I bought my first home 2 years ago and I'm real happy with it other than a couple of things I would like to change. Those things being a deck added on to the back of the house, remodel my kitchen and get about 5 new windows through out the house. The windows is a done deal because the ones I have now are a little old, hard to open and can be kinda drafty in the winter.



The deck I dont need but it would be nice in the warm weather months. The kitchen is ok but the cabinets, countertop and walls are pretty old. My house was built in the early 60s so the kitchen is probably as old as the house. The rest of the house is perfect and the former owners really took amazing care of it. I had a company come out yesterday to give me a quote on a new deck and a kitchen renovation. Total cost would be almost $20,000.



With this being my first home and I dont know if I will be here long term, would it be worth it do the renovations if I might only be here for another 5-6 years before selling for a little bit of a profit and getting a home that is exactly what I want? I'm not sure I would be able to tack on $20,000 to the selling price in a few years to make the money back. So the question remains on do I do everything to have the comfort of a fully updated home now and for who ever buys it next, while possibly not making any money from the project or do I just leave it as is, live with it as and maybe make a little money when I sell in a few years?



I dont know what the housing market will be like in 5-6 years but I feel like people are going to want homes that are updated and look really nice on the inside with minimal work needed to be done. So I feel like if I dont renovate then it might be harder to sell. Home owners...chime in and give me advice or suggestions.

 

I would dump the money in the kitchen and not the deck. If the kitchen is that far outdated, then you'll make your money back in renovating it. An old kitchen is a turn off for buyers.



Rather than investing a lot of money in a deck that requires upkeep, just make the lawn look nice. Flowers, bushes, and a green lawn goes a really long way.

 

Kitchens and bathrooms add more value per dollar spent than anything else.

 

One way to look at it is "If I spend this money, I'll make myself happy." So do what you want and don't worry about the value of it down the road. 5-6 years is quite a while to look at an ugly/outdated kitchen and to not enjoy a deck.

 

You can do a lot for curb appeal and landscaping that won't cost a lot. Most buyers only care about the inside. You could just do cabinets and a countertop to save money and do the backsplash and floors yourself. Those 2 things are pretty easy.

 

Oh yeah - painting cabinets is a cheap, easy way to redo a look. I did that in my bathroom - got rid of the ugly white washed oak and painted them bluey-green. http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/roo...abinets-videos

 

This is the correct answer. A house is primarily a place to live, not an investment.