Extending Equity by Extending Your Home

While adding an extension to your home seems like a no-brainer, you should proceed with caution, especially in a slow market. Before starting home additions, you should consider the end goal. If you want to increase equity for a fast sale, it’s important to be strategic and choose extension projects that maximize your investment.

Home Additions With Top Potential

 Unlike typical house renovations, home additions increase the square footage of your property, impacting the foundation and roofline. These extensions tend to have the best return on investment:

1. Adding a master bath addition or kitchen extension: These two rooms usually have the most impact when it comes to expansions and remodeling. A house that lacks a master bath or has a small kitchen may not appeal to buyers making it difficult to sell, especially at a preferred price point.

1. Boosting curb appeal: Although curb appeal improvements don’t usually require changing the size of your property, a home extension can have a dramatic impact on its appearance. A larger house may come with elevation changes that add appeal and increase value.

1. Keeping up with the Joneses: Updating your home to local neighborhood standards is a reliable way of building equity quickly. Increasing a small house to a size that is consistent with the larger homes, as opposed to the largest, will definitely add value for a better return when it’s time to sell. In this situation, you want to “keep up with the Joneses”, not outdo them.

Before You Go

The best approach to building equity in a short time means maximizing your return with as low an investment as possible. Home additions are major undertakings that can bring a high ROI when planned carefully and executed properly. Consulting and hiring professionals such as home construction coaches, architects, engineers, designers or contractors help to ensure successful outcomes with your property expansion projects.