Home remodeling is a terrible money loser

Are most home remodeling cost really recovered on sale?  Folks will take their home’s purchase price, add the cost of all their home improvements and then compare this sum to their home’s sale price or current value. Oftentimes, it appears that building the new bathroom and putting in the new kitchen has greatly increased their home’s value.

But, in reality, remodeling is a terrible money loser. Consider a study in the November 2002 Consumer Reports. The magazine surveyed real-estate appraisers to find out what return homeowners were likely to earn, assuming they sold a year after making various home improvements.

The results weren’t encouraging. According to Consumer Reports, you might recoup just 50% to 75% of the cost of a major kitchen remodeling, attic-bedroom addition or bathroom remodeling. Meanwhile, you might get back 40% to 50% of the cost of a sunroom or family-room addition. What if you wait longer than a year to sell? The percentage recouped would be even less.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t remodel your home if you will get a lot of pleasure from the resulting improvements. But don’t kid yourself that these home improvements are a good investment.[tags]home remodeling, real estate[/tags] San Diego California real estate