The best and worst home renovations

If you’re planning on renovating your home, consider these best and worst projects based on the amount of money recouped in the event of a sale. According to Barbara Corcoran, real estate contributor on Today, the most worthwhile renovations provide the biggest bang for your buck.

• A new front door is a wise investment. At an average price of $1100 – $1200, the homeowner will recoup about 102% of the dollars spent. Most important, the front door speaks volumes to prospective buyers that the inside is just as good as the first impression.
• The garage door also plays a part in the overall first impression. At about $1299, you can recoup about 87% of that investment.
• An outdoor deck, 10 feet by 30 feet, can cost about $10 K, but you’d make back about 70% of that in a sale. The deck is a visual extension of the house, and without it, something definitely seems amiss in the backyard.

The three worst renovations have to do with converting a bedroom into something else entirely or building an add-on.

• The home office remodel is not recommended because it’s expensive to put in and equip. For a $28K investment, you might get $13K back, but you’ve also lost a bedroom, and homebuyers count the literal over the possible number of bedrooms available.
• A sun room is hardly used and shows poorly. A typical sun room costs $75K to install, and that doesn’t include the extra heating and cooling expenses.
• Adding a bathroom is costly (about $40K), and homebuyers simply aren’t willing to pay the premium for it. Corcoran suggests the “nip/tuck” method to spruce up current bathrooms.

Having said this, if you’ve planned on building that special sun room and love the house you’re in, feel free to customize. Just be aware that the actual cost for installing it or other unique features will not likely be made up in a future sale.