I am looking to decide on adding a 4-season room - when we got new HVAC, we upped the side of the downstairs unit to accommodate for the additional square footage. As soon as I get the rest of the house looking good (organized, getting rid of stuff), I am going to talk to our contractor about who to do the simple design and cost it out. I had inheritance money which gives me latitude to have the work done. I also think it will bump up our home resale if we do sell to move near DD1/SIL/Gkids. I think DH will be so happy I have the rest of the house āin shapeā he will go along with the addition.
I would cost out (ballpark figures) on what you want to have done. Look at the rooms you spend time in and get those started first.
Maybe your husband will come around when he sees the improvements and how it doesnāt really affect your retirement long-range funds.
You have some specific ideas to develop - and keep asking DH for feedback. Maybe he will get to where he says, āI donāt care - do what you want to doā¦.ā
Thanks - I checked and no disclosures, appreciate it.
@deb922 - on the home rehab front - agree that sometimes you can make a big change with a little (while awaiting the larger ticket items). E.g., we redid our powder room with just paint, new toilet and vanity/sink and lighting. I did spend hours on Pinterest and design sites to find what was new/cool (to me) - dark paint, sparkly glam lighting. Itās amazing what you can do with a little sometimes (all items super affordable).
Maybe doing one area would make waiting for the bigger items more tolerable?
My husband is not in favor of little changes. He doesnāt want to slap lipstick on this pig He wants to do quality work that will last, thatās his philosophy.
Weāve been round and round on this. He doesnāt see the point of small updates. In an open concept house, itās hard to know where one project would end and another starts. For instance, we needed new flooring in the great room. He only wants wood, no LVT, nothing engineered. But where to start and where to end? Do we do the kitchen, know that in the near future we want to change the floor plan? If we put down wood floors, he doesnāt like wood floors and wood trim, we would need to paint all the extensive wood trim. When we do that should we paint the walls, should we put up new molding or paint? So we put down new carpet that I donāt like, doesnāt wear well because we couldnāt make a decision and didnāt have the money at the time to do the entire LR, DR and kitchen
A similar conversation goes this way for the bathroom. It can never just be one thing, round and round all the time.
We have the money, itās just in tax deferred accounts. Iād like to know what the best solution to take out that money. Iām so tired of doing nothing because we are paralyzed by only doing a bit.
Should we keep the money, wait for RMDs and let it grow to give to our children because we are afraid to withdraw? Thatās what my in-laws have done. We can wait for them to pass down their money? Or spend it for long put off updates that we will enjoy? I donāt want to wait until Iām in my mid 80ās.
I vote for doing what you want to doā¦now. Maybe tackle one project that is most impactful for you. Reality isā¦eventually you will be paying taxes on this money one way or the other. Might as well do so for things you will be enjoying.
Get estimates for the things you want doneā¦then just prioritize them.
Enjoy your new looks in whatever rooms you decide to do.
Since DH retired (I was already retired), we had solar panels installed, got all new Living room furniture (creating a lot less formal look), kitchen cabinets painted (see other thread about that), got a new generator that can power pretty much the whole house, replaced a lot of interior lights, and got small things that make a difference (like new placemats, new wall artwork, etc). We have also had outdoor things done like tree removal and landscaping. I also got a new car, and husband had a complete engine rebuild on his.
Next up for us is bathrooms. Our powder room is just fine, but might get a new paint job. Then next will be our master bath because that is the one WE use the most. Then the hall bath/laundry room.
I will probably get a new stove sooner than later.
Some of this will require withdrawals from our unused retirement accounts. Or maybe not.
I inherited my motherās house when she died. It needed a ton of work, mostly cosmetic, but some significant issues as well. We got estimates on everything that needed to be done - new roof, some electrical, masonry work, removing āpopcornā ceilings, entire interior of house painted, new carpeting. I also knew I wanted new furniture. Once I had the estimates, I worked with our financial planner to pull money from the assets/accounts where it made the most sense (low capital gains) and we were done.
I would vote for doing everything at once. Youāre going to have the disruption no matter what - get it all over with.
I have a different problem ā¦ analysis paralysis. We have the money for some updates that are needed. I just canāt decide what I want. Itās really frustrating. I have talked to a few designers at local shops, but so far, I canāt seem to commit to new lighting fixtures. Itās silly, but the inability to choose is real.
There are rules for removing money from a 401k (if thatās what this is) like avoiding foreclosure but I donāt believe home improvement. You can contact your plan to ask.
You can borrow against it but might lose gains (or then again save if the market goes down). Or yes get a loan/line of credit.
Do you have cost estimates ? Perhaps start there and then run various #s together and decide.
Not sure putting your pre-tax money into a house where, at best, you may get 50% back is a good ROI. First, you must pay the income tax at your marginal rate, and then put the money into a capital improvement. While you may love, love, love your new bathroom, a potential buyer might not. So, the $50k to redo the bathroom may result in a $25k bump in future sales price.
Full disclosure: Never been a fan of upgrading just to upgrade. That said, Iād probably refi, or take out a second to pay for the capital improvements (other than paint).
That woudl be me; canāt stand LVT.
Paint is cheap. Even good stuff like top like stuff from Benjamin Moore (my go-to), or Sherwin Williams.
