Know when to improve and when to move

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By SHERYL CHINOWTH Business Viewpoint
Published: 9/24/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 9/24/2009 8:41 AM

The public spends more than $130.4 billion a year on home improvements.

Many variables should be taken into consideration before deciding to improve your home or move.

It's important to keep emotions from guiding your decision. Gather facts and carefully weigh the pros and cons.

The No. 1 determinant in deciding to move or improve involves location. Ask yourself whether your location meets your needs. Has it maintained or improved its value? Are you happy there?

Your decision should take into account several factors, one of which is home value. Check appraisals and have a market analysis for your neighborhood before investing in remodeling. This will make sure neighborhood prices will support the improvements you make.

Avoid improving a home to the point where you have the grandest home in the neighborhood. Improving the least-improved home in the vicinity is a safer bet. The trick is to bring your home up to neighborhood value, but no higher.

Also be sure to determine whether the economy is rising fast enough to absorb the costs of the improvements.

Keep in mind that certain improvements will improve the "sale-ability" of your home, while others gain you equity.

If you're planning to move in a year or two, don't decorate to your personal level of perfection. Don't remodel things that are perfectly acceptable.

Keep in mind that as our society becomes older, the home improvements you make should lean toward senior citizens. Many

older people want to stay in their homes as long as possible. The trend is called "aging in place." This concept is making it necessary for builders and remodelers to make homes more attractive to the senior population by ensuring they are easier and safer to live in.

Take into consideration the toll that living through a home improvement project will take on your lifestyle, family and marriage. What are the costs if you have to move out for a time?

Don't make home improvements with the sole goal of boosting your home's value, because this is not likely to happen. Instead, undertake projects that will give you pleasure commensurate with the dollars you spend.

The most recent study sponsored by the National Association of Realtors analyzes the effect of various housing characteristics, and it shows that homeowners are more willing to pay for houses with more amenities than square footage. Intercom systems, kitchen pantries and above-ground swimming pools add very little value, but in-ground pools add about 8 percent to the value of a home.

Before diving into a home improvement project, you should contact a local appraiser or real estate agent to find out how a particular renovation project will affect the value of your home. Some projects can cure functional obsolescence and some can cause functional obsolescence. Make sure you are not undertaking an improvement that decreases value.

A study conducted for a real estate journal by a number of experts yielded the following:

Upgrade to granite countertops. Upscale homebuyers expect it.

Beige carpet is boring, but nothing makes a house look fresher.

Pull-out kitchen faucets usually occupy center stage in a kitchen, so they attract a potential buyer's attention. Brass and nickel cycle in and out, so stick to polished chrome.

Forget redoing bathroom faucets unless necessary. Most are a personal matter of taste.

Switching handles on cabinetry is a cheap and effective way to update. They catch the eye like jewelry.

Entry doors are your home's first impression to buyers. Make sure you're giving the right one.

Sheryl Chinowth is an owner/broker with Chinowth & Cohen Realtors.

The views expressed here are those of the author and not necessarily the Tulsa World. To inquire about writing a Business Viewpoint column, e-mail a short outline of the article to Business Editor John Stancavage at john.stancavage@tulsaworld.com. The column should focus on a business trend; the outlook for the city, state or an industry; or a topic of interest in an area of the writer's expertise. Articles should not promote a business or be overly political in nature., Sheryl Chinowth

By SHERYL CHINOWTH Business Viewpoint

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