Cheap Mortgage but lots of house stress. How much do renovations pay off in the end?
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.
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Replace Lead Pipe Water main
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Installed a backwater valve and sump pump
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Completly re-landscape the overgrown mess in the backyard
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Demolished the old derelict shed and replaced it with a new metal one
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Update electrical to use GFCIs throughout
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Replace Breaker Box with new modern one
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Reglaze the bathtub
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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