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Lamiate Floors and Home Theaters Sell Houses

Newyork204 | Dec 28, 2009 |

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I just had a conversation with a real estate broker and he explained to me that there are two cost effective methods a homeowner can do to really increase the value of their home.

The first thing is installing laminate flooring.

The second idea is setting aside a nice sized room and installing a home theater system in it.

As the conversation continued he explained to me that, contrary to what most people think, these additions are not that expensive at all. They just look like they cost a lot.

He has sold 100s of home in the last fifteen years in the greater Portland area, including two of his own, and homes with these capital improvements have always been able to sell for their owner's asking price.

Most people think that changing over from carpet to hardwood flooring is really expensive. That's the beautiful thing of laminate. You can purchase some quality laminates for $3.50-$5.00 per square foot. If you are a person who is good at shopping around you can get it cheaper than that. I have seen some laminate go for .99 a square foot.

Conventional oak hard wood flooring will cost you at least $10.00 per square foot and depending on where you live can be close to $12.00 per square foot.

So what this means is that for your typical house, that is not too big, you convert it laminate hardwood flooring for around $3500 on the low end and $5000 on the high end.

Right now because we are in a housing recession you can get laminates at really cheap prices as there is more supply than demand right now versus a year and a half ago when homes were selling like hotcakes.

Now I thought the home theater advice was really good.

You basically need just a few things and can usually get all these items for under $1500. These include a movie projector, screen, 3-4 reclining chairs, a popcorn machine, and several speakers.

A movie projector used to run you approximately $10,000 just a decade ago but now you can get one with a screen included for under a thousand dollars and if you know how to shop you can get one for closer to $650.

The steps to build this entertainment room are easy. You find a way to mount the projector on the wall or set it on some sort of stand. You mount the screen on the other side of the room. Then you wire the projector to several speakers across the room. Set the chairs up in a row of two and add your theater style popcorn maker at the entrance. Voila!

If you really want to go the extra distance install some fiber optic cables on the ceiling to give the room that "starry" look when you turn the lights off. The "ohs" and "awes" will never stop!

Dave told me that he has done this to two of his personal homes he has sold in the last seven years and it really set his house apart from the rest. Its a basic concept but it really did add the "wow" effect to his residence. Who doesn't like the idea of having their very own "theater" in their house.

He always got his asking price when he did these two things. The market is glutted with homes right now and one with hardwood floors and a home theater system will usually be set apart from the rest and make it unique and appealing.