Whether you plan to stay in your house for a long time or just a few years, it’s smart to know which home renovations add the most value. Here are the home remodeling projects that deliver the highest returns, according to the Cost vs. Value report.
A newly remodeled luxury kitchen
1. Garage door replacement
• Average cost: $3,611 • Average resale value: $3,520 • Cost recouped: 97.5 percent
A good-looking garage door tops the list when it comes to getting cash back on your investment when you decide to sell your house. The estimate for this job is based on the cost of removing and disposing of an existing 16-by-7-foot garage door (or two-car garage door) and replacing it with a new four-section garage door with heavy-duty galvanized steel tracks, assuming the motorized garage door opener is compatible. This curb-appeal enhancer will get you back almost every dollar you spent on it when you sell your house.
2. Minor kitchen remodel
• Average cost: $22,507 • Average resale value: $18,123 • Cost recouped: 80.5 percent
Creating a modern-looking and functional kitchen can add more than just value to your home; it can boost your enjoyment of everyday activities like cooking, entertaining friends and sharing meals with your family. However, potential buyers see the intrinsic value of this kind of upgrade. On average, you’ll recoup a little more than 80 percent of the cost of a minor kitchen remodel. In a remodeling project of this kind, you might replace appliances with new, more energy-efficient models, reface cabinets with new shaker-style wood panels, install new countertops, replace hardware, install a new sink and faucet, add new flooring and repaint.
3. Deck addition (wood)
• Average cost: $13,333 • Average resale value: $10,083 • Cost recouped: 75.6 percent
If you’re lucky enough to own a house with a big yard, having a wooden deck can be an extra enhancement to enjoy the outdoors around your home. The average cost of adding a wooden deck from scratch (estimated based on a 16-by-20-foot deck, including a railing system with pressure-treated wood posts, railings and balusters) is approximately $13,333. But the good news is that this feature, which also includes a built-in bench and planter, can hold more than 75 percent of its value come sale time.
4. Siding replacement
• Average cost: $16,036 • Average resale value: $12,119 • Cost recouped: 75.6 percent
Old, dilapidated siding can make even the nicest house look worn out. For the average home, replacing 1,250 square feet of old siding will cost you just over $16,000 and you’ll get back roughly three-quarters of that investment upon resale. This upgrade includes the factory trim at the openings and corners.
5. Entry door replacement (steel)
• Average cost: $1,826 • Average resale value: $1,368 • Cost recouped: 74.9 percent
You will recoup nearly 75 percent of your cost by replacing your main entry door with a 20-gauge steel door, complete with clear dual-pane half-glass panel, jambs and an aluminum threshold with composite stop. These doors come factory finished with the same color on the front and back sides.
Raleigh Livability
The personal finance website WalletHub recently released a list of the most livable state capitals in the the United States, comparing all 50 cities across 49 key metrics ranging from cost of living to K-12 school system quality to number of attractions. Here’s how Raleigh stacked up.
Photo courtesy of VisitNC.com
Livability of Raleigh (1=Best, 25=Avg.):
• 2nd – Most Livable Capital City • 20th – Housing Affordability • 3rd – Median Household Income (Adjusted for Cost of Living) • 28th – Unemployment Rate • 12th – Percent of State-Local- and Federal-Government Employees • 12th – Percent of Population in Poverty • 3rd – Percent of Adults with Bachelor’s Degree or Higher • 18th – Health Conditions • 11th – Percent of Millennial Newcomers • 13th – Number of Attractions
Real Estate Market Update
Numbers from the Triangle MLS comparing January 2020 to 2019.
Jeans aren’t a closet staple for no reason. These faded blue frocks are just the base for a gorgeously put-together outfit.
1. Baume Und Pferdgarten Adamaris smock dress, $378; Uniquities 2. Lamarque Donna faded leather jacket, $598; Uniquities 3. Bernardo Luna navy suede shoe, $198; Main & Taylor 4. Sobral necklace, $154; C.T. Weekends 5. Mignonne Gavigan Fiona hoops, $95; Uniquities 6. Laggo Zoe bag, $495; Main & Taylor 7. Cashmere crewneck sweater, $98; JCrew 8. Thacker large ring pouch, $88; Main & Taylor 9. Ruffle-neck shift dress, $118; JCrew 10. Jeffrey Campbell Valenti tweed heel, $180; Main & Taylor 11. Frederic T flap bag, $150; C.T. Weekends 12. Sies Marjan printed satin skirt, $695; Vermillion 13. Brunate Camoscio Lake sandal, $310; Main & Taylor
As Good As Gold
We’re loving this warm saffron shade; its sun-soaked hue will light up any rainy spring day.
1. Cord wrapped drop tassel earrings, $9.99; Target 2. Frederic T small bag, $150; C.T. Weekends 3. Joseph Ribkoff tie side top, $158; C.T. Weekends 4. Sea Lea puff sleeve dress, $465; Vermillion 5. Farm Rio mini cashew blouse, $130; Uniquities 6. Yacco Maricard blouse, $394, C.T. Weekends 7. Mansur Gavrila mini leather bucket bag, $345; Nordstrom 8. Givenchy 4G logo slide sandal, $695; Nordstrom
Under the Sea
Pink, but not too pink, coral is a go-to for when you want to look sweet but not too kiddie.
