The recent Census Bureau data indicates that nearly 65.8% of US households owned houses in 2020. These are about 82.8 million homes, representing a 0.7% increase from 2019’s 65.1%. Averagely, Americans bought 2.3 million homes during the pandemic.
You can tell from these statistics that homeownership is becoming the norm now. However, owning a home comes with maintenance needs. Whether you buy a newly-built house or a pre-occupied home, you’ll need to do exterior renovation after some time.
The costs of maintenance can be high or low, depending on your routine. But today, we’re going to look into how home remodeling affects your general property’s look. For instance, does renovation yield high investment results? Does it save on future repair costs?
How about improving the property’s value? Keep on reading to get answers to these questions and more. We highlight 10 reasons for remodeling your home exterior.
1. Enhance Curb Appeal
Do you feel embarrassed every time you invite visitors to your place? Do you envy your neighbor’s property? All these could be because your home exterior looks older than it seems. You only need a whole exterior remodeling to bring the beauty back.
For instance, fitting modern siding materials on your house will give the trim a new look. You can even build a new porch if your space allows you to create an area for personal entertainment.
Other upgrades that can help enhance your property’s curb appeal include pacing the driveways and walkways. This also ensures that you deal with no mud when the rainy season comes. Less dirt and mud also mean a lush, thriving landscape.
2. Remodel Your Home to Improve the Property’s Value
The good thing about home properties is that their value appreciates with time. However, that is only true if you maintain the property as needed. A simple siding upgrade can re-coup up to about 77% of its expenses when reselling your property.
The same applies to other upgrades as well. You can realize up to 71% of a roof’s replacement cost when you resale the property.
3. Beef Up Security and Safety
How safe or secure is your property at night? Can your children play with their pets on the lawn in the evening without bumping into intruders?
Are you comfortable stretching for a walk when the night falls? If not, exterior home renovation can help you do this and much more.
For instance, you can fence your property. Besides highlighting your home boundary, adding a fence will prevent kids and pets from wandering astray. You can also improve your home’s aesthetic appeal if you go for a green fence or decorative wood fences.
Other upgrades that can help enhance safety and security include installing outdoor lights. Go for a floodlight if you want to illuminate all dark spots and walkways on the property.
Alternatively, you can go for motion-sensing lights if you want to save energy bills. These lights only go on if someone intrudes on the property, which can scare perpetrators from committing a crime. Further, don’t forget to upgrade your garage door and locks.
4. Exterior Renovation Reduces Overall Maintenance Costs
Hometowns who neglect their property eventually pay off in expensive repair costs. For example, overlooking partial roof damage today could mean replacing the whole roofing structure after a couple of years. The same applies to any part of your home.
Irregular home remodeling could also mean facing multiple repairs at the same time in the future. Say you want to fix the windows but realize the garage door also wants an upgrade. You want to upgrade in-house appliances but again the lawn looks shabby that you can’t invite anyone.
Eventually, these costs pile up and can be pretty overwhelming. The last thing you want is to abandon a property that took you years of saving to acquire simply because you can’t maintain it as needed.
5. Enhance Energy Efficiency
Various home remodeling tips can help enhance energy efficiency on your property. For instance, consider replacing old siding to minimize the amount of heat loss. Or, you can install upgraded insulation to compliment old siding if you don’t want to go overboard with costs.
If the siding is okay, you can go ahead and install new energy-efficient windows. An expert such as Renewal by Andersen window installer will recommend the right options for you, depending on budget, and energy efficiency needs. You’ll also get quality work that matches what you pay.
Energy-efficient window panes are helpful in both summers and winters. The windows will prevent indoor heat from escaping during summer and block direct sun rays during summer to keep your energy bills low. The same applies to energy-efficient doors.
6. Protect Your Home Investment
Your home is the greatest asset that probably took you years of planning and saving to acquire. Depending on your financial muscle, there is a high possibility that you’re still paying for the property. Either way, you should protect your home investment at all costs.
You can achieve this through exterior remodeling projects. Applying new paint or coating will protect the construction materials and enhance their longevity. Most importantly, home exterior renovations ensure the property remains in good shape for ages.
7. Turn Your Backyard into a Useful Space
Do you have a large backyard that lies idle? Well, you’re missing a lot. You can increase the functionality of your outdoor living area by remodeling the space.
Start by cleaning the area thoroughly by decluttering. Anything that’s not of use should end in the dustbin.
After that, you can create an outdoor living room. If that doesn’t work for you, you can install seats on paved surfaces to create a focal point for chilling with friends or family members. This also means you can install an in-built BBQ in case you want to hold outdoor parties.
Build a theme garden if you’re into nature. You can then plant flowers and exotic herbs to enhance air circulation in the space. This garden will give you the best chilling spot anytime you feel like warding off stress or negative energy.
8. Renovation Can Be Affordable
The average cost of remodeling a home exterior in the US is about $6,000 to $20,000, depending on your aesthetic improvement needs and material costs. It also depends on the number of improvements you plan to do on the property. Roof upgrades alone can cost up to $11,000.
However, some homeowners can spend as little as $5,000 to give their outdoor environment an upgrade. How? You can buy the renovation materials and do the job with DIY skills instead of hiring a professional. There are various online guides to help you get started.
This saves you labor costs. Alternatively, you can repurpose old items such as crates to create outdoor garden furniture. This will save you material costs because you only need to buy nails, coating, and superglue if there is a need.
9. Install a Landscape
Every homeowner loves a luxurious ambiance that makes them proud of their achievements in life. Doing a home exterior renovation by installing a natural landscape can help you achieve that. This will also retain the terrain of your property by preventing soil erosion.
There are also other benefits of having a natural landscape on your property. Exotic shrubs and lush grass will lower the temperatures of the surrounding. You can even stretch your budget to install water features and make your outdoor environment stand out in the entire neighborhood.
Besides, landscaping improves the general quality of life, thanks to the many psychological benefits it presents. For instance, spending an evening looking at birds and plants can help manage stress. Similarly, walking on lush grass during the day can help improve memory and attention.
Most importantly, installing a landscape means you can resell your home at above the market home value.
10. Create Memories
Do you love doing things together as a family? Joining hands-on DIY remodeling projects can help you strengthen family bonds and create more memories. Even the kids can help with light work, such as cleaning the backyard before installing outdoor appliances.
Remember, it’s the memories of working alongside your dad or grandfather in the family home that motivated you to start a family and build them a house in the first place. It will help if you also pass this inspiration to your kids and help them grow.
Memories created this way last longer and never fade away. Also, you inculcate the art of creativity among your children. In the long haul, they grow into responsible young adults who will also start a family and take care of their homes.
Renovate Your Home Exterior Today and Reap the Benefits
No feeling in the world beats arriving in an inviting home ambiance after a hectic day in the office. It all starts with the exterior environment to get emotionally attached to your home. You also look at the beauty of your home and get proud of your achievements.
Home exterior renovation, whether professional or DIY will give you all the benefits highlighted above. However, it’s prudent to hire professionals if you have second thoughts about your DIY skills or creative intuition.
Read more articles on this site for inspirational home remodeling tips and ideas.
