12/21/2024
Published in the Seaway News:
Home Renovation Tips
Is my renovation a good investment? That’s a common question many homeowners will ask themselves at some point. The answer depends on numerous factors: the spaces being renovated, the quality of work, legality of renovations, the total costs, and the neighborhood.
The most valuable renovations for a home (from a resale perspective) include: the kitchen, bathrooms, painting, and updating décor (e.g. worn flooring, countertops, lighting and plumbing fixtures). Typical recoverable values, when properly performed, for some common projects are: kitchen renovations (75-100%), bathroom renovations (60-100%), bathroom addition (65%), floors (50-150%), painting (60-100%), converting basements or attics to livable space (75%-85%), re-roofing (50-100%) and replacing doors and windows (50-75%). If renovations aren’t performed correctly (or legally) then these investments may never be recovered. That means it’s important to find good quality contractors and obtain any necessary permitting.
A rule of thumb is that major kitchen renovations shouldn’t exceed 10%-15% of the home’s total value. For a $400,000 home that equates to 40-60k (minor renovations or small kitchens should be less). Bathroom renovations shouldn’t exceed about 5% of the home value ($20,000 on a $400,000 home) per bathroom. Remember to keep your receipts for prospective home buyers!
When looking for good, reliable contractors, try the following tips: use contractors that you or your friends know have done good work in the past (realtors can also help here), find members of trade organizations (e.g. Canadian Roofing Contractors Association, Canadian Institute of Plumbing & Heating, Ontario Electrical League), conduct interviews with prospective contractors, check out their references, and ensure they have any relevant permitting and insurance (e.g. esasafe.com lists licensed electrical contractors). Also, get any contract you make in writing with a clearly defined payment schedule.
To ensure the legality of your project, a simple call to the local Permit Technician will prevent any nasty surprises later on. As a general rule, the replacement of existing worn out, non-structural home features will not require a building permit (windows, flooring, plumbing fixtures, roofing, HVAC).
Best of luck on your home renovations!
-Daniel Archibald, P.Eng, Ing., Licensed Realtor®
