small solar panel array, wind turbines, or other green energy options. This type of investment won’t only increase the value of your home, it might lower your electric bills while also providing you with protection from neighborhood power outages and fluctuations in the cost of energy.
Source: The 9 Best Ways to Invest in Your Home – Home Sweet Homes
If you have questions about a Home Equity Loan or Home Equity Line of Credit, ask for Debbie Orr or Lonnie Wild.
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