You and hubby have worked hard for your money, so enjoy it if you want. Just recognize that such enjoyment comes with income tax. (which your heirs would eventually have to pay at their marginal rate)
Just saying. Money spent on a cruise gets 0% return but that doesnāt mean it shouldnāt be spent if one has the means and enjoys cruising. Some of us renovate not for immediate sale but for long term enjoyment. That said, it is always smart to minimize the piece of the $$ that Uncle Sam can get.
I have things Iād want to do to fix up the house and yard but I donāt have the drive to put them into place. Our wood floors could use refinishing in spots. The problem is with the layout of my house I canāt just do one area. My entry runs into my living room, it also runs into the kitchen, dining and family room and hall. It would be a huge job. If I went crazy Iād love to replace them all with a wider plank wood. I canāt imagine what it would cost.
My yard needs a total overhaul but Iād want it done right. My husband is up for redoing the yard but he doesnāt feel we need a professionals help. We do!
And some can do both!! We are trying to do more travel while we still can. We have a lot upcoming (in fact more than I am comfortable with!) and we are also considering having an additional place to stay when we are across country. Just want to be careful to be able to maintain our home state as our primary residence.
First, Iām in favor of big changes. We transformed both of the last two houses we owned. The first of the two before we moved in. The current one has an in-law suite. We did modest renovation to that (replaced grotty carpet with wooden floor and built some extra closet space and repainted. Then we converted the garage into a painting studio for ShawWife. Third, we moved into the in-law suite and blocked off the main house and had almost a year of construction. In all cases, and especially in the case of the main house, we transformed the spaces from neglected by older prior owners to contemporary spaces that feel really good to live in. It is much easier to improve things when you are ripping out the walls anyway.
Second, per @bluebayouās comment, I think of a house as half consumption and half investment. We are going to live her for 25 years (hopefully) so why not fix it up so that it feels good to be here. In this case, the house is sited uniquely (we are in a metropolitan area but are surrounded by a river that our house overlooks, conservation land and a horse farm, so we feel like we are in a nature preserve) and I suspect that we will get a return on most of the improvements we made. Not clear that we will get a return on all: We put in almost 25 kw of solar panels, replaced on of the boilers and hot water tanks, and are currently starting a project to stabilize the bank of the river. But the overall design and construction as well as the site wow most people when they walk in, which I think is what generates a return. But, I would do it even if we werenāt going to get a good return because the return comes from our pleasure in living here. (Youāre invited to come visit and see the psychic return).
Third, in terms of the 401k, a strategy for drawing down your 401k to a threshold that does not bump you into the next tax bracket. In our case, we have a trust that lent us money to do some of the renovation and we will use our RMDs to repay that loan. Money in the trust is in outside of state and federal inheritance tax. Since our state has an inheritance tax (which goes to 16%) and because another administration might feel that the country needs to raise estate taxes to pay down the federal debt, weād rather have the money beyond the reach of estate tax. That may not be relevant to you. In this case, maybe letting the money grow tax free as long as possible makes sense.
I volunteer with several women who have two residences. Same with my favorite gym class. They are all careful to not overstay in Ca.
I donāt have any plans to move so any money spent on my home are for my enjoyment. I donāt get not spending money on your home because one day youāll sell. I also donāt understand those who start to fix up to sell versus doing it earlier and enjoying it. I have one friend who has lived with a tub that has terrible mold behind the tile. She is now getting ready to sell and will finally redo that bathtub tile. Iām not saying spend money you donāt have but if you can afford it donāt be a martyr.
I love traveling but Iām tired of being the one planning. My husband isnāt a planner unless itās a sailing trip. He also isnāt an organized tour traveler so that leaves out groups. I donāt have any trips planned for 2026 beyond a week at a lake with family.
My house is not an investment. It is the place H & I live and our children & granddaughter visit to spend time with us. If we want something updated, we do it for us.
Thats how we felt. When we updated we did more hardwood downstairs but carpet upstairs b/c thats our preference. Also took the wainscoating and chair railing off the dining room walls. Maybe a mistake, but decorator recommended it.
I love to be home, too. Although we do big trips every year I know I wonāt always want to do that and I also think I may want to move to more one floor living in the next 10 years or so. So, while I was at home a lot during the pandemic, I convinced my DH we needed to remodel, so we did and we enjoy it all so much-definitely worth it.
Iām not a fan of piece meal renovations, at least not at this point in my life. Too much disruption and Iām getting older so want to enjoy my house right now. We wrote everything down we wanted to do, hired a kitchen planner for drawings and then bid it all out. The only room I didnāt touch during this process was our dining room and I just had that painted and a new light fixture hung this year. We have an older home with an addition we put on in 2001. Where there was tile we put in hardwood. Itās a job and expensive but to us, worth it.
We had cash, so we paid for it. My DH is still working which was another reason why he agreed to do it- havenāt had a mortgage in years so can pay for it now. Iām sure your tax or FP if you work with one could help figure out the best strategy for financing it. At some point, someone is going to pay taxes on that $.
We are generous with our kids now and if we died tomorrow there would be estate taxes to pay. Iām going to spend and enjoy- my kids have been educated and launched and are doing well so why not.
Did the decorator tell you why they recommend removing the wainscoting and chair rail? I am always fascinated by expert advice and the thought process, especially when it comes to design.
Also, general question for all - is there a renovations/remodeling/decor thread on CC?
He wants to do quality work that will last, thatās his philosophy.