How to convince spouse home renovations make financial sense

[Anonymous]

We have roughly $200k left on our mortgage for a home in a desirable suburb where houses sell for $800k+.

HHI low $300k (mortgage just under $2k/month)

College tuition is admittedly ridiculous (with one currently in college and two more who will be over the course of the next decade).

Our house desperately needs renovations. This is a need, not a frivolous want.

-Original 1980s kitchen and bathrooms

-Original (horrible) 1980s windows, siding (which a contractor actually told us is better than what is made today and we should leave it), faded shutters, warped gutters, garage doors that are peeling and temperamental, framing around door is peeling, etc.

-Original tiles in foyer and kitchen are terrible.

-Original interior doors are awful (some sliders don’t function)

-Our 90s/early 2000s furniture is shabby.

I’d like to tap into home equity to update everything. Not high end, but middle of the road. My philosophy is to do it now so we can enjoy it. Surely we will recover some of this when we sell 15+ years from now.

How do I convince spouse?

What’s a ballpark amount to use as a guideline?

Admittedly we have been spending money on travel over the last decade rather than update the house.

We don’t have room to cut back since we live rather frugally (kids in public, old cars, no housekeeper or landscaper, etc.).

[Anonymous]

I would not expect to get a lot of return on 15 year old renovations

[Anonymous]

How much will the monthly payment on the HELOC be? You say you don’t have much wiggle room to cut back so I’m wondering how you plan to finance the new debt.

[Anonymous]

Sounds lune a hirrible investment. Dobit Step by Step without taking some equity load.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not expect to get a lot of return on 15 year old renovations

Selling a house 15 years from now with original 1980s everything or with 2023 updates are the options.

Which is better?

I think we will need to heavily discount a home with 1980s fixtures. I think we can rather easily maintain a renovated house (particularly since we no longer have very young children). And we could enjoy our home rather than be embarrassed by it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much will the monthly payment on the HELOC be? You say you don’t have much wiggle room to cut back so I’m wondering how you plan to finance the new debt.

HHI in low $300s with a $1700 mortgage payment currently. We save plenty each month (bc we don’t have car payments, cleaning service, landscapers, etc.). Plenty goes into retirement and college savings/tuition. Both of us have pensions.

I think my spouse is being too conservative.

[Anonymous]

We don’t know your college tuition situation. That’s the big one.

Renovations that you pay a contractor to do are not going to be a good investment, ever. They may be justified, for sure. It sounds like they are. But you are wrong if you think they’ll be a good financial investment.

Pay for them in cash as you go. Don’t borrow more money with all this tuition on the horizon.

Alternatively, since your youngest is almost out of the nest, just sell this place and move somewhere that’s turnkey in a couple years. Let a flipper, or someone who will will really need your old neighborhood and schools, take the financial hit changing the 1980s kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don’t know your college tuition situation. That’s the big one.

Renovations that you pay a contractor to do are not going to be a good investment, ever. They may be justified, for sure. It sounds like they are. But you are wrong if you think they’ll be a good financial investment.

Pay for them in cash as you go. Don’t borrow more money with all this tuition on the horizon.

Alternatively, since your youngest is almost out of the nest, just sell this place and move somewhere that’s turnkey in a couple years. Let a flipper, or someone who will will really need your old neighborhood and schools, take the financial hit changing the 1980s kitchen.

We have 7 years before the youngest goes to college, so we can’t move. We love the neighborhood. New construction in our area is well north of $1M. All the resales aren’t turnkey. They are other people’s renovations from a decade or so ago precisely because people renovate so they can enjoy it.

We will get good money for our home when we sell down the road because we have the largest model with bells and whistles that other homes don’t have. Plus our lot and Street are highly desirable.

Sigh. I guess I’ll continue to live in squalor.

[Anonymous]

It’s not going to make financial sense; you’ll have to convince him on other grounds. When you sell, the difference between 1980’s decor and 2023 decor won’t equal the cost of the reno. You’ll have to convince him that the added enjoyment of the home is worth the value differential.

[Anonymous]

Your house is worth 800k+, sell it and buy a similar home that is more up-to-date.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don’t know your college tuition situation. That’s the big one.

Renovations that you pay a contractor to do are not going to be a good investment, ever. They may be justified, for sure. It sounds like they are. But you are wrong if you think they’ll be a good financial investment.

