Projects that Pay You Back

Old houses will see the most gain with historically appropriate products.

By Mary Ellen Polson

The numbers seem to get better every year: invest in a new kitchen or re-side your house, and you'll be able to recoup most, if not all, of the expense. But do these glowing figures hold true for old-house owners? Americans spent close to $140 billion in recent years to repair and maintain their homes, according to the National Association of Home Builders. While some projects-kitchen and bath updates, for example -pay off no matter how old the house, others fly in the face of contemporary building practice. Add aluminum siding to your house and get 71 percent of your cash back within the year? Sure, for a 30-year old-house in a neighborhood where aluminum is the preferred siding material. The reverse is more likely to be true in a historic neighborhood where most of the houses retain their original wood cladding: Strip away old aluminum, restore the original siding, and you've automatically increased its resale value.

With individual houses, you probably have to be in harmony with the general trend in your neighborhood, says restoration architect Maximilian Ferro of The Preservation Partnership in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

As a rule, you'll get the best payback from new work that complements the original quality of your home. Historically appropriate materials simply look better -especially if the house was designed for them. You never hear people say 'that's a wonderful asphalt roof,' says Doug Cochran, material sales manager of The Durable Slate Co. in Columbus, Ohio. Your home will be worth more as soon as you put the slate or clay back on, because you're maintaining the aesthetic value of the architecture.

The same is true for kitchens, which are tricky to design into a period house. Somebody who buys a house because they like the style would probably like to see the same style in the kitchen, says Francis C. Klein, a restoration architect in Montclair, New Jersey. Whether it's custom or stock, the kitchen will last longer and hold its value better than something that doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the house.

If you have to sell an older home fast, you can get quicker results simply by improving its curb appeal. Attention to landscaping-typically one of the last major projects old house owners tackle-will pay off even if the improvements don't measurably increase the value of your home, says Berkeley, California, restoration architect Rachel Hamilton. In today's hot real estate market, a fresh paint job may not matter as much, but during the recession, when property wasn't moving, curb appeal might sell the building for you, Hamilton says.

In some neighborhoods, curb appeal is a relative term. One of Ferro's neighbors, a builder, recently assessed trends in his historic New Bedford neighborhood, then added vinyl siding, a fake stone porch, and oversized windows to a simple Greek Revival home. He sold his house immediately to a guy just like himself, Ferro says. By the time he was finished, it was a very desirable house [though not to old-house restorers], and he made a ton of money on it.


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