Your house is your home but it is still a house. It doesn't make financial sense to put a 40,000 dollar kitchen into a 60,000 thousand dollar house. It is an investment that you will never see a return on. In this article I will give you the top 5 home improvements you can make to your home that will add value and you will get the biggest return.
If you own a home or intend to this is MUST KNOW information. Sometimes you might not have a lot of money to invest in your home but there are things you can do that are within a budget and will give you back a large return.

I find that new counter tops can totally give a kitchen a beautiful refreshening for a affordable price.

Kitchen Counter Tops-- Whether you are getting ready to put your home on the market or just want to make a drastic change to your kitchen and you are on a budget new counter tops are the way to go. You have a number of different options.
Pre made Formica - At your local home improvement store you can buy a variety of new counter tops for under 300 dollars for most kitchens. It is really not that hard to install them yourself. The hardest part is going to be cutting the hole for the sink. If you do not feel you are mechanically inclined enough you should be able to hire your local contractor for a nominal fee.

Tile Counter Tops - Tile Counter tops are a bit nicer of a choice but equally so a bit more expensive. Unless you have experience working with tile and feel pretty mechanically inclined I recommend hiring for this one. One option I particularly am fond of is using marble or granite 12 x 12 inch tile(local improvement store). You can get these pieces for around 5 dollars a Sq. Ft. and most counter tops are not going to add up to be that big. The thing is solid granite and marble are very expensive but for a lot less money you can get the same elegant look and feel for a lot less money and make a wonderful improvement to your kitchen that will be appreciated for years to come.
You can expect this project to cost around 1500 dollars and up depending on the size of your existing counter tops.

Granite - This is going to be the top choice for counter top replacements. For starters this is where you have to access the value of your home and consider if an investment of this nature fits in to the type of home you have. I recently installed a kitchen that we had Granite contractors install the counter top and the cost of the counter top was equal to the cost of the cabinets. Granite is very expensive but with all fairness it is beautiful for the life of the kitchen.
An alternative to granite is corian, Silestone quartz, and soap stone. There are different variety's of each of these and they are all going to be in the same ball park as granite.
To go with Granite you can expect the cost to be 4000 to 10,000 dollars.

Whether it is in your Bathroom or Kitchen or even a foyer, Tile floors are durable,long lasting and give the impression of Quality. Not to mention they look very nice.

  Tile floors are a investment you really want to make. Especially if you are thinking of putting your home on the market. When someone sees tile floors they automatically associate it with a well built home. That might be because they are the best floor you can have when it comes to holding up to traffic and lasting a long time(Installed correctly). You will have to check with your local contractor in your area but I think the going rate is about 6.00 dollars a sq. ft. A tile floor will last 100 years and if you think of a linoleum floor lasting tops 10 years, This is a great floor to spend your money on.
Like counter tops there are expensive and economical tile. That is really the only factor that will change the price. All tile floors require the same prep and same sub-floor to last a century that is.Next time you are getting ready to put a floor in your bathroom or kitchen consider what you have read here. Do what you have to do and spend the money to get tile and not have to worry about it the rest of your life. As well it will definitely increase the value of your home if you go to sell it.

Great Investment. I just can not say enough about having energy efficient windows in your home.

  Here in the north east the windows are very drafty and old. So many of the houses here are upwards of a hundred years old themselves. The old sashes on a rope and weight are painted shut and don't work. Enough complaining about old houses...
Replacement windows are a great investment. Most new replacement windows are double or even triple pain with argon gas in between the panes of glass. This ads a R-value just like the insulation in your walls. They make them where both the top and bottom sash open as well they swing in so you can clean them .They are very nice and not to mention the money they save on your utility bill. With the way the cost of energy is going up and we all want to be green. Installing replacement windows to your home is a win win deal all the way around.
As far as selling your home or getting your money back on your investment. They will definitely make a difference, when the inspector comes out to do a report on the home and the mortgage company sees that the windows are new, They will loan more money to the buyer to purchaser your home. Bottom line is it will ad value apon getting your house accessed.

One of the best dollar for dollar returns you will get on your home improvements

  Remodeling your bathroom is a huge home improvement you can make. New vanity,shower,faucets,of course floors and even light fixtures is one of the best investments you can make. In most every other room in a home it's flooring and walls, but a bathroom, when your Realtor is doing a walk through with a prospective buyer, the fact there is a new bathroom will make his job much easier. It is an investment that you will just about get back dollar for dollar.

You notice when I was speaking of bathrooms I said ALMOST every room in your house is just floors and paint. The kitchen is just about the biggest selling point in your home. Think about it, if you are a prospective buyer and you go into a home with a kitchen you hate, you end up not liking the whole house. It is a huge factor when it comes to selling your home. If your home has a new kitchen as a new bathroom it will put a smile on your Realtors face. Forbe magazine confirms that dollar for dollar you will almost always get every penny you spent on your kitchen back if not profit.
I will give you an example, A few years back I had a friend who was selling his home he had been in for 30 years. The realtor had advised him that with the kitchen that was in it he was looking at 320,000. Then the realtor told him with a nice kitchern in his neighborhood he could expect 380,000. We put that kitchen in and with my labor I don't think he had 40,000 invested. Sure enough he got the 380,000 he was asking for.
I'm not telling anyone to put a 40,000 dollar kitchen in there home I'm just making the point that if you are considering making an investment in improving your home, rest assured a new kitchen is a sound investment.

Although you raise your family in your home,and make little marks on the wall as to the height of your children on thier every birthday. Make the memories and live your life in your dwelling, remember your home is a house, Take care of it like you take care of your bank account,your stocks and your money and it will return the investment.