If you’re yearning to add some living space to your home, you have a number of options available to you. If you have the money, you can increase your living area by literally increasing the size of your home. You can build a family room addition, a master suite addition, a sunroom addition – you can even add an entire new floor to your home.
Those are all very expensive ways to scratch your I-want-more-room itch. But there’s another option that can increase your living space by at least a third on average, and in many cases, can nearly double it. This option is far cheaper than the frighteningly expensive route of building an addition to your home. And it does an excellent job of protecting the value of the money you invest in the project.
We’re talking, of course, about garage remodeling projects.
The Numbers Are Impressive…
Every year, Remodeling Magazine publishes a Cost vs. Value Report. The report gathers data nationwide about the cost of home renovation and remodeling projects.
The purpose of the report is to give homeowners solid information about the cost of home remodeling projects, along with the value of those projects compared to other projects. The report also reveals how well projects hold their value in terms of percentage of costs recouped when a home is sold.
The latest Cost vs. Value Report revealed that basement remodeling projects continue to offer great value, with the typical project recouping 70.3% of costs when the home is sold. And on average, basement remodeling projects add over $43,000 to the sale price of a home.
How does this compare to other projects that are undertaken with the purpose of increasing a home’s living area? Very favorably. In fact, if you’re considering one of the projects below, the numbers are likely to make you wince a bit:
- A family room addition: retains only 63.3% of value
- A master suite addition: retains only 63.2% of value
- A bathroom addition: retains only 54.8% of value
- A sunroom addition: retains only 46.5% of value
The MOST Cost-Effective Project
What it boils down to is this: According to the Remodeling report, if you want to increase your home’s living area, there’s no cheaper way of achieving that goal than with a remodeled basement.
The reasons for that are obvious enough. Other means of increasing living space require new construction: new foundation, new walls, new roofing. But a basement comes with all of the basic components of floor, walls and ceiling in place.
You don’t have to create the space, you just have to convert the space to livable standards. And that, by far, is the less expensive option.
It’s Not All About the Numbers…
It’s not all about the dollars and cents, of course. It’s about what you want. It’s about what your family will enjoy the most while you’re living in your home.
But when the time comes to sell your home – and for most of us these days, that’s a matter of when, not if – then it sure is nice to have those numbers on your side.