Response to Rev's Question

Thanks to Rev for posing the comment/question. My response got so long I decided to make it a post.

You can definitely save money by doing some of the work yourself. The value added would still be the same as long as you didn't sacrifice quality by doing it yourself.

So let's run through an example. The national average cost for a deck addition was $11,300 and the cost recovery at sale was 90%. This means if your house was worth $200,000 before the remodel, it would be worth $210,170 after the remodel ($200,000 + ($11,300 x 90%).

If you were able to reduce the price of the deck addition by 10% by doing it yourself, the price of the deck would then be $10,170. So the increase in value would be exactly equal to the cost of the project.

The same type of analysis would apply for any of the project remodels.

As far as getting advice in your neighborhood, I would definitely recommend talking to a the Realtor who farms (ie specializes in) your neighborhood. If they are putting themselves out there as an expert in your neighborhood, they should be able to tell you what the buyers are willing to pay extra for in your neighborhood. They should know what the trends are and what you as a seller can capitalize on.

Getting an appraisal may not serve your purpose and the Realtor will likely do the analysis for "free". By free, I mean they will do it for no cost other than the honest opportunity to win your business. If you don't plan on moving anytime soon or are going to use your buddy Joe, have the courtesy to take them out to lunch at a decent place.

When people here in Denver ask me what to do to their homes, I recommend they make whatever changes to their home that are going to make them enjoy it more and not to worry about the dollar return on investment. The return is their enjoyment of their home.