David G. Brown - HOW TO REDUCE YOUR RISK IN REAL ESTATE INVESTING

the end of the story. Appraisers and inspectors will almost certainly be coming through the home as part of the process and either of these can derail a sale. An appraiser will notice aging equipment and other factors like old carpet and flooring, and adjust the home’s value based on the current market. Home inspectors are less concerned with market value, but they will point out that even if it’s running flawlessly now, a 25-year- old furnace can give out at any time. This can often lead a buyer to want the value of a new furnace, subtracted from the sale price of the home. These systems do provide a good ROI, at least in terms of salability. The furnace and air conditioning units can be a selling point if they are the new, energy-efficient models. An additional bonus here is that there might be tax credits associated with such models, lessening your initial investment. Don’t forget that even if some of these repairs don’t add additional value in the eyes of a buyer, they don’t subtract value, either, and will help your home sell faster than it would without them. Moving beyond the basics, it’s important to know that full-scale remodeling projects don’t generally offer the best ROI. Rather, the best approach to getting full value for your expense and effort is to refresh or replace existing items like windows and doors, usually with a mid-range upgrade.

Replacements

The top four improvement projects in terms of ROI, according to Remodeling magazine, are listed below. These projects are relatively simple and low-cost, which is great for your bottom line:

• Garage door replacement: 98.3% • Manufactured stone veneer: 97.1%

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