Expanding familieswith two incomes make up a large percentage of the households in Burlington, Ontario. These are families where both parents work Monday to Friday so when they are looking for a new home, they want to move in on a Saturday and return to work on Monday. One aspect of a home that is very important to growing families is the basement, and the Burlington real estate agents from The Linda Maguire Team wantto shed some light on the long- standing debate regarding basement renovations.
Should You Renovate?
Homes with finished basements are appealing to buyerson the real estate market in Burlington, ON, and generally sell faster and for about $30,000 more in areas such as the Orchard, Central Burlington, Headon Forest and Millcroft. However, this doesn't necessarily mean that finishing a basement will be a good financial decision for a homeowner.
While renovated bathrooms and kitchens generally result in a goodreturn on investment, basements and backyards are far more expensive to fix up and the homeowner rarely makes a profit on the renovation when they sell the house. In a 2400 square foot home, a homeowner may put in more than $50,000 to finish the basement but will typically only get $30,000 in return.
There is also the issue of time. Renovating a basement often takes 6 weeks or more to complete. If you start a basement renovation in the spring and hope to sell in the spring, there isa risk of missing the peak sellingseason. Brian Maguire from The Linda Maguire Team explains: “If a house didn't have a finished basement at this time of year (spring) I would put up a for sale sign and forget about the basement. The advantage to the buyer is that they can decide what renovation they want to do, when they feel like doing the basement, and when they have the money to do so."
Fixing the Unfinished Basement
An unfinished basement doesn't necessarily need the addition of a bedroom or bathroom to attract buyers. Instead, especially when time is tight, the aim should be to enhance what is already there to create an area that families can move into without major changes.
Brian Maguire has experienced the allure of an unfinished basement first hand: "I was in a bungalow recently with an unfinished basement and both the floor and brick walls were painted a nice, clean, white color. Buyers didn't go down there thinking it needed improvement, instead they saw the great potential."
Cleaning up, and beautifying an unfinished basement helps to highlight the potential and can add value to the home. Cleaning the windows and the furnace can help make the basement presentable. A nice white paint job creates a larger,more open finished look that shows the buyer that the homeowner valued and looked after the house. Buyers will appreciate that they are also saving a bit of money since a house with an unfinished basement will cost less, so they can afford to finish it themselves at a later date.
For more information regarding real estate in Burlington, please contact The Linda Maguire Team today.
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