While certain upgrades can increase the value of a home or its salability later, that's not the primary reason to complete home improvements.

From the beginning, financial advisers say if you don't buy a small starter home unless its truly a great deal with room to expand, but instead buy a home that fits your growing family needs now, you'll save on home improvements later.

Appraisers say when you do have to perform home improvements they often don't add enough value to the home to cover all of the home improvement's cost. That's especially true if the home improvement or addition doesn't reflect what's been done to other homes in the neighborhood and even if you do the work yourself. What's worse, second-guessing what the buyer will want in appliances, decor style and finishes could cost you a sale later down the road.

No, performing home improvements is a lot like buying a home -- take that step because it's a lifestyle decision based on what you truly need now, not based on what may or may not happen years down the road.

Most homeowners agree -- 70 percent of those who have home improvements completed say they have the work done to enhance their quality of life and to obtain personal enjoyment. Only 29 percent of them are after financial gain in the form of increased home value, according to Wells Fargo & Co.

Wells Fargo, one of the nation's largest home loan lenders, was obviously out to market its equity loans when it commissioned ICR/International Communications Research to conduct a Web-based survey of 1,307 home owners during the second quarter this year.

But the survey does hit the nail on the head.

"Creating a comfortable and secure environment at home is becoming more of a priority for consumers," says Cara Heiden, a Wells Fargo division president.

"Whether it's a home buyer purchasing a newly constructed or existing property or a homeowner investing in a property they have owned for several years, we are seeing more and more people center their lives around their home. With the proper planning and education on the new home financing products available, homeowners can make these improvements," she added.

While the majority of those surveyed appear to have the right idea about home improvements, they should also know to shop around for the best home improvement loan terms and rates.

The survey also revealed that the most common home improvements completed are among the best in terms of what does make a home more attractive to buyers -- bringing the home up to date, keeping it well maintained and adding curb appeal.

The survey found:

• Half of all homeowners (51 percent) said that they made interior decorating home improvements in the past year or will make these types of improvements in the coming year.

• More than one third (39 percent) said they plan to landscape.

• Others said they would perform necessary maintenance projects including plumbing (38 percent), or exterior decorating (29 percent).

Published: September 14, 2004

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Broderick Perkins parlayed a career in old-school journalism into a contemporary digital news service that really hits home. The award-winning consumer journalist, originally from Wilmington, DE, is founder, publisher and executive editor of the bootstrap DeadlineNews Group, a Silicon Valley-based editorial content and consulting service specializing in residential real estate, consumer news and related editorial consulting services. The DeadlineNews Group includes the website, DeadlineNews.com, offering real estate editorial content and consulting services, and its back shop, the Deadline Newsroom, an open house on news that really hits home. Perkins obtained his formal journalism education from University of Delaware and a journalism boot camp, the Institute of Journalism Education at the University of California-Berkeley. He went on to 20 years of service as a daily newspaper journalist at the Wilmington, DE News Journal and San Jose, CA Mercury News. Perkins covered housing on the San Jose Mercury News reporting team which earned a General News Reporting Pulitzer Prize in 1989 for coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake. He has also produced real estate, consumer and small business content for the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, RealtyTimes.com, Nolo.com, Better Homes and Gardens, the National Association of Realtors, Homestore/Move and Intuit/Quicken among more than three dozen publications. In addition to managing the DeadlineNews Group, Perkins most recently served as chief editorial consultant for Nolo's Essential Guide To Buying Your First Home, Nolo, and writes real estate television scripts for RealtyTimes.com.