General Home Improvements

Situation:

In December, 2002, we purchased a home in a very hot Baltimore real estate market for $380,000. It was a 1929 home in one of the city's nicer neighborhoods (Homeland), but it needed about $75,000 worth of work — some for aesthetics and some to firm up its bones.

What We Did:

I'll start with its bones. The first thing we replaced was the electrical panel: $1,500. Next, we installed central AC since we didn't want to suffer through an oppressive Baltimore summer: $15,000.

Next, we had a roof leak in the TV room/den area. Ka-ching: $10,000 to fix it, including copper flashing.

OK, now for the aesthetics:

• Two bathroom remodels — one full and one half-bath. Both baths were horribly tired and outdated. We put imported ceramic tile on the floors in both baths. In the main bath, we put in a cherry wood vanity with a deep Corian sink basin, matching medicine cabinet and extra-deep porcelain bathtub with ceramic tile surround. Total: $15,000 ($12,000 for the main and $3,000 for the half-bath).
• Exterior paint — The paint on our shake-shingled house was curling and peeling. We stripped it down to the wood, and then covered it with stain. Total: $16,000.

Grand total in repairs/fix-ups: $57,500.

Outcome:

In the summer of 2005, we put our house on the market for $539,000, but needed to do some work on the windows and assorted other issues for a loss of $10,000. So, if you did the math between buying the house, the cost of repairs/updates, and what we sold it for, we came out ahead $91,500. But, if you discounted the $27,000 commission we paid in selling our house, we "cleared" $64,500.

What are we doing with that money? Fixing up a 1940's ranch-style house we purchased in Seattle!

- Diane T., Seattle