Home Improvements That Really Pay Off

Despite what you see on TV and what the conventional wisdom says, most of the home improvement projects with the greatest return on investment are unglamorous. According to Remodeling Magazines 2014 Cost vs. Value report, youll recoup the greatest percentage of your investment on projects such as replacing the front door with a steel one, adding a wood deck, replacing old siding, replacing the garage door and replacing old windows. Also contrary to conventional wisdom, most home improvement projects do not return more than your investment when you sell. In fact, the average remodeling project only recoups 66 cents for every $1 you spend on it. To get the highest percentage of your remodeling dollars back when you sell, heres what to improve, what not to improve and why.

Best Options: Practical, Midrange Projects

Do you want to get back 96.6% of what you spend on a home upgrade? Then replace your old front door with a new, mid-range steel door with a clear dual-pane half-glass panel and a new lockset. Youll spend an average of $1,162 for this project, but youll get back $1,122 when you sell, Remodeling Magazine reports. Another project in the same price range is replacing your garage door for $1,534; youll recoup $1,283, or 83.7%. You wont need a home-equity loan to tackle these projects, and their low cost and high impact on curb appeal make them smart choices.

If you can afford to spend more, consider projects such as adding a 16 x 20 wood deck, which costs $9,539 on average but recoups 87.4% of its cost; replacing 10 old 3 x 5 windows with new, double-hung, wood or vinyl ones, which costs close to $11,000 for wood and nearly $10,000 for vinyl but recoups about 79%; or replacing vinyl siding, which costs $11,475 for 1,250 square feet but should bring back $8,975 when you sell.

Windows, garage doors and decks aren't necessarily big-ticket items in terms of price or luxury, George says, but updating these items gives the home an instant facelift and contributes to a modern aesthetic, which is exactly what potential homebuyers want to see when they drive up to look at a new home.

Pricier Projects

Two of the priciest but still relatively worthwhile improvements include attic bedrooms and basement remodels. These projects will set you back tens of thousands of dollars, but are a relatively inexpensive way to increase your homes useable square footage compared with an addition. Minor and major kitchen remodels also make the cut, as do bathroom remodels. However, while it may be true that kitchens and bathrooms sell houses, forget about doubling your money. Youre likely to recoup just 82.7% of your $18,856 cost on a minor remodel of a functional but dated 200-square-foot kitchen; 74.2% on a $54,909 major kitchen remodel and 72.5% on a $16,128 remodel of a 5 x 7 bathroom. These are the types of expensive projects you might be tempted to finance with a home-equity loan, but you should think twice before borrowing money and paying 6% interest or more to finance a project with a negative return.

The costs Remodeling Magazine provides are averages. If you can get a project completed well for less, you might be more satisfied with the percentage of its costs you get back when you sell your home. Costs vary by geographic region, project size and scope, and the quality of finishes you choose.

Bathroom upgrades can be done for a minimal cost using materials that look expensive, but are quite affordable, says Jeff Dumas, owner and broker at Home Ventures Realty in Tempe, Ariz., where hes rehabbed and sold residential properties for more than 10 years. Most of the time, I can take an average starter home, put in a new tub with a porcelain tile backsplash, new toilet and vanity, tile the floor, and use some decorative hardware for about $1,500 to $2,000. The results are amazing and help the wow factor when potential buyers are viewing the property, he says.

Surprising Disappointments

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Home Improvements That Really Pay Off