How Much to Remodel My $350,000 Home?

You know that a remodeled home is a great investment–both now, while you and your family can enjoy it, and later, if you decide to sell. But how much to remodel and much should you spend on that remodel?

What makes sense for your specific house? And how will you finance it? Read on for answers to these questions and more, and feel confident in your remodeling decisions for your Killearn, Southwood, Betton Hills, or Midtown Tallahassee home.

How Long Will You Stay?

When it comes time to remodel your home, there are many factors to consider. Is this a starter home or a forever home for you?

Short Term: 3 Years or less

If you plan to stay in your current home for three years or less, you should consider it a starter home, and plan to remodel accordingly. Consider doing minor remodels and skipping the major, more costly ones.

5 Years or More

If, on the other hand, you want to stay for 5 eyars or more make a long-term remodeling plan (a design-build contractor like McManus Kitchen and Bath can help you do this), and consider upgrading the materials and plans as much as possible–since you’ll be the one enjoying the end result!

How Much To Remodel and What Should You Spend?

All homes need to be updated eventually. Appliances, cabinets, flooring roofing etc… all have finite lifespans.

The smart thing to do is keep your home updated by planning improvements every 3-5 years. Waiting to implement updates can lead being forced to remodel, often at a greater expense than if you had planned updates over time. 

Remodeling your home does not just affect your home value, it affects the entire neighborhood. Communities where homes are kept updated have higher value than those where the houses are left unchanges for decades. 

How Much To Spend

Even a simple kitchen remodel can range from $55,000 to $150,000 or more depending on the fixtures and appliances you choose. That’s why we provide a good better best estimate for each project so you can explore options that work for your needs and your budget. 

ROI

One way to look at remodel spending is what you get in return, how much will your home value increase compared to the cost to remodel. But the highest value ROI projects are smaller ones that affect curb appeal. Landscaping and new front doors rank highest. 

But the projects that affect how you enjoy your home, mostly kitchen and bathroom remodels, have a lower ROI. 

Equity

Another metric would be take a look at the equity in your home and use that as you remodeling budget. We advise never using more than 60% of your homes equity thought to protect yourself against a downturn in the market and so that if and when you do sell you will have money to invest in your next home. 

Percentage of Home Value

Another metric, and one that fits better with the reality of remodeling, is to use a percentage of home value. This is the method we recommend as it is the most realistic and helps you plan the best. 

Percentage of home value works well for mid priced homes in the range of $350,000 to $750,000. For lower cost home the percentages outlined below would need to increase, for higher priced home the percentages could be less. 

How Much To Remodel at $350,000 Home

For the kitchen: spend 25% –  35% of the home’s value. For a $350,000 home, that means bewtween $87,500 and $122,500

For the primary or master bathroom: again, spend up to 20-30% of the home’s value. For a $350,000 home, this creates a range of $70,000 to $105,000

For a hall or guest bath: plan to spend up to 10 – 15% of the home’s value. For a $350,000 home, that means $35,000 – $52,500

For a whole-home remodel: spend up to 65 – 80% of your home’s value. For a $350,000 home that means you’ll need a budget of $227,500 – $280,000

How Can You Finance Your Remodel?

What’s the best way to finance your home remodel? You do have many options, and it can be confusing to sort through the benefits and downsides of each. Staying debt free is best so saving for your project is alwasy the first choice. A home equity loan is another good option, though we don’t recommend using more than 60% of your home’s equity on a remodel. 

Recommended: Savings

The absolute best option to save money for your project. All home costs money to maintain so having a savings program to take care of regular maintentance is important. Start saving as soon as you purchase your home. 

Saving just $200 – $300 a month will cover most regular maintenace needs for things like a new roof, HVAC udates and appliance replacement. 

For larger remodeling projects, like a kitchen or bath remodel, you want to save $500 to $1000 a month

Put the money in a high yield savings account or index fund so the money grows over time unitl you need it. 

Recommended: HELOC

Using a home equity line of credit, or HELOC, is often the least expensive way to borrow money for a remodel, and this is the finance option we generally recommend.

A HELOC is a line of credit that you can draw from as you need. This is helpful for a remodel since you don’t always know exactly what it will cost. 

The money available through a HELOC is based on the equity in your home. You can get a credit account for up to 80% of the equity. It’s a good option, too, because you’re only paying interest on the amount you pull out, not the total credit amount. 

Because you’re using the quity in your home you should be able to pay back the loan easily when you sell the home. 

The downside to a HELOC is the rate is the interest rate is usually variable. That’s why its good for an ’emergency fund” or to cover a few extra expenses on a remodel but I would not use the whole amount to pay for a project. For that you’d want to get a Home Equity Loan. 

Recommended: Home Equity Loan

A home equity loan gives you the money you’re borrowing in a lump sum. You repay it over the life of the loan (generally fifteen years). This can be helpful because your interest rate is fixed and you know exactly what you’ll be paying back.

Just like a HELOC, since your using the equity in your home it should be easy to pay back when you sell the home if you don’t pay it off before then. 

Recommended: Cash-Out Refinancing

With this type of financing, you replace your old mortgage with a higher one and are given the difference in cash. Ideally, your new mortgage has a lower interest rate than your old one did. This can be a good option if you plan to stay in your home long-term.

Not Recommended: 3rd Party Loan Services

There are a lot of 3rd party lenders on the market today. Hearth, SoFi, EnerBank, Rocket Loans… there are too many to list.

These can seem attactive at first because they offer things like ’12 Months no interest’ and attractive teaser rate.

But there are admin fees and service charges that are not clear at first but typically add 8% to 12% to the cost of the loan. We do not recommend them. 

Not Recommended: Credit Cards

This is the most expensive way to fund a remodel and should only be used in emergencies. Interest rates on credit cards are high, and you’ll end up paying a lot more than you would by financing in other ways.

In addition credit cards will automatcially add 3% the total cost of your project because that is the transaction fee the credit card company charges your contractor or supplier. 

How Can You Keep Costs Down?

Get a Solid Estimate

The best way to keep costs down is to get a good estimate. While many contractors’ estimates are off by as much as 30%, our Good-Better-Best estimates are accurate within 5% of the actual project costs. This is because we build them using real prices and accurate measurements. We visit your home in person, discuss exactly what you want and need from your remodel, make a 3D concept drawing, and meet with you in our showroom. Our estimates are detailed, concrete, and specific.

Try Not to Change the Plans

It’s tempting to walk through your partially completed remodel and think, “While we’re in here, we should…” In fact, some contractors may try to upsell you on making a few more changes as you go–but the price tag will always be high. Any time you make changes in the middle of a project, your costs are going to be higher as change orders disrupt workflow, require more labor and materials, and sometimes mean that new plans must be drawn up.

If you have a good design-build company working for you, you won’t run into these types of missed opportunities. At McManus Kitchen and Bath, our design experts talk you through ideas you may not have considered before your project starts so you can make informed decisions that improve your remodeling plan.

Ready to Begin?

So you know about how much you should spend on your Tallahassee home remodel, how much you can expect to recoup, and how to fund the project. Remodeling your home is a big undertaking, and we’re here to help. Contact us today and let us answer any more questions you have, talk through our process with you, and begin moving you toward the home of your dreams.