Today's Real Estate

Real Estate Sales Rep and Writer Jay Lough Hayes

Re/Max Rouge River Realty Ltd. 705-772-1025

Landscaping is the Number One remodel that pays off -- but kitchens are Number Two. After selling real estate for the past 34 years, I know you have one chance to make a good first impression. Kitchens and bathrooms sell homes.

If a homeowner has only enough money to renovate one room, the kitchen is the room to pick. Kitchens are the focal point of almost every home showing, and an impressive kitchen will almost always make the difference between an average offer and the maximum offer.

You don’t have to spend a fortune to make a big improvement in your kitchen either. In fact, while a major kitchen remodel returns only around 80% on your investment, a minor remodel has an 87% return. A minor face-lift for your kitchen could include painting cabinets or getting new cabinet doors, installing new appliances, upgrading countertops, or switching out cabinet hardware. There’s just something about new doors and handles and stainless steel appliances that make people want one kitchen over another. The 5 to 15% rule is widely held as the gold standard in helping homeowners estimate and budget the correct amount for remodels. This rule holds that the entire remodel should cost no less than 5% of the current value of the home -- and no more than 15%.

We know that even though kitchens and bathrooms are both great home improvements that increase property value, making energy efficient upgrades will give more bang for your buck. We replaced our over the sink kitchen window to the green house style, triple layer glass. Buyers tend to favour upgraded, energy efficient homes over traditional homes due to the potential long-term savings. Upgrade HVAC, water heaters, and windows. When you sell, you can recoup around 73% of the costs of upgrading 10 old windows with new ones, and your energy bills will be lower in the time before your move.

A new coat of interior paint can produce a 109% return on investment, but could benefit you even more if your home’s colors are unusual. $50 worth of paint will net you $500, everyday.

If you want to stick with a small kitchen reno in the $5,000 range, the best course of action in most cases is to spend a lot of money on the materials and do the work yourself. If you have a budget large enough to do a remodel in the $20,000 range, it’s more feasible to split your money among professionals, materials and any additional labor or unforeseen costs.

Cabinets make the kitchen’s first impression, and dated kitchen cabinets can detract from the aesthetic appeal of the room. Fortunately, you can change the colour, look and feel of your cabinets without tearing through your bank account. Every square foot of the kitchen is potential work/ storage area, so adequate cabinet space is a huge plus.

Cabinetry is the biggest-ticket item to prepare for in your budget, usually 30% followed by Labour, Appliances 14%, Countertops 10%, Flooring 3%

(depending on the material), Lighting & Plumbing 9%, Doors & Windows, Walls & Ceilings (5% or less).

“Kitchens are the focal point of almost every home showing.”

Consider increasing your living space by creating an outdoor kitchen, another huge reno plus-plus. We have a small 10 x 10 BBQ deck off our kitchen which the cat enjoys, way too small for anything else. It’s time to double that space. In this part of Ontario we have 6 months of deck weather and 6 months of non-deck weather. Composite decking lasts longer but using wood is more affordable for us. The mid-range expense of wood will net our return the same or better. We plan to add a live edge sit up bar, a built in BBQ area and 2 planter boxes for a little garden. If this rain ever stops, enjoy as many days outside as you can and soak up that vitamin D.