Renovate before Selling?

[Beau Garrett]

My wife and I have been in our home for two years and will be selling in a year or so to move into another nearby home with an extra bedroom for the kiddos. We live in a desirable area south of Nashville and property values have been on a healthy rise. We were considering making updates to the master bathroom that still has the original layout from 40 years ago when the home was first built (its TINY! with a capital T). However, we are concerned that we may not make our money back if we do the renovations, and now especially with the ongoing pandemic. Just don't know if our price per square foot will increase enough to justify the expense. What is unclear to us, is how much of a premium master bath renovations typically command when selling? Looking for any guidance, resources, etc. that anyone can share. Many thanks!

[Jonathan Greene]

If your bathroom is 40 years old, it is highly likely that you will get your money back plus on a Master bath reno. You may be considering your purchase price against your hopeful sale price, but if you are selling a nice house with an old bathroom every seller is going to be calculating that renovation in their head and taking it off the top of their offer. Bathrooms and kitchens are almost always worth it if you don't go nuts and overspend and also don't do a Home Depot special and then want Devol Kitchens prices.