5 winter renovations to increase the value of your home

During the winter months, we work on our “summer body.” We eat right, and we work out so that we feel the best that we can during the warmer months. We can target specific areas of our body that we want to work on by doing particular exercises. During the winter months, we can also work on our home so that it looks the best that it can during the warmer months. That way we can host summer barbecues and other get-togethers while showing off the winter renovations we completed.

Top 5 winter renovations

Many home owners think that the winter months are a time to hunker down and hibernate for the winter. However, the winter months are the perfect time to tackle some renovations on the interior of the house. Winter is typically an “off-season” time for contractors, which means they’ll have more availability and potentially lower rates! Moreover, since winter isn’t as busy a time for renovations, securing the right permits may take less time. There are a few projects that are more common and easier to tackle during winter months than others. We’ve listed our top five winter renovations.

Finish basement

A finished basement is a killer way to improve the value of your home! It may currently be home to many boxes and unused items, but the basement can become one of the most loved rooms in the house. Utilizing the basement space is a more cost-efficient way to add an extra room to the house. A finished basement is also an attractive feature to prospective home buyers. You can use this in a variety of different ways, which makes it one of the top home renovations.

Moreover, finishing the basement often increases the energy efficiency of the property. When the contractors come in, they’ll install insulation and drywall. Improving your insulation helps keep the air inside the home, which will eliminate the draft and reduce the amount of air escaping.

Make home “smarter”

Having a smarter home can be a smart investment to help lower your utility bills. Installing smart technology is a project that home owners can tackle on their own without having workers going in and out of the house regularly. The perfect start to a more intelligent home is installing a smart thermostat. Newer thermostats allow home owners to control the temperature of the home from their phones! Home owners can schedule their preferences, which enables the thermostat to raise and lower the temperature when needed. Additionally, it eliminates human error allowing for the home to save energy and money.

Efficient insulation

During the winter, making the home more energy-efficient can save home owners thousands of dollars on their monthly heating bills. By sealing cracks around the house, home owners can save a couple hundred each year on their utility bills and look more appealing to potential buyers. Places like the basement and attic are also prone to be colder areas of the house during wintertime, so adding a little extra insulation can go a long way.  

Renovate a room

Renovating a room can be one of the best returns on a home owner’s investment. Renovating frequently used spaces, like the kitchen and bathroom, will retain their value. A bathroom renovation tends to be on the lower edge of the spectrum, while a kitchen renovation tends to be on the higher side of the spectrum. There are many ways to keep costs low and make some minor improvements in principal rooms like the kitchen and bathroom, though. Adding some backsplash or revamping the kitchen cabinets are cost-effective ways to transform the space and get the best return.

Add a bedroom

Adding a room is a costly investment that can hurt home owners if not done correctly. Improvements like these can be a considerable investment and can produce a return of only 66 per cent. Adding a master suite or family room are not as sought after as a multipurpose room. A multipurpose room can be a bedroom, or office space, or a playroom. Adding an extra bedroom makes the home more appealing to buyers since it opens the door to a new set of buyers. An additional room adds value to the property and can boost the sale price by 30 per cent for every 1,000 square feet. Moreover, adding an extra bedroom is much more cost-effective than adding a master suite or family room!

Those are our picks for the top five winter renovations! When you’re ready to start some winter remodels so that your home has its best “summer body” next year, give us a call at Clinton Wilkins Mortgage Team. We will help you fund some fun renovations on your property! You can get in touch with us here.