The Hidden Goldmine: 5 Renovations That Doubled These Home Values Overnight

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Remodeling a property can transform an outdated home into a beautiful and functional living space that enhances your lifestyle — adding ample storage, improving flow from room to room and turning a dark, dreary interior into a light-filled space. But beyond the elevated aesthetics and functionality lies another payoff — a hidden goldmine that can significantly boost resale value when it’s time to sell. 

For homeowners thinking about their long-term finances, the right renovation projects can quickly turn a real estate asset into a retirement nest egg. GoBankingRates brings you five real-life stories of homeowners whose renovations dramatically increased their return on investment, in many cases nearly doubling their property values.

1. Seattle Home Reno Breaks Sale Records

After finding their dream home — a craftsman with a six-car garage to pursue a newfound vintage Mercedes restoration hobby, a couple in Seattle’s North Beacon Hill neighborhood decided to sell their three-story contemporary home. With a nominal investment of $50,000, the listing produced 18 offers, selling for $376,120 over asking (22.8% above the list price) and broke neighborhood sales records, according to the real estate team, Get Happy At Home.

• Purchase Price: $1,385,000
• Sale Price: $2,026,000

What they did:

• Exterior
  • Remodeled patio and paved driveway: $18,000
  • Deck refinish and restrained cedar siding: $1,500
  • Planted a lush garden with aromatic flowers: $3,000
• Interior
  • Refinished hardwood floors in the entire house: $10,000
  • Tilework in dining room, upstairs bathroom and powder room: $8,000
  • Upgrade staging package: $10,000

2. Hamptons, NY Beach Home Renovation

In the luxury vacation destination in the Hamptons, investor Blythe Graham Jones of Via Norfolk bought a fixer-upper for $1.3 million. According to renovation details shared on Via Norfolk’s Instagram, the renovation took six months and nearly doubled their investment.

• Purchase Price: $1,300,000
• Sale Price: $2 million

What they did: 

• Kitchen remodel: $70,000
  • Opened up the wall
  • Cabinet installation
  • Quartz countertop
  • Backsplash with ledge

3. San Francisco Fixer-Upper

A local home renovation company helped new homebuyers turn a fixer-upper with a damaged roof and pest control into a property that increased the home’s value by half a million and sparked a 10-offer bidding war. Not bad for a $125,000 renovation budget.

• Purchase Price: $1,500,000
• Sale Price: $2,017,000

What they did: 

• Roof replacement
• Pest remediation
• New heating system
• Kitchen refresh (painted cabinets, new countertops)
• New flooring throughout
• Updated lighting, paint and fixtures
• Pre-sale staging and cosmetic upgrades
• Primary bathroom: $18,000
• Three additional bathrooms: $45,000
  • Added one full bath
  • Two others renovated
  • Plumbing fixtures gifted
• HVAC: $30,000
  • Central AC
  • Ductwork
  • Converted baseboard heat to forced-air heat
• Prep and Painting: $28,000
  • Patched and sanded walls
  • Applied multiple coats of paint, which included inside closets where the baseboard was
• Flooring: $25,000
  • Refinished and stained floors in half of the home
  • Matched and installed hardwood in the other half of the house
• Converted the studio into a bedroom and a mudroom: $20,000
  • Repositioned walls
  • Moved laundry upstairs
  • Bought low-cost Ikea cabinets for the mudroom
• Stairwell renovation: $8,000

4. Los Angeles Bungalow Redo

In just six months, a house flipper turned an ugly duckling into a golden goose in the historic neighborhood of Jefferson Park, lined with craftsman homes and manicured lawns. They paid $675,000 for the dilapidated property. After the renovation, which was primarily focused on the exterior, they recouped twice their investment, according to a Domino feature.

• Purchase Price: $675,000
• Sale Price: $1,300,000

What they did:

• Exterior renovation and curb appeal: $70,000
  • Board-and-batten siding
  • New front porch
  • Pergolas and custom gates
  • Landscaping and hardscaping
• Garage to Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) conversion
  • Added kitchenette and bathroom
  • Increased living space from 1,568 square feet to 2,000 square feet
• Interior upgrades (investment unknown)
  • Custom kitchen cabinetry
  • Stone countertops
  • New flooring
  • Installed new windows
  • Lighting
  • Stone fireplace

5. Tennessee Shed-to-Lake-House Transformation 

While shopping with her husband Richard, Dawn Cook, a retired realtor and grandmother who is no stranger to renovation projects, discovered a two-story shed in a Home Depot parking lot. With $197,000 in renovation costs, they turned it into a home on their Douglas Lake home in Dandridge, Tennessee, according to Realtor. 

• Purchase Price: $27,000
• Sale Price: Initially sold for $460,000 and later for $505,000 (a 2.3x to 3.6x increase)

What they did:

• Purchased Tuff Shed TR-1600 model shed shell for $27,000
• Foundation & structural work, including crawlspace foundation, insulation, wiring, and plumbing
• Total renovation cost, excluding shed shell: $170,000
• Interior build-out
  • Custom kitchen cabinets and granite countertops from Lowe’s: $6,000
  • Two bedrooms
  • Two and a half bathrooms
  • Balconies
  • Patio
  • Laundry closet
  • Shiplap walls
  • Vinyl plank flooring
  • Interior decorative finishes, fixtures and trim

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