Making Sure Your Remodeling Efforts Pay Off Down the Line Takes Foresight, Imagination

With the nation’s remodeling boom in full swing, everyone is out to get the maximum value out of their homes. In order to do so, you’re going to have to pay attention to trends… and not just those of right now. What’s more important is what will be hot when the time comes to put your house on the market.

So think down the road a ways.

After all, like a new car that you drive off the lot, home improvements start to get old the moment they’re completed. How fast their value slides depends on your ability to predict what will appeal to future buyers. The remodeling you do today can look almost as cutting edge five or even 10 years from now if you guess accurately.

Guess wrong, and you are stuck with something no one wants. Not the way to sell a piece of Florida real estate. To avoid this pitfall, here are a few pieces of advice.

HIGH-END HOMES DRIVE THE MARKET
It’s true. About 90 percent of the growth in the remodeling industry over the last decade was fueled by high-end homeowners — defined as those with houses worth $400,000 or more, in 2003 dollars — according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. Trends hatched in this market tend to percolate down to the middle-class markets, said an expert at the National Association of Home Builders, and eventually are incorporated into the new-home market. If you want to wrap your head around what’s going to be hip five years from now in your neighborhood, tour some open houses in more affluent communities today.

THE X FACTOR
Or at least take them into account. Baby boomers own more housing and spend more on remodeling than any other groups, but an influx of Americans born on their heels — from 1965 to 1974 — is coming on fast. Aging boomers may be looking to downsize and make their lives easier, while a new crop of mid-lifers — Generation X –might be looking for more space as their families grow. Bottom line: Think about features that appeal to both groups.

THINK ABOUT THE NEXT BUYER(S)
Particularly among GenXers, one of the bigger trends in remodeling is people looking to leave a stamp, or personal statement, said Joan Stephens, chairman of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry. These owners don’t want their kitchens or bathrooms to look like anyone else’s. They might invest big bucks in things like custom glass-tile designs or bold-colored counter surfaces and appliances.

These personal statements could date quickly and alienate future buyers, who might detest what you are so crazy about. If you care a lot about resale value (and if you are considering selling in the next 10 years, how can you not), think about more neutral colors for floors, countertops and other hard surfaces. Infuse personality with paint and accessories, which can be easily altered by a new buyer.

Don’t make structural changes that can permanently devalue your home, either. Eliminating a bedroom or removing a tub from a bathroom could drop your property’s value by a lot more than you think. Also, make your remodeling more timeless by matching it to the style of your home.

• A Cape Cod cottage-style home will look better with a cottage-style kitchen, for instance. It adds charm and class.
• Be cautious of any remodel that’s a sharp contrast to the rest of your place.

DURABILITY IS INVALUABLE
Investing in high-quality materials can pay off if they hold up well over the years, said interior designer Juliana Catlin, a past president of the American Society of Interior Designers. A cheap surface might show so many gouges, dings, wear and tear after five years that a prospective buyer will insist you pay to replace it, whereas a well-chosen surface like granite could still be in ti-top shape (and adding value) in a decade.

BEING CAREFUL IN THE KITCHEN
It’s important to use caution in the kitchen, and not just because those plates can be hot!

Seriously, though, what’s hot now is not always going to last… and could come back to bite you. Highly polished granite and stainless steel were the hot trends in the 1990s. Not any longer. The remodeling craze in the kitchen these days is warmth, not sleekness.

Color trends are also tricky to navigate, so a more conservative (but still trendy enough) choice might be installing panels that help refrigerators and dishwashers blend in with the cabinetry. Higher-end appliances are also in big demand, as are stone countertops, as usual.

Homeowners are becoming wary of the drawbacks, however, said Vince Butler, chairman of the NAHB’s Remodelors Council. Granite and other natural stones can sustain permanent stains and damage from cooking oils and common cleaners. Butler recommends more synthetic or engineered stone countertops.

“It may not have the eye appeal [of granite] but I think as people live with it, it may be easier to take care of,” Butler said.

Some are also wondering if this monster/gourmet kitchen trend might begin to taper off, particularly with older boomers wanting less room and maintenance with their real estate.

“I think in the future people are going to be tired of cooking, and it doesn’t make much sense to invest $100,000 in kitchen remodeling if you don’t cook that much.” said Tim Carter, a columnist and former builder whose site, AsktheBuilder.com, focuses on remodeling and construction.

