Home Improvements
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Updating Bathrooms
After kitchens, bathrooms are a home buyer’s biggest concern. The good news here is that bathroom renovations typically realize a homeowner an 80-90% return on their investment. For a small space, $1,000 can go a long way to helping you boost your home’s value.
In addition to tiling the floor, you could upgrade the vanity and sink. Depending on the size of your vanity and the number of sinks you would like to install you can buy a premade, finished piece at most “big box” home improvement stores and sink for several hundred dollars. Or opt for a pedestal sink (or two) and freestanding cabinets for storage – a hot new trend – and you’ll still come in well under your $1,000 spending limit.
Get Efficient
Use your $1,000 budget to make a smart and eco-friendly investment in your home such as:
- Going tankless. Installing a tankless hot water heater for $150-$1,000 (depending on size) is an attractive energy-efficient upgrade for today’s homeowners and buyers…and it will save you between 10-20% on your utility bills monthly.
- Installing ceiling fans. Ceiling fans aren’t just decorative – they’re an easy way to reduce your overall energy consumption during hot summer months.
Not sure where to start? Hire an interior designer for a flat hourly fee to get some professional advice or ask a local realtor to walk through your home and give his/her opinion of the best renovations you could make given your local market.
Brian Ripp, CRS, GRI, Broker – your Bay Area Realtor
www.BrianRipp.com serving Fremont, Newark, Union City & surrounding communities. Real Estate & Property Management.
When selling your home, the best thing you can do is stage it for prospective buyers. Staging is simply preparing your home in a way that creates buyer interest, and it can make a dramatic difference in the selling price and the speed of sale. Try these quick staging tips: