If
you find yourself wondering what it would be like to have a
larger kitchen, an extra bathroom or even a main floor family
room, you are probably wrestling with the dilemma: "Should
I renovate or just move?"
It is never easy to uproot your family and move to a new
home, especially if you have settled in and grown comfortable
where you are. This is why we are often tempted into over improving
our homes instead of just moving to something that meets our
changing needs. While it is difficult to separate emotions and
memories from financial considerations, it is often helpful to
step back and look at what sort of return you get when investing
in a major renovation.
The Appraisal Institute's most recent Renovation And Home
Value survey lists the 10 renovations that have the greatest
financial return at resale time. In a poll conducted annually,
200 appraisers nationwide are asked to rank renovations by their
return on investment. The results are summarized as a percentage
of the money spent on each renovation that a homeowner can
expect to recoup when they finally move.