Best renovations for ROI on selling your house

If you're going to be staying in your home for a while, then you can feel free to do whatever you want to make it more appealing and comfortable to you.

But if you've had any thoughts of selling in the next few years, you might want to think about which renovations will most increase the value of your property when it comes time to put it on the real estate market.

Here are the some of the top renovations for return-on-investment when selling the property, according to the [Appraisal Institute of Canada]:

Painting

Painting is a great ROI because it's a relatively low-cost item, but makes the property looks much better. I've been involved with painting in both do-it-yourself (DIY) situations and by hiring a professional painting company.

While painting is "simple", it's not necessarily "easy". On the contrary, it can be a lot of hard work to do it right. DIYcan save you a lot of money, because a significant portion of the cost of professional painting is labour (as with anything). But you better be ready to pay in cost of time and hard work.

If you don't have the time, energy, or know-how to do it yourself, consider hiring a professional painting firm.  Get quotes from at least a couple for comparison, and try to get a referral from someone you trust.

Kitchen

Kitchens are always a winner for ROI on a renovation - but of course, only when done correctly. Again, DIY can save you money, but you should make sure that you have the required skills. Consulting a professional design company really can provide superior results, because they know all the materials and options available. A good designer also has experience laying out a kitchen in an appealing manner that will also be practical. Finally, the kitchen is one of the places where you may want to try to select the best materials you can afford, rather than going for the cheapest options.

Bathroom

Bathrooms are the other big winner when it comes to specific rooms to renovate. An ugly or badly out-of-date bathroom can be an immediate turn-off for buyers. Priority should be given to the main bathroom and the master bath - it always strikes me as odd when the best bathroom in the house is in the basement. And as with the kitchen, you should be aiming for the best design and materials.