Reasons to Renovate

If you intend on staying in the home you may want to:

• Add extra space to accommodate an expanding family, or simply to add a sense of spaciousness.
• Add rooms for special purposes, such as an office or games room.
• Change the configuration of the house for better flow, ease of use or orientation to sun and views.
• Update and remodel to give the house a fresher, more modern look – this could involve major changes such as taking out walls to enlarge a room, putting in a new kitchen, or installing new wallboards and ceilings. Or it could simply be a matter of painting or wallpapering.
• Restore the house to its original style (while adding modern features in some areas, like the kitchen and bathroom).
• Add value to increase your investment.

If you are renovating to sell, it is likely that you’ll want to give the house an inexpensive makeover to freshen it up and make it more attractive to buyers. For example, repainting, repapering, or changing dated or damaged fixtures, such as a cracked basin in the bathroom.

You need to consider the tastes of potential buyers, which really means keeping everything fairly neutral to appeal to a wider range of people. Not everyone warms to bright feature walls or pink bathtubs.

Renovations that will increase the appeal of your home may include painting the kitchen and bathroom, or putting in some decking to give an indoor-outdoor flow and an increased sense of space or some landscaping.

Don’t spend money that you won’t get back in the sale price. Ask Steve for ideas to increase the house’s appeal, and how much you should spend without overcapitalising

Compliments of CMHC