Jan. 10, 2009: Doing the right kinds of repairs and remodeling to your home is the key to maintaining its resale value
Cleaning, painting and doing small repairs around the house are just about unlimited virtues for homeowners.
They're a matter of necessity for people who hope to sell their homes. Only the best-prepared homes are selling at premium prices right now, with the rest going at or near the lender-owned price.
But even if you're not selling, staying on top of the little things promotes your enjoyment of the home, and it helps to sustain its resale value. At a minimum, regular maintenance will help you catch small problems before the become big, expensive problems.
But if doing little jobs matters a lot, what about doing big jobs? Should you redo the kitchen and bathrooms while the market is low? Should you convert the carport into a garage and the patio into a family room? Should you add on a brand new master suite?
The definitive answer to all these questions is: Maybe.
Remember that the Phoenix real estate market may be down for years to come. It's possible you won't see a return on your investment for quite a while.
On the other hand, if you know you're going to be in the home for the next five years, and if a new kitchen will substantially improve your enjoyment of the home, it might be worth doing.
Labor can be very cheap right now, and money is easy to obtain if you have equity in your home. But you have to resist the urge to over-improve for your neighborhood. Brazilian Blue Marble is gorgeous, but it probably won't be worth more than Corian or Formica countertops on resale.
Serious additions are a bigger question. If you know you're going to be in the home for five years, you're probably okay. If the addition makes sense -- if you live in a neighborhood of two bedroom homes, adding a master suite makes great sense -- then go ahead.
Build with permits and follow the building codes, though. The worst thing you can do is spend money and time on supposed improvements that actually reduce the resale value of the home.
Greg Swann is the designated broker for BloodhoundRealty.com, a full-service Metropolitan Phoenix real estate brokerage. This article originally appeared in the West Valley regional sections of the Arizona Republic.
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