Not Staying Long? Cut Out High End Renovations

Renovators, say hello to Hardy board and goodbye to granite countertops.

According to a new article over on CNNMoney. com, here's what not to do in today's market:

• Buy a home you know you're not going to live in very long.
• Spend oodles of money on high-end updates and renovations.
• Expect to get that money back plus a profit one or two years after you purchase the home.

Yes, a few short years ago you could do all of those things and not only recoup your money, but probably make a profit to boot:

"During the housing boom, updating a kitchen with high end materials like cherry wood cabinets and a Viking stove was a sure bet to boost a home's value. Homeowners often recovered about 80% of the cost when the house was later sold."

That was yesterday.

If you are going to remodel in today's market, and know you won't be staying in your home more than a few years, it might be wise to scale back the scope of your interior projects as well as the type of materials you use.

"...with so much more inventory on the market for buyers to choose from, they [buyers] just aren't as impressed with the bells and whistles. Now most upscale renovations are returning less than 70% of their cost, according to a recent survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and Remodeling magazine."

However, exterior renovations still seem to be paying off:

"...returns for high-end exterior renovations are still holding up, according to the NAR report, with better pay-offs than interior work.
For example, sprucing up a home's look with expensive fiber-cement siding, which looks like wood but is more durable, returns 88% on investment, more than any other renovation NAR evaluated."

Say good-bye to granite countertops - CNNMoney.com