Home Renovations That Provide A Return On Your Investment

Before you decide to break the bank and get an extension on your property or a brand new kitchen, you have to make sure that you will be able to see a decent return on investment. You may not want to sell your property any time soon, but knowing how much of the money you spend you are likely to come back to you at some point is always an interesting question. Let's take a look at the home renovations that are the best value for money.

The Boring Things

Most of want to do home renovations because we want something new. We want that brand new kitchen or bathroom. We want our living room to be larger and in a different color. We want to have a bedroom worthy of the 1001 Arabian Nights. However, we have to think about the boring things, the things we can't see first. The first thing you should check, therefore, is your roofing.

Make sure the roof does not leak. If leakage is occurring have it fixed immediately. It's probably a result of flashing failure.

There are more of these types of things that you should check, including your chimney, your guttering, your walls, your foundations, your plumbing and your electrical systems. These things all add tremendous value to your home. However, although regular maintenance is absolutely necessary, if you don't intend to sell your house any time soon, you may want to postpone any plans for expensive replacements.

Your Kitchen 

Once the boring stuff is out of your way, you can start looking at those things that give you real enjoyment as well. One of the home renovations that give a high return is changing your kitchen.

The younger buyers, especially the baby boomers, want a modern kitchen with the cooktop stove and nice cabinets, not to mention wine coolers and subzero refrigerators.

Interestingly, if you only have a small budget available, even making small changes can make a huge difference. You do have to make sure you have this work completed by a reputable contractor. Search for companies like ApolloInteriors to make sure your job is completed on time and within budget.

Your Front Door 

If you want to renovate your home on a very small budget but achieve a big return on investment, often above and beyond what you actually spent on it, all you really need to do is change your front door.

The top-ranking home improvement? A new front door, which on average adds 96.6 percent of the amount you spent to the value to your home, according to Remodeling magazine's annual Cost vs. Value Report for 2014.

You do have to make sure that you choose a front door that is popular on the market today. It has to fit with the house and with the overall street. It should also be insulating, with most people preferring UPVC and double glazed doors. This is all about curb appeal. When someone comes to view your property with the intention to buy it, the first thing they will see is your front door. They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and this is true for your home as well.

There are various other projects that will give you a good return. Renovating a bathroom is one of them. However, other things will cost you a lot and won't show much of a return at all. A pool, for instance, is seen as a maintenance burden and may actually decrease the overall value of your home. There are many things to think about, and a good renovation company will be able to discuss all these issues with you.

Some Examples Of Eco-Friendly Home Renovations

Every year more and more people are becoming increasingly aware of the environment and how everything they do can have a definite impact on it. This is also true for each one of us. Perhaps in the past, you were content with all of the popular amenities that usually come with a standard home, but now that you've learned about your environmental footprint, you might want to make a few changes. When it comes to renovating your home you may find yourself thinking in much the same way as the designers from Freshome,

You've decided to renovate your home not only to perk it up but to better accommodate your current needs and lifestyle. If you haven't thought to do so already, you might want to think about some environmentally savvy ways to renovate your home.

Taking the time to consider the environment in your remodeling plans will be making conscious steps towards protecting the world we live in. Here are a few things you can do:

When Choosing Building Materials

When you're ready to buy materials for your renovation project, consider buying locally whenever possible. This provides opportunities to reduce the environmental and health impacts of our home. Choosing local products to clean, light, furnish, and renovate our homes cuts back on the amount of energy used to make, ship, and use products and this drastically reduces the amount of emissions that result from their transport from a distant location. With reduced waste and more energy efficient products, your home project will be much more eco-friendly.

Choose Energy-Efficient Appliances

The difference between how much energy consumption appliances have can be drastic. When choosing appliances for your home make sure that you choose those that have EnergyGuide labels so that you will be better able to determine which models are more energy efficient. These labels are designed to compare the model with other similar appliances as to how much energy and water consumption they are required to use.

