Four Tips for Renovating your Vacation Home for Resale

You've bought your vacation home and you want to make improvements to resell in a few years. What are the right renovations to get the most bang for your buck in this fickle market? There are several things that you can do to accomplish this. Let's look at a few of them now.

Make improvements that count.

Experts agree that the right renovations, especially bathrooms and kitchens affect the marketability and the rentabilty of your Vacation Home. Bathrooms have become a popular remodeling choice, and for good reason, they have the highest rate of return of any home addition or home remodel. Real estate agents agree that a gleaming kitchen with state of the art appliances, cork or hardwood flooring, stone countertops and lots of cupboard space can sell a house the instant a prospective buyer sees it. Conversely, a cramped, ill lit kitchen with outdated linoleum and harvest gold appliances might actually scare buyers or renters away. Now you may not want to go to that expense if this is a little mountain cabin get away that you only plan to use yourself a few times a year. But you have other options

Update what you can't renovate.

If you can't afford to renovate, update and refresh key rooms instead. Replacing an old countertop, repainting cupboards and walls, installing new door pulls and lighting make big improvements to your kitchen for a very modest price.

Similar touches increase appeal of older bathrooms, too. Fresh paint throughout your home is another low cost, high return project. It makes everything look cleaner and brighter. Decorate with rustic lighting or rustic furniture this will add a mountain cabin charm that will make your rental special. When you are ready to sell, buyers love a vacation home they won't have to redecorate immediately. And renters who find that perfect vacation home to rent will return year after year.

Maintain where you can.

Depending on the age of your Vacation Home you can expect to spend between one and three percent of it's value every year on maintenance and repair. Your maintenance budget should increase as your Vacation Home ages, so remember to include funds to replace major items as required. Foundations and roofs are things that are difficult to inspect, but the long run minor repairs can save about ten times the cost of work necessary to replace or rebuild.

Don't over improve:

Before you commit to any big project, ask, "Is this improvement out of character for my neighborhood or area ?" If the answer is Yes, you may be consigning your house to an oddity status. If your vacation home is improved beyond the scope of all the surrounding area. Then it is likely your vacation home's value won't be realized when it comes time to sell.

Do your home value homework before you remodel. You want to attract good seasonal renters plus have the comforts you prefer when using your Vacation Home. But you don't want to go overboard unless you intend to hold onto it for years to come. Be certain your choices will help you sell that Vacation Home when the time comes.