How To Get The Most Out Of Your Home Addition Investment

The average home addition takes up a considerable chunk of most homeowners’ money, so it’s no wonder that anyone considering adding on to their home in some way, would want to know how much of a return they’ll get on their investment.

In general, adding on to a property, or upgrading it in some way (provided the work is carried out professionally), stands to make homeowners anything from a 30% to 65% return on investment when putting the property on the real estate market. Even if you don’t plan to sell your home anytime soon, you may want to take out a home equity loan in the future, so having the value of your home increase by as much as possible, would be desirable.

To help you get the most out of your home addition, both in usefulness and in terms of return on investment, here are some useful do’s and don’ts:

Do

• Make it work for you – most homeowners don’t add on to their property just before selling it, so be sure that whatever you add on, meets the needs of you and anyone else living there.
• Avoid bold design choices – not all trends are enduring, so be sure to choose designs that are appealing, while still being timeless.
• Always have a clear plan – during the planning stage, take your time and make sure everything you want is included, so that you can avoid costly alterations once the project is already underway.
• Research your chosen contractor thoroughly – experience and reliability are two of the most sought after qualities in a construction contractor, and you should carry out plenty of research to make sure who you choose to help build and design your project, is qualified and suitable for the job.
• Match your home’s existing style – you really want any add-ons to your home to look natural; as if they were always there. Make sure your contractor has the skills and ability to seamlessly integrate the new part of your home, with the old.

Don’t

• Ignore neighboring property features – should you want or need to sell your home in the future, it can be helpful to make your property as attractive to buyers as possible, so that you don’t give them a reason to choose your neighbors home over yours, should the occasion arise, such as by having the same number of bedrooms or bathrooms, for example.
• Make assumptions related to construction – anything can happen during the construction phase of an addition project, so it pays to always be prepared for the unexpected (such as the discovery of mold or termites), and to have a sum of money set aside to cover additional expenses.
• Expect your ROI to be dollar for dollar – while it would be great if it happened, it’s not often that an add-on costing $40,000, for example, will increase the value of the property by the same amount. Although most additions can make a property more saleable, the average ROI is between 30% and 65%.

The singular most important piece of advice to heed when adding on to your home, is to work with an experienced contractor. One who has worked on additions, has all the necessary contractors to make sure the project goes smoothly, and who listens to you while providing valuable feedback.