The other day I was doing a consultation with a client who wanted to sell their home. He asked me whats my return on investment (ROI) if I just re do my living room floors and walls. His living room was in pretty bad shape, it looked like it belonged in a 70’s show rerun 🙂 so I told him you are looking at about a 40 percent return on investment (ROI) if you fix the walls and the flooring in your living room.
Then I saw a light go off in his head and he got a big smile and said thanks, Joe that’s what I needed to hear. He told me he would get started fixing up his home right away to get it on the market as soon as possible and would call me when he was finished.
Below I break down what the ROI is on updating your Living room walls and floors and the basic updates with their prices.
Average return at resale: 40 percent
For only $25, freshen the living room walls with a coat of paint in a light, neutral color. And don’t overlook the trim — brighten it with a high-gloss white paint and caulk any open seams between the molding and ceiling and baseboard and wall.
On average, quality hardwood flooring ranges from $3-$8 per square foot. For a 200 square foot area, expect to spend about $1,200 if you install it yourself. Tack on another $3 per square foot if you have it professionally installed.
Sanding hardwood flooring is physically demanding. Make a mistake and you ruin the entire floor. Hire a pro to sand and then do your own staining and sealing to save money. Cost is $1 to $1.50 a foot. Fill carpet tack holes with Color Putty®.
If you have carpet in the living room, either have it professionally cleaned ($100-$150) or replaced if it’s torn, stained or has an unrelenting odor (on average $10-$30 per square foot).
Always test popcorn ceilings for asbestos before you start (find an accredited lab at The National Institute of Standards and Technology. Asbestos was used in textured paints manufactured before 1977.
Buy a new wood or stone mantel for as little as $500.
