Better ROI - finish the basement or update the kitchen appliances?

 OK, I have a 1,000 sg ft rambler for which I paid close to market
value. It has 2 beds, 2 baths (1 bath in basement).

The basement is unfinished except for the bathroom, which is
atrociously primitive but still lists as a bath. The kitchen appliances
are 80's vintage and almond-colored: fridge, dishwasher and range.

Which do you think would bring a better return on investment? Finishing
the basement to add a bedroom w/egress window and rec room? Or updating
the kitchen appliances and some new cosmetics?

Not trying to find out what will make the house worth more, as I'm sure
adding livable square footage and another bedroom would do that. I'm
trying to find out what Return on Investment is likely to be higher for
either choice.

 

Do you intend to live in the house, or are you just fixing it up for
immediate resale?

--
Bert Hyman    St. Paul, MN    bert@iphouse.com

 Going to live in the house 3-5 years. I want to invest mainly in
projects that will positively impact resale.

Bert, the house is in Fridley, MN.

More background: we're only the 3rd owners since 1955.

 Money management wise...

First thing, replace the fridge and dishwasher with new "Energy Star"
models. These will save you money on electricity, hot water, and water as
they run much more efficiently that older models.

For example I bought a new window air conditioner which uses half the
electricity of my older model and even has more BTU's of cooling power!

So you can start saving money right away, then work on other projects after
that.

FYI - So far as selling a home, I have always heard "kitchen and bathroom",
"kitchen and bathroom", "kitchen and bathroom". And location, location,
location. Also first impressions; front yard, front door, etc. And then to
paint the house light neutral colors - might have trouble selling a house
if it has strong colors like pink, fire engine red, purple, etc.


"bryanska" wrote in message

 
That's an interesting question, and not one that has a clear answer.
Curb appeal can pay the biggest dividends in getting folks into your
house, but siding or exterior thingees are not is not on your list of
options.

Conventional wisdom is that kitchens and bathrooms are what sells
homes once you get folks in to look.  

So updating the kitchen is always money well spent.  Whether you go
with white appliances or the oh-so-trendy stainless steel (which in my
opinion is going to look dated and blah at some point in the future)
is probably the question.

It would be worth making the basement bathroom presentable.  If a
couple comes through thinking they'll see 2 real bathrooms and find
that one's just a toilet and a sink and a tub that scares them, they
are likely to be disappointed and move on.  

Personally, I would do both and if you do the work yourself
especially, in most markets all of that money will come back to you in
the form of a higher sale price.

The problem with doing more than that bathroom for the basement is
that even if you put 4 bedrooms down there, it doesn't help get people
into your homevia the MLS (multiple listing service) because you can't
list a basement bedroom as a bedroom in most if not all MLS systems.
If you have a basement 50% above grade, then it's another story since
it's considered a lower level instead of a basement.  Finishing the
basement does help you increase the total room count in MLS though,
but I'm not sure there are many folks actively searching based on
total room count. Most set lower limits on the bedroom/bathroom
fields.

Best Regards,
--
Todd H.  
http://www.toddh.net/