West Pasco Real Estate Blog

People are always wondering what they should do to add value to their home.  What expense is worthwhile and what isn't?  Here in the West Pasco area, there are several improvements that can be made to older homes that greatly increase the value of the home as well as the marketability.  The market has changed here quite a bit over the years, being formerly a retirement area with a lot of 2 bedroom homes, to a bedroom community for families who commute to Pinellas & Tampa jobs.

Add a Bedroom and or Bath:  If you can change a 2 Bedroom 1 Bath home into a 3 Bedroom 2 bath home, that's a huge update in value and marketability.  But how should it be done?  I normally recommend against taking a porch and changing that unless it can be done properly.  Also, the flow of the home needs to be maintained.  It's not fun to have the only access to the back yard be from a bedroom.  Perhaps a window in a kitchen or living room can be replace with a door to fix the problem? 

Many homes have a layout with a family room that lends itself easily to becoming a third bedroom, even a nice master bedroom and bath!  Putting up a wall, door & closet can cost as little as $1200 but will increase your home's value by many thousands. 

More important is the increased marketability.  This mean more people will be interested in the purchase of a 3 bedroom over a 2 bedroom home because someone who needs 2 bedrooms will consider a 3 bedroom home, but someone who needs 3 bedrooms may not consider a 2 bedroom.

The cheapest home improvements with the greatest monetary return is painting.  Most people are able to make this improvement themselves and will have a clean-looking home to show for it.

Replace dated or worn flooring:  This is a no-brainer in my opinion.  Some people don't want to replace the flooring for fear that whoever buys their home won't like their choice.  Then go with a neutral color carpeting, or neutral tile, or wood flooring or pergo.  Whatever your preference is, but at least you'll get a little enjoyment out of it, and the buyer will see what your home looks like cleaned up.  You can offer a flooring credit, but actually seeing the new flooring in place is a much more effective tool. 

Updating a kitchen or bathroom will give you a nice return.  The quality of the items you use and the cost of items you use should also depend on how long you plan on staying in the property.  When improving a property, always think about re-sale, however, if you will living in the property and using the upgrades - do feel free to spend a little more for what you want.  You may not recoup the entire cost of the upgrade - but what's you use of the upgrade worth?

Landscaping can be a low cost improvement with big results.  If you can do the work yourself, you'll reap lots of reward for raking, pruning, mowing, cleaning, planting, etc.  And some nice mulch goes a long way towards curb appeal which should NEVER BE UNDERSTIMATED!  If people are drawn to the exterior, they may look inside.  But if the outside is off-putting, they may never cross the front door threshhold. 

Open up the area:  Maybe you can take down a wall or half wall to open up an area.  Taking a half wall down in an old kitchen and installing a breakfast bar can go a long way, and it's not that expensive to do.

Raise the Ceiling:  If you're doing a major renovation, it may be worthwhile for you to raise the ceiling in the living room to the rafters creating a vaulted ceiling and adding loads of vertical space!

Just keep in mind how long you'll be using the improvement when deciding how expensive you're going to go.