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Bending Like a Reed in the Wind
Remember the book Dune? How about the crazy psychedelic eighties movie wrought from the mind of David Lynch? In that film, there’s a battle between the good guy and the bad guy.
The good guy, Paul Atreides, has a line where he “thinks“: “I shall bend like a reed in the wind“. It’s basically “Judo“, where one uses the power of one’s opponent against them.
Well, in terms of remodeling, you want to do something similar. Essentially, you won’t want to approach remodeling in a way which tackles all your home’s issues head-on.
You want to figure out what you have, where you are, and what sort of resources you can use to produce augmentation in a way ultimately increasing property value.
If you plan things out enough, you’ll be able to have an end product which provides more total value to the property than the cost you put into such remodel.
In this way, you’ll be able to look at remodeling as a very real investment; one which produces a return. Following are several strategies to help you achieve such outcomes.
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The Sustainable Angle: Solar, Wind, and Water
For some states, with sustainable energy, you’ll be able to get a tax break, virtually eliminate electrical utility bills, and additionally increase property value two to four times over the cost of the solutions—depending on how savvy you are regarding installation.
You can do it yourself, you just need an energy sink—that can be a battery array or something else depending on how much energy you need.
When it comes to solar, essentially remember with the wiring that black is ground, red isn’t, don’t mix up your cables, plug them into a surge controller, and from there to your energy sink. Fastening the panels to your roof in the right configuration, and securing the cables, will be your hardest job.
For a 3.2 kWh system, you’ll be installing 32 panels. It’s about a week’s work if you’re busy, a weekend’s work with a friend if you’re not.
Additionally, consider water energy. If you’ve got a stream behind your property, you can essentially install a windmill. But instead of a windmill, you’ll have a little wheel under the running water which produces a charge you can store in a battery of some kind. Wind energy through a turbine can additionally be recommendable.
For all three energy augmentations, expect a cost—provided you do the installation—of about $5k, and property value increase around $15k per, depending on the state.
At the low-end, you’ll see about $10k in property value increase from each of these measures, and on the high end $20k. If you could do this, for $15k you could see $30k to $60k in property value increase.
Decks, Landscaping, Gardening, and Fences
Remodeling your deck can be good for property value and relatively straightforward. In fact, DIY deck remodels is a common thing for many homeowners. You take out the old boards and put in new ones.
There’s more to it than that, but you get the idea! The same is generally true with gardening, landscaping, and fences: they represent straightforward options with easy to find informational resources available for those who’ve never done them.
Repurposing Rooms, Knocking Down Walls, Attics, and Basements
Some rooms can be repurposed. For example, storage space under the stairs can become a man-cave. You can open up bedrooms that are separated by non-supporting walls, turning them into places to entertain guests.
Attics can be finished and made into bedrooms, sitting rooms, or even observatories if you’ve got a window up there and a telescope.
Also, it goes without saying that you want to finish up the basement at some point. Unfinished basements are common in many homes, finishing them will increase value. You can easily install a bar or maybe go with something a little bit more complex, but exceptionally valuable: a hot tub.
Redoing That Kitchen
Now kitchen remodels can be quite expensive. You really want to do your pre-planning when you’re going about a kitchen remodel, or associated value increase will be easily overcome by the cost of the remodel itself.
Sometimes you may go through with just a minor remodel, like cabinet replacement or something like that. Check out this review of kitchen cabinet kings for an idea of what’s popular in the market presently.
Working With What You Have Where You Are
There are many different ways to effectively remodel your home in an intelligent way which compliments the property you have and ultimately ends up producing profit for your efforts.
Consider what you’ve got to work with in terms of property and resources. Consider your time frame, and what level of DIY involvement you can bring to the table.
With the right preparation beforehand, and determination to see the ordeal through to conclusion, you can intelligently remodel your home in ways that ultimately produce true profit both directly and indirectly.
