If you’re hoping to sell your house in a year or two, this is a great time to renovate. Even if you’re planning on living in your home for several more years, you can still think about which renovations will maximize your property value in the long term. Usually, on this blog, I focus on the quick and low-cost repairs you can do to sell your house efficiently. However, if you want to invest some real money into your home to increase its value significantly, here’s what you should do.
Add an Income Suite
Single-family homes with secondary income-generating suites are valuable, especially if you do this renovation legally and with permits. One-bedroom basement apartments rent for a lot of money in West Toronto neighbourhoods and will increase the value of your home by $100,000 or more. If you want to go even more significant, build a laneway suite in your backyard. This will cost several hundred thousand dollars, but it can generate around $5000/ month in passive rental income once completed (depending on the size and finishes).
Kitchen Upgrades
Nothing sells your house like a kitchen. This is especially true for an open-concept kitchen and family room layout. If you want the most money for your home, remove some main-floor walls (with permits, please) and install a modern kitchen with a huge island. I’ve rarely met a person who doesn’t want a kitchen island.
Looking for more information about boosting your home’s property value? Check out these blog posts.
- The Impact of Professional Staging
- What You Need to Know About the Pre-Listing Phase
- Preparing Your Home For Sale
Ensuite
Bathrooms are essential to the value of your house. You should add an ensuite to the primary bedroom if you can. However, don’t do this if it means that you’re taking over the 3rd bedroom. Some homeowners renovate their three-bedroom homes into two bedrooms with a large ensuite. This is not a good idea for the future value of your property.
Third Floor
Many semi-detached properties in west Toronto have little half-stories in the attics, which are small third stories. If you are in one of those houses, consider building a full third-storey and making it a sizeable primary bedroom suite. This will add a significant amount of value to your home.
Family Room Addition
The typical layout of west Toronto homes is straight from the front door, with a family room at the front, a dining room next, and a kitchen in the back. If you built an addition on the back of your house to create a large family room and main-floor powder room, you would add a lot of value to your home. This way also, you can have your TV in the back of the house and keep your front living room for more formal visits.
Remember, try not to over-invest in your house. Your house value can be affected by many exterior factors that are out of your control, such as being on a busy street, being close to the train lines, being on a small lot or not having parking. For example, if you live in a 900-square-foot home, you should not put in a costly designer kitchen because your house will likely not attract the buyer who can pay a premium.
If you are curious about what could add value or are worried about over-investing in a renovation and not getting your money back, give us a shout, and we’ll be happy to come over and advise you. We’re an opinionated and chatty bunch 😉
Have questions about home renovations? We can help. Get in touch.
Robyn VanderVennen
The Kim Kehoe Team
