Whether you’re planning to sell your house this year or, say, ten years from now, meaningful remodeling projects can improve both the resale value and the appearance of your home. However, it’s challenging to know exactly which improvements are worth the investment and which are just a waste of time and money.

Here are a few home improvement projects to consider that are almost certain to increase the resale value of your house and substantially improve its appearance as well.

Minor kitchen remodeling

Kitchens in older homes were not designed to function the way they do today. If you’re still cooking in a kitchen that predates your birth, a minor kitchen remodel may be just the thing to make you love the culinary arts again, all while increasing the value of your home.

Upgrade your old appliances with energy-efficient newer models, replace outdated kitchen cabinets and cupboards with newer options, and don’t forget to replace your countertops. The average return on investment for a small kitchen remodelling project is an added value of 81 per cent and the average project costs €17,679, according to statistics.

For your project, you always prefer to take note of the over-budget. No matter what you decide to replace or upgrade, remodeling or upgrading projects will almost never be cheaper than you expected. Always keep this in mind. You can choose to save money, but in the end, the cost of remodeling will almost always exceed the amount you originally expected.

Installing a wooden patio

Adding a wooden patio especially to the back of the house will give you a great place to grill out, host an outdoor dinner party, or even install a sauna or hot tub so you can enjoy the outdoors without getting your feet dirty with dirt. It’s also a great way to increase the value of your home, as long as you choose a wood design instead of plastic or composite. A wooden patio will cost you an average of 8,840 Euros, but most homeowners will get an added value of up to 85.4% of that cost it’s also one of the biggest returns on investment you’ll find on this list.

If you choose wood, make sure you are also prepared for sanding and regular refinishing so you can enjoy your stunning patio without worrying about getting any splinters in your or your guests’ feet.

Garage door replacement

When was the last time you replaced your garage door? An old or outdated garage door not only damages the value of your home but can also be quite dangerous. While they may have been safer sometime in the 1990s, as long as they’ve been equipped with a self-reversing feature, they’re still the largest and heaviest moving object in your home.

On average, although you will spend around €3,000 to replace your garage door and all the associated equipment, you will get back almost everything essential that is included in the added value for your property. The added value when replacing a garage door is up to a respectable 97.5 per cent, which also increases the security of your house while increasing the value of the property, and the old garage door additionally reduces the curb appeal of your house, so you get everything in one elegant package.

Upgrade or add a new bathroom

Older homes may be designed with only one bathroom, but if you have more than two bedrooms in the house, it will be really hard to sell a house that only has one bathroom. Depending on where you live, adding a new bathroom will add between 50 and 70 percent value to your house. That may not sound like very much, but for someone who is shopping for a new house, that extra bathroom could mean the difference between choosing just your property or buyers not buying your property at all and preferring to buy another house instead.

You don’t even need to add a completely whole bathroom i.e. bath, shower, toilet and sink. A shower room that includes a shower but not a bathtub can save you money while providing the kind of return on investment you’re looking for. If your home only has one shower, it’s really a good idea to just go with the choice of this upgrade or the route of adding a new bathroom. In this case, it’s always a win-win solution for you.

Replacement of the facade or cladding of the exterior of the house

The exterior of your house has a tremendous amount to do with the value of your property. It is said, and it goes double for real estate, that you never get a second chance at a first impression. And for a potential buyer, the exterior of the house is the first impression. Upgrading or replacing the facade of your house is like giving your home a facelift. Upgrading the facade on the entire exterior of your house will usually cost around 12,000 Euros, but you will usually recoup 77 to 80 percent of that cost in terms of increased property value.

Don’t choose crazy colours or things that will make your home stand out against all the other houses on your street. Part of such a plan is to ensure that your home looks like all the others and doesn’t stand out unnecessarily from the crowd. You can certainly make it stand out in other ways too, but don’t go for too bold choices (such as neon green tiles). In the end, it will just cost you extra money unnecessarily.

All these upgrades will be a win for you

It doesn’t matter if you plan to sell your house next week, next year or in the next decade. Or even if you don’t plan to sell it at all and are just increasing the value of your property, because you are going in the right direction and these projects will increase the value of your house while making it more comfortable for you in the long run. So enjoy your new upgrades.