Return on Investment and Remodeling your Bathroom

Over the years of being in the remodeling business, I’ve heard one question more than any other: “Will I get a return on my remodeling investment?”

It is an interesting question with answers that are as varied as the type of remodeling projects available to a homeowner.

The obvious analysis on a question about “return on investment” is to ask about the numbers. “If I invest $10,000 in a remodel, will my home be worth $10,000 more than it is today as a result of the completed work?”

Let’s say it is April 2007. The economy is booming and the house you bought in 2005 for $250,000 is worth $300,000. You take out a home equity loan for $25,000 and get a new bathroom and some landscaping in the front and back yard. August rolls around, and it is time to sell the home. Depending on market conditions and your location, you can probably get the $25,000 back.

Fast forward to 2010. The $250,000 house is probably worth $250,000 again, or maybe $225,000 or $200,000. So, did the remodel pay for itself? This is a much tougher question, right? If you want to, or HAVE to sell now, you probably will not get your money back on the remodel, even though your house is more likely to sell than the neighbors house, where perhaps they didn’t make those investments. Obviously, buyers would rather buy a “home” and not a “project” with their hard earned money.

But the reality is that remodeling actually has less to do with a financial return on investment than with the way we live our lives. For most people, their home is their largest investment. But it is how we use our home that impacts our life and the lives of our family members. New landscaping can make family barbecues more fun, can make a garden possible, or can provide shade on a hot summer day or even a fire on a cool fall evening. A new bathroom can be clean, comfortable, refreshing, safe and beautiful. Perhaps your bathroom remodel even makes the room more accessible for a family member with a physical impairment.

In our business, we remodel bathrooms in order for our customers to live better. Certainly, we have customers who look for a financial return on their bathroom remodel, and they find it. Remodeling Magazine says that the financial return on a bathroom remodel is about 102%. But the other return on investment, the one that is about enjoying life, is the real value in remodeling.

Our bathrooms are:

• Easy to clean
• Accessible
• Installed in 1 day
• Custom designed to meet every person’s needs
• Warranted for life
• Affordable
• Always look brand new, even after years of use

So, when you look for a return on your investment, consider more than money. Money matters…but it certainly isn’t everything!