Massachusetts Real Estate Lawyer Blog
All of these tips will help increase the value of your house if you are looking to sell, or just may help you enjoy your space a little bit more.
1. Open up your kitchen: The cost can range anywhere from $1,000 to $30,000 depending on how you decide to open up your kitchen. The are many alternatives to make the kitchen more spacious from widening a doorway to knocking down a wall, but in either scenario it is likely that you will need to consult a contractor.
2. Make over your kitchen: The cost can range from $1,000 to $30,000. Simple changes such as changing the knobs on your cabinet, the faucet on the sink, or the curtains may change the entire feel of your kitchen, or you could change the entire layout and buy stainless steel appliances which would be much more expensive, but would help increase the value of your home. New countertops are also a good way to spruce up the appearance too, and there are many different options and price points.
3. Remodel your bathrooms: The cost can range from $600 to $10,000+. Like the kitchen, there are many simple changes you can make like painting, changing towels and shower curtains, or even light fixtures and mirrors. Then there are the more costly options, like gutting the whole bathroom and starting over, which would require a contractor.
4. Add a bathroom: The cost can range from $5,000 to $20,000, but will definitely add value to your home, or just improve your quality of living if your whole family is used to fighting over one bathroom.
5. Finish your basement: The cost ranges from $25 to $100 per square foot. The basement could serve as a kid’s play room, another living room, or your own personal wine cellar. Make sure that you check for moisture before laying any wooden floors, you don’t want your new room to start buckling.
6. Increase storage space: The cost ranges starts at $200 and up. Renovate your closet by adding more shelves, add hooks to the wall in your foyer for coats and dog leashes, or remove drywall to create a new closet.
7. Create built-in storage: the cost starts at $500 and increases upward. Entertainment centers are a good way to hold movies, CDs or gaming consoles for the children. Also, a bed with shelves underneath is always a good way to store extra clothes, sheets or toys.
8. Build a Dormer: (If you don’t know what a dormer is, you’re not alone) A dormer is structure that you build onto your roof surface that increase headroom inside or adds windows for increased sunlight. The coast ranges anywhere from $10,000 and up. It is a more cost efficient way to add living space, but you don’t need to deal with digging, excavating, or foundations. Designer Jeff Swanson says, “It’s less cost, and [for what you’re spending] it adds much more value to your house than doing an addition, because you’re basically finding space that’s already there.”
9. Build an outbuilding for a studio or office: The cost is roughly $25 to $75 per square foot. A barn, a shed, even a cabana could be transformed very easily. One way to ensure peace and quiet is to put your office outside of your house.
10. Spruce up your patio: The cost to create a nice outdoor living space starts at $1,500 and up. Adding furniture, a fire pit, a grill or any seating will make your backyard more functional and increase the cost of your house.
If you are looking to purchase or sell real estate, feel free to contact Pulgini & Norton, LLP at (781) 843-2200 or (888) 344-2046, or email us with any questions you may have. Our attorneys offer nearly 40 years of combined legal experience and provide thorough, timely, and results-driven service in many aspects of both residential and commercial real estate.
Cited Sources:
10 ways to update your home on a budget, boston.com