1. Aldo Martins stripe square maxi, $288; Copper Penny 2. Lucy Janessa colorblock sweater, $69; Madison 3. Coral-hued linear earrings, $29.50; Chico’s 4. Lush Chandra tie dye pleated dress, $69; Madison 5. Kate Spade grapefruit tote, $228; Nordstrom 6. Tibi nylon pleated cargo pant, $395; Vermillion 7. Lucy Heather colorblock midi skirt, $69; Madison 8. Baguette crystal disc hoop earrings, $49.50; JCrew 9. Bethesda ruffle short, $55; Madison 10. BP Gabby women wedge sandal, $59.95; Nordstrom 11. Klara monogram embossed leather camera bag, $575; Nordstrom
Walk This Way
Elevate your traditional spring sandals with funky, sculptural heels in unexpected colors that are comfortable enough to wear to the office and out to dinner and drinks. Throw in a bold patterned espadrille with a thick platform on the weekends to really take your shoe game to new heights this season.
1. Vaneli espadrille, $155; Main & Taylor 2. Ferri yellow sandal, $335; Main & Taylor 3. Ferri nude sandal, $355; Main & Taylor 4. Jeffrey Campbell patton sandal, $145; Main & Taylor 5. Gaimo Ezildana espadrille, $130; Main & Taylor
Saving money is hard, especially when ads, in real life and online, tempt us constantly. This week is America Saves Week, so we asked Laura Bunn, the Triangle Market President for First Horizon Bank, for some tips to save money and keep on a budget that we can apply in our daily lives. First Horizon also offers free financial empowerment workshops through its Operation Hope program at the bank’s North Ridge location in Raleigh.
Why is it so important to save money?
The unexpected is…unexpected. Retirement will be here quicker than you realize, but preparing for retirement can take a backseat when you’re focused on the here and now. Very few of us have a plan for retirement that is adequate to how we’re living now. Save today for tomorrow!
What are some easy ways to save money every day?
Set Goals! Start by thinking of what you may want to save for. Are you getting married? Planning a vacation? Going back to school? Savers who have a plan are twice as likely to save successfully.
Pay yourself first! Moving money from your checking to your savings account automatically is the easiest and most effective way to save. Whether saving for educational expenses, a dream vacation, retirement or all things in between, this is one of the best ways to reach a goal.
Reduce your debt! This is something you don’t hear as often: paying down your debt is saving! When you actively reduce your debt, you save on interest. When you pay on time, you save on late fees and maintain your credit score, which will save you money long-term.
What is the best way to create a budget and ensure you can stick to it?
Use the 50-20-30 budget rule to save. 50 percent goes to your needs: your mortgage or rent, car payments, groceries, utilities. 20 percent goes to savings which includes adding money to an emergency fund, making IRA contributions and investing in the stock market. Three-plus months of emergency savings is important, but six months of emergency savings is encouraged! 30 percent goes to your wants—the non-essentials.
You just got a big tax refund. What’s the smartest course of action to take with the money?
This year, 2020, is an important one. The presidential election is on the horizon and 2020 marks the beginning of a new decade. Microsoft founder Bill Gates reminds us that we often overestimate what we can achieve in a year but underestimate what can achieve in a decade. In the spirit of intentionality, we ask ourselves: Who are we? What do we stand for? Who do we hope to become as a community and people?
In attempting to explore these urgent, life-long questions, I asked friends and mentors who I admire one question: What books should our community read right now?
From a restaurant general manager to a pastor, this collection gives us a glimpse into a few of the important topics we face in our time. We hope they challenge you, inspire you, and more importantly, we hope they invite you to to ask yourself: Who are you? What do you stand for? Who do you hope to become?
Beneath My Feet, Writers on Walking Edited by Duncan Minshull
We need to walk and write more. And this perfectly small, beautiful book illuminates the creativity and life that is found in the simple act of walking.
—Johnny Burleson, Chief Advancement Officer, NC Museum of Art
A Place for Us By Fatima Farheen Mirza
“A Place for Us” is a book about an Indian Muslim immigrant family who moved to California. The teenage children are coming of age when 9/11 happens. The book is about prejudice, xenophobia and young people finding their way: how they want to stay true to their family heritage and traditions and how they want to break away. The novel is also about love, the role of faith, identity and belonging.
—Ashley Griffith, Pastor of Community Life
Spying on the South By Tony Horwitz
Horwitz literally retraces the path Frederick Law Olmstead took as a reporter and journalist through the South before the Civil War. Through Appalachia, down the Mississippi River, into bayou Louisiana and across Texas to the contested Mexican borderland, what Olmstead saw and learned and told versus what Horwitz experiences today in our radically divided country shows we are as polarized now as we were then, if not more so.
—Linda Noble, Graphic Designer
All About Love By Bell Hooks
This book is a critical read in a time when people feel increasingly isolated, searching for connections that are meaningful and lasting. Bell Hooks unpacks love in a way that helps us deconstruct the pop culture and social construct of this life-defining connection. As she explains, “love is an act of will—namely, both an intention and an action.”
—Luisa Jaramillo, General Manager, Brewery Bhavana
Dying of Whiteness Jonathan Metzl
A meditation on how the historical construction of white identity shapes the current political beliefs and realities around topics such as gun control and Medicaid expansion. Weaving transcripts of conversations and focus groups with white people directly affected by failures in the medical system and suicide by guns with insightful analysis of the factors which shape and constrain political beliefs around these issues, this book tackles complex political realities without losing sight of the human stakes these issues exact on our lives and body politic.
