HOME IMPROVEMENT : For Investments That Pay, Take Cue From Neighbors

The teen-age years aren’t just a hard time for humans, they’re crucial to your home as well.

“During the first 15 years, a house under normal wear is going to look OK,” says Monica Margaret-Moore of Fish & Moore Appraisers in Newport Beach. “But after 15 years, styles and colors have usually changed. And trying to sell a house that looks out of date is not going to be easy.”

Despite stirrings after the Persian Gulf War, the real estate market continues to be sluggish. Sellers are trying everything they can to increase their home’s appeal, while buyers are carefully picking and choosing, knowing there may be a better deal around the corner.

Making improvements has traditionally been the best way to help your home increase in value. According to the National Assn. of Home Builders, Americans will spend $105 billion on improvements to their homes this year, double the amount spent seven years ago.

There are hundreds of improvements you can make to attract buyers, but which are the kind that really pay off when you sell? The advice from the experts is to look at the better homes in your neighborhood and take a cue from them.

“Many improvements depend on the neighborhood and price range of your home,” says Dick Adamson of ERA Action Realty in Anaheim. “With homes in the lower-price ranges, an investment in a swimming pool may not be recouped because buyers of those homes aren’t necessarily looking for a pool. But features like a screened-in patio might be an attraction.”

Dan O’Dowd, manager of appraisals at World Savings in Costa Mesa, says: “You can never really recover the full cost of an improvement when selling, and you’ve got to be careful of over-improvement. A five-bedroom home in a neighborhood of two- and three-bedroom homes could be perceived as a white elephant.”

A project that generally returns a great deal of its costs is a remodeled bathroom. “When you’re redoing your bathroom, remember that buyers like light, clean looks,” says Moore. “People like to see a new toilet, sink and cabinet.

“Enamel boards in the shower being replaced with fiberglass panels makes a bathroom look much more modern,” she says. “Changing the bathroom color scheme from pink and green to more neutral colors is also something to consider. You should think of colors and designs that could go with anything.”

Kitchens are also a major area where remodeling can pay off.

“Women have a lot to say about buying a house and they often check out the kitchen first. An attractive kitchen can help a house overcome other detriments it may have,” Moore says. “Appliances should be new or very clean. If you have old, dark, broken-down cabinets, you should replace them or have them refinished and fixed so they’re light and the doors work.”

One guideline when thinking of remodeling is to use up-to-date styles and colors, but not too much so. “If you see a certain color or flooring or tile in homes right now, and you’re going to be selling soon, it’s OK to be trendy with your remodeling. However, if you’re trying to lead the pack or do something that will be trendy in the next 10 years, that’s not a good idea,” Moore says.

Remodeling a back-yard pool can also increase a property’s value.

“Pools built in the 50s and 60s were rectangular and deep with little or no landscaping,” says Pam Tipton, manager of ABC Pools in Los Alamitos. “By making that pool shallower, from four- to six-feet deep, hundreds of gallons are saved. And by adding some landscaping or a waterfall, you’ve modernized the pool.”

Maintaining the exterior gives a impression that a house is well cared for. “A fresh paint job, especially on an older home, is going to help make a sale,” says Moore. “But make sure the color is not outrageous and is similar to other nice homes in the neighborhood.”

Adds O’Dowd: “An exterior improvement such as paint or landscaping can bring buyers inside. In that respect, selling your home starts from the street.”

A healthy lawn and garden will help create a good impression, although you may not want to invest too heavily in flowers and grass. “It’s worth it to care for your lawn and trim back the bushes. But spending a large sum on major landscaping usually doesn’t pay,” Moore says.

“I’ve had people tell me they spend $30,000 on their yard, and they got little of it back when they sold it. You might catch a buyer’s eye with great landscaping, but it’s not going to pay off like a kitchen or bathroom.”