Cheap Mortgage but lots of house stress. How much do renovations pay off in the end?

Housing

We bought our first home this month. It is a 1950s home which has some issues. We bought it for 600K with 150K down so our mortgage is 450K. At 4% interest out monthly payment is around 2100. Which is where we wanted to land roughly. Our HHI is around 7500.

The positives first are the HVAC is only 2 years old and the roof is only 5 years old. So God willing these will hold up for a while.

The downsides are all of the things that need fixing and modifying. Since moving in we've done the following work.

  • Replace Lead Pipe Water main

  • Installed a backwater valve and sump pump

  • Completly re-landscape the overgrown mess in the backyard

  • Demolished the old derelict shed and replaced it with a new metal one

  • Update electrical to use GFCIs throughout

  • Replace Breaker Box with new modern one

  • Reglaze the bathtub

  • Repainted the Kitchen, Dining Room, living room and bedrooms

It's cost us around 12K for all of these repairs and modifications. Honestly it's been very stressful and I wish we had bought a home that was in a better condition.

What I want to know is - how much of a return can we expect to see on home value for these? Is it just at cost? Or does the convenience of having this work already be completed demand a premium in the home price?

Thanks in advance

Posted Sep 3, 2025, 6:20 PM UTC

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