Pay for them in cash as you go. Don’t borrow more money with all this tuition on the horizon.

Alternatively, since your youngest is almost out of the nest, just sell this place and move somewhere that’s turnkey in a couple years. Let a flipper, or someone who will will really need your old neighborhood and schools, take the financial hit changing the 1980s kitchen.

We have 7 years before the youngest goes to college, so we can’t move. We love the neighborhood. New construction in our area is well north of $1M. All the resales aren’t turnkey. They are other people’s renovations from a decade or so ago precisely because people renovate so they can enjoy it.

We will get good money for our home when we sell down the road because we have the largest model with bells and whistles that other homes don’t have. Plus our lot and Street are highly desirable.

Sigh. I guess I’ll continue to live in squalor.

Sounding a bit dramatic OP.
Regardless, I am guessing that with your husband is focused on the fact that you are already dealing with a college tuition and have TWO more to go. It does not sound like you have those tuitions fully funded or do you? If not, your husband is being way more financially responsible and I give him credit for putting your kids first. Giving your kids the incredible gift of no or little college debt vs. an updated house is a no brainer - invest in your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your house is worth 800k+, sell it and buy a similar home that is more up-to-date.

We can’t leave our school district. We would need to spend a lot more to get something updated/new. And the house would be smaller and in a less desirable location.

I know we won’t make back each dollar invested in renovations, but I don’t think we would lose it all either.

[Anonymous]

There renovations are wants, not needs, OP, except for:
1. Any rotting wood exposed to the elements.
2. Warped gutters that spill and make the wood rot.
3. Any other structural repair.

These are true needs because they can cost way more to fix down the road if they're not taken care of soon, so it's financially wise to do it ASAP. The others are purely cosmetic (ex: you don't like the look, some interior doors don't work, some tiles are cracked, some window frames have lead paint that no one is touching or inhaling, etc).

Homeowners do not recoup most of their cosmetic renovation decisions, OP. This is just the cost of homeownership - you're not getting a proportional bump at resale.

However, happiness is something to seriously consider. You don't want to be miserable in your own home!

So setting aside the wood rot and dysfunctional gutters, you have to accept that you're doing the rest for your own peace of mind and contentment. Your spouse has to understand this too,an you two have to receive quotes from several contractors to gauge what price you're willing to pay for this.

[Anonymous]

1980’s? That is not old, mine is 1970s

The renovations you want to do is not not a good financial investment but it can make you happier and they seem reasonable. Some of it just simple maintenance, like replacing your windows or the stuff that peeling/braking. Do it in steps as PP suggested. You don’t need tons of money on things like windows for example and new windows make a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We don’t know your college tuition situation. That’s the big one.

Renovations that you pay a contractor to do are not going to be a good investment, ever. They may be justified, for sure. It sounds like they are. But you are wrong if you think they’ll be a good financial investment.

Pay for them in cash as you go. Don’t borrow more money with all this tuition on the horizon.

Alternatively, since your youngest is almost out of the nest, just sell this place and move somewhere that’s turnkey in a couple years. Let a flipper, or someone who will will really need your old neighborhood and schools, take the financial hit changing the 1980s kitchen.

We have 7 years before the youngest goes to college, so we can’t move. We love the neighborhood. New construction in our area is well north of $1M. All the resales aren’t turnkey. They are other people’s renovations from a decade or so ago precisely because people renovate so they can enjoy it.

We will get good money for our home when we sell down the road because we have the largest model with bells and whistles that other homes don’t have. Plus our lot and Street are highly desirable.

Sigh. I guess I’ll continue to live in squalor.

Sounding a bit dramatic OP.
Regardless, I am guessing that with your husband is focused on the fact that you are already dealing with a college tuition and have TWO more to go. It does not sound like you have those tuitions fully funded or do you? If not, your husband is being way more financially responsible and I give him credit for putting your kids first. Giving your kids the incredible gift of no or little college debt vs. an updated house is a no brainer - invest in your kids.

At some point we both have pensions and investments that will support us quite nicely in retirement. If we borrow now and downsize later, I think the math works in favor of renovations now.

Someday we will land in a 2 bedroom condo or a simple 3 bedroom SFH in a much lower cost area.

Plus, there’s a modest inheritance on the horizon in the next 5-10 years (that would likely cover college tuition for all kids).