Select Non-VOC Products

The term VOC stands for volatile organic compounds that are usually found in pressure-treated building products like formaldehyde. The compounds can with time, leach out and eventually pose a health hazard to those who suffer from prolonged exposure to them. These products can be substituted with safer products that do not contain these volatile compounds. Rather than using these pressure-treated products, consider using materials like untreated, kiln-dried lumber, steel studs and joists, and plastic-impregnated wood-composite planks instead.

Use Recycled Materials

Many home exteriors can be finished with recycled materials or green products to conserve natural resources. To manufacture many of these products using recycled materials will require less energy and at the same time emit fewer pollutants into the environment. Depending on the type of renovation you may need for your home you may find reusable materials like slate-style shingles, driveway pavers made from recycled rubber tires, and masonry veneers made from pulverized-stone chips.

It is clear that making smarter building choices when you're renovating your new home is an important way to protect the environment. It also means that your everyday decisions about household products can give you a greener lifestyle. When it comes to choosing the right eco-friendly products for your home renovation, there is much to learn. It would be best to keep in mind the insight given from the US Environmental Protection Agency for those who are looking to be more eco-friendly,

Keep in mind that sometimes it takes a little work to make the greenest choices. Different green goals may conflict with one another, and just because a product is advertised as "green" doesn't mean that it really is the most environmentally friendly choice.

If you take the time to do the research, the more you learn and the more questions you ask, the better equipped you will be to find greener products. For more information on how to go green in a remodeling project, visit sites like www.apollointeriors.com/. Choosing to renovate your home in this way not only will help your local environment but also help you to be eco savvy in your every day life.

Home Renovations - Some Examples To Minimize Costs

Home renovations are expensive. They tend to go above and beyond a new lick of paint or a few rolls of wallpaper. Unfortunately, most of us aren't made of money, and although it is sometimes possible to borrow money, this tends to be difficult and hugely expensive. Luckily, however, there are things to do that can help you minimize costs as well.  

Get the Right Contractor

When you get involved in a home renovation, you will always need a good contractor to do the work for you. You need to find someone whom you can actually work alongside with and who has your best interest at heart. You should also make sure that your contractor has a reputation for being on time and within budget in their deliveries. Consider contractors like ApolloInteriors, for instance. One important thing about working with a good contractor is that they go over the project with you line by line.

Most contractors will meet with you to go over the construction schedule and break down all of the costs. This is a great opportunity to save! Sometimes, contractors will assume you want things you don't, and you can often find elements of the project that you can do yourself or put off until later, when you have more money on hand.

You have to remember that you and your contractor are partners in this endeavor. You must work together and you must make sure that you get the best deals wherever possible. This is about taking ownership of the contracts as well.

Reuse, Reduce, Recycle

When you start on a home renovation project, you should also consider how many things within your current property can be reused, reduced or recycled. You don't have to purchase new materials if you already have them. This is one of the best ways to cut costs.

With a renovation project, consider using -- or reusing -- the materials, appliances and fixtures already in your home. If it's in good shape, there's no reason that a bathroom sink couldn't be reused (same with a toilet or hot water heater). Or, consider moving an older kitchen sink to the new laundry room.

Of course, it is nice to have everything new. However, if you have to watch how much you spend, then there are certain things you will have to make concessions on. You could always replace the used sink with a new one at a later stage when money is a bit less tight.  

Do Things Yourself

You should also consider how many things you are able to do yourself. You are working with a contractor and although they are obviously better at the work they do, this doesn't mean there aren't a few things you can do yourself. Do you really want to pay extra money for them to paint your walls or place your furniture in your property once it is completed? As you go through your estimate with the contractor, you should really pay attention to all the things you are comfortable doing yourself.

But don't dive into DIY just to save money. While it may sound like a great idea if your budget is tight, it has its pros and cons. Remember, even though trades and other building professionals cost money, their work should stand the test of time. Make sure they are insured and fully qualified.

These are but a few of the tips to keep costs of home renovations down. There are many others, but they all revolve around being creative with what you have and only paying for what you don't have. Additionally, you must be realistic and understand that renovations will always cost some money.