Q: Do you ever worry you’re pricing your house out of the neighborhood? There are so many things I’d like to do to our cute little house, but then I think, “don’t do it — you’ll spend too much and never get your money back.” It’s definitely too small to stay in forever. For example, does a full kitchen renovation make sense if you might move into a bigger home in a year or two? Or do you bite the bullet and spend the money so you can enjoy the space now? Sorry if I’m rambling — I have a love/hate relationship with our home. One day I want to stay and improve it; the next I’m scrolling real estate sites. -Molly
A: Great question, Molly! Our house is a modest 1,350 square feet and we hope to stay here forever, even if we end up with a gaggle of kids. People’s ideas about “big” and “enough” space vary a lot. I can’t imagine cleaning a much bigger house, so I’m happy with our quaint place. Having lived in Manhattan in a closet-sized room for an eye-popping $1,200 a month (which, in hindsight, was quite a story), our little ranch feels like a palace. Plenty of families thrive in small New York apartments, which helps keep things in perspective: in a small space you only keep what you love.
When it comes to pricing a house out of a neighborhood, a common strategy is to buy the worst house in a great neighborhood if you plan to renovate. Buying the best house in a poor neighborhood rarely helps — you’ll just upgrade a house surrounded by lower-quality properties, which can limit resale value. We intentionally bought a house that needed work so we could make major upgrades without feeling like we’d gone overboard.
For instance, most houses on our street had spacious, well-kept front lawns. Ours had a narrow mulch bed and a tiny forest of overgrowth from curb to house — a clear sign there was room for improvement. In short, our place was a blemish on an otherwise lovely block, so we felt comfortable investing in changes. Our purchase price reflected that, too: we paid about $35,000 less than other comparable homes in the area, which gave us latitude to invest without guilt.
If your house is already the nicest on the block, you should be cautious about major renovations, especially if you plan to sell soon. In that case, talk to a realtor about comps and ask what improvements will actually boost resale value. A realtor might advise against an expensive kitchen remodel if it won’t pay off, which is helpful guidance before you invest.
Our perspective differs because we call our place “Casa Petersik” and intend to stay forever. We don’t obsess over resale value when choosing projects; we make the house work for our life. If you’re planning to sell within a year or two, however, the calculus changes. In a slow market, large projects are riskier, while smaller, inexpensive upgrades are safer bets.
The verdict: prioritize low-cost, high-impact updates. Swap dated light fixtures, install a programmable thermostat, replace or refresh a bathroom vanity, update cabinet and drawer hardware, and switch brass doorknobs to chrome or nickel. And of course, paint is the quickest and most affordable transformation. Below is a den we refreshed with a few gallons of paint:
The difference is striking. We painted right over the existing paneling and brick; two walls are painted brick and two are painted paneling, but the room reads as cohesive and much brighter. The whole update took about seven hours and under $100 in paint. The takeaway: small, inexpensive tweaks can rekindle your love for a home without risking your financial future.
Readers, what else would you suggest for Molly? Have you made inexpensive changes to a temporary home that made it feel like a forever house? Or have you ever wanted to sell only to fall back in love with the place and stay for years? Share your experiences.
Update – Want to know where we found items in our home or which paint colors we used? Click the image below.