THINK SPA
As in lots of space, big soaking or whirlpool tubs, multiple shower heads or even steam attachments in the shower. That’s the wave of the future as far as bathroom remodeling goes. Dual sinks are a given in master baths, and luxuries like heated floors and towel warmers are making upscale renovators all warm and fuzzy… or something.

Many renovators are putting the toilet in a separate room or partitioned area, while shelling out — big bucks, big time, for custom tile. Just be careful about going overboard if your primary goal is boosting resale value, because as your efforts get grandiose, you aren’t likely to see the biggest difference in monetary returns.

KEEPING IT ACCESSIBLE
Contractors polled by the National Association of Home Builders said that a universal design — making homes more accessible for the elderly and disabled — would be one of the top future trends in remodeling. Since most folks want to “age in place,” making sure they can get around their homes as they age will be increasingly important.

Of course, baby boomers don’t like to be reminded that they are getting older. Fortunately, most aspects of universal design involve fairly subtle changes that add little, if any, cost to a remodeling project. Making your hallways and doorways wider, for example, are aesthetically pleasing as well as more functional changes.

The AARP asserts that universal design can be incorporated into virtually any remodeling campaign. Or you can tackle projects one by one, such as replacing regular doorknobs with lever-style handles, making your shower a “step-in” model, removing thresholds between rooms and adding better lighting. Bottom line: Safer and more convenient is also more aesthetic.

WIPING THE FLOOR WITH YOUR FLOOR PLAN
Open floor plans make smaller homes feel roomier and are not likely to suffer a decline in popularity. The value of additions, by contrast, appears to be waning, according to surveys which show that projects which added square footage didn’t pay off as well as other remodeling efforts for U.S. homeowners. If energy prices remain high and overall home sales decline, that trend is likely to continue.

THE BONUS ROOM
Retiring baby boomers are going to want workshops and hobby rooms to pursue their hobbies and passions. Home offices are also more and more common as people start to work part- or full-time from home. Any extra storage space is also seen as important. You might want to incorporate it into space that also serves as the laundry and/or mud rooms. Adding storage space is a pretty safe bet as far as lasting usefulness is concerned. Americans love stuff!

GOING HIGHER AND HIGHER TECH
Movies, video games and other content increasingly will be delivered via broadband, so it could pay off to install conduit that will help future electricians run wires from wherever the cable or satellite enters to your house to the rooms where you have your computers and entertainment centers. Electronics closets, to house all the home entertainment gear, are also sharp in that they minimize visual clutter. Remote control sensors can be set up so that you can further stash the ugly gizmos. Another techie project that’s hot these days is running speakers throughout the house and even outside.

KEEPING THE COSTS DOWN, INCREASE THE RETURN
As you may know, luxurious home sales are on the rise. But don’t be caught up in all the hype. The nice thing about renovations is that you don’t necessarily have to go all in to get a lot out of many of these efforts.

The good news is that minor kitchen remodels actually seem to pay off better at resale time than major undertakings, at least according to Remodeling Magazine. Someone who spent an average of $14,913 on minor projects in 2005 will recoup an estimated 98.5 percent of the cost if the home sold within a year, whereas someone who spent $81,552 on a massive, tear-everything-out-and-replace-it effort would recoup 84.8 percent of the cost, on average.

In the bathroom, adding multiple shower heads to a shower typically costs just a few hundred dollars, making it one of the most economical ways to add a spa feel. If you can avoid moving fixtures, which adds enormously to a project’s cost, you will be in much better shape. The average bathroom renovation costing around $10,000 would recoup 102.2 percent of its cost within a year, while a $26,000 job would bring back 93.2 percent.

Something to think about. As for the floors, laminated materials designed to look like wood can be less expensive — and more durable — than the real thing. As long as it doesn’t look tacky, it’s a wise move to save yourself the work.

As far as adding overall space, knocking down walls yourself (or with the supervision of professionals, ideally) is cheaper than building a new wing or room. And while you probably won’t want to build rooms devoted to a single use, especially if you don’t have a lot of money to blow on this task, adding shelves or cabinets is a great and inexpensive way to increase a room’s functionality. For tech upgrades, adding speaker wire is an inexpensive do-it-yourself job. It is also cheap to add conduits yourself, if you’ve already got walls torn open.

Otherwise, save your money.

Of course, if you are looking into financing a property with a Florida home loan, and are feeling like the area’s high prices are stretching your budget plenty as it is, you might be better off looking for some bargain Florida real estate with some imperfections. If you are looking for ways of freeing up capital to finance some renovations you think could yield big-time returns when it comes time to re-sell, think about tapping your home equity.