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Bathroom & Kitchen Remodeling 

In a Forbes Magazine article, real estate brokers stated that the two most important rooms in your home are the kitchen and bathroom.  Kitchen and bathrooms often sell the house.  According to Remodeling Magazine’s annual cost versus value report, which looks at how much of the costs of remodeling projects are recouped in the sales price, found that on a national average, most who undertook major bathroom remodeling jobs saw between 88% and 91% of their costs recouped. 

Some people are comfortable, while others will need to contact a qualified professional to insure that the best quality work is done.  A well-done renovation will increase the value of your home and increase the pleasure of the time you, your family, and friends spend there.  If you’ve been thinking of updating your kitchen or bathroom, now is a great time to complete a home improvement project.

Below is a list of Bathroom and Kitchen Remodeling Tips as well as How you can claim your home remodeling expenses on your taxes if you sell your home.

Bathroom Remodeling Tips:

• Replace flooring with bathroom flooring tile – peal and stick tile, for instance is a quick, cost-effective solution.
• Update existing fixtures – including shower, tub, vanity, medicine cabinet and lighting.
• Add a Jacuzzi whirlpool bath or hot tub – attractive bathroom features like this appeal to potential buyers.
• Get rid of any mold or mildew – replace damaged or broken tiles and old tile grouting and replace caulking around tubs and showers.
• If you have space add another bathroom – homes with more than one bathroom are always more appealing to potential buyers.  Recoup for an averaged sized full bath located near bedrooms, in a house with 1 or 1 1/2 baths, can be as high as 169%, depending upon the area you live in.
• Build a new master bathroom – this is a nice selling point with a high-expected investment return, if you live in the right area.  The more elaborate the better; include things like a private dressing area, makeup vanity and a double shower with dual shower heads. 

 Kitchen Remodeling Tips

•  Make sure the classic work triangle is incorporated into the kitchen floor plan – with the kitchen sink, refrigerator, and stove arranged in a triangular pattern.  This layout saves unnecessary steps, while ensuring ease of movement and convenience.
•  Add fresh paint – this makes a huge improvement in a room’s appearance and more than pays for itself when it comes time to sell your house.  Stay away from trendy colors that may shortly become outdated.
• Replace old kitchen cabinetry doors with new, quality ones – this is cheaper than full cabinet replacement, while still yielding impressive results and adding market value to your home.
• Incorporate space saving elements into the kitchen design – for example, a built in refrigerator, coffee maker, or other built in kitchen appliances.
• Give old kitchen cabinet style a face-lift with new kitchen cabinet hardware – updating cabinetry while improving kitchen appearance.
• New kitchen sink and faucet – this upgrade goes a long ways with updating the looks of a kitchen.  Make sure whatever you pick out ties into the rest of your kitchen.
• New countertops – if you can afford it granite or natural stone countertops improve the kitchen appearance and usability.  They are a huge selling point.  If you can’t real stone faux stone countertops are just as attractive. 
• If kitchen countertops are old and you can’t afford new – give your kitchen a cost-effective face-lift, resurface your kitchen countertops instead of replacing them.

Claim Home Remodeling Expenses on Your Taxes (if you sell your home)

When or if you sell your home, you might be charged capital gains taxes.  However, according to the IRS Publication 523, any major improvements or remodeling you do to your home such as kitchen or bathroom remodeling can be exempt from these taxes.  This can include items such as: 

• Additions including bedrooms, bathrooms, decks, garages, porches or patios
• New plumbing or wiring
• Any new heating and/or air conditioning units
• Interior upgrades such as built-in appliances and wall-to-wall carpeting
• Exterior upgrades such as paving the driveway

The IRS identifies tax-acceptable improvements, as those that add value to your home and prolong your home’s useful life.  You should check with your accountant who knows IRS tax law to make sure any home remodeling you do will be covered.  Be sure to keep all receipts on any purchases you make for remodeling purposes.