Cost-effective home improvements - planning for home remodeling

Nation's Business, Nov, 1989

Cost-Effective Home Improvements

Although it is still autumn, this is the best time of year to make plans for home improvements next spring and summer.

Often it can take months to decide on what you want done, solicit bids from contractors, secure the necessary approvals from the local zoning board and other authorities, and arrange for financing.

Some home-improvement projects, such as adding a room or remodeling the kitchen, require a great deal of preparation, whereas others, such as fencing your yard or painting, do not.

Embark on your home-improvement projects with two thoughts in mind:

First, you should enjoy the convenience and comfort you will add to your home.

Second, don't expect an immediate return on the money you invest in remodeling.

From a personal-enjoyment standpoint, build that deck, fence the yard, install a pool, remodel the kitchen, add skylights, if that's what you want and can afford.

But don't fool yourself into believing that these and similar improvements are good investments, because they are not. According to information gathered from national remodeling studies, there is no home improvement that returns 100 cents on the dollar when you sell your home.

The most cost-effective improvement is an energy-efficient fireplace; you can recoup approximately 97 percent of the cost of installation.

A full bath returns about 80 percent. Added insulation returns 75 percent.

The two least effective improvements are a new pool (40 percent) and a greenhouse (45 percent).

PHOTO : When you sell your house, you'll never recoup what you paid for some improvements. A new

PHOTO : pool will return only 40 percent of its cost.