Introduction

Once a home is purchased, homeowners are often looking for ways to improve the space. Whether you're focused on cosmetics, structure or long-term use, choosing investments that will ultimately pay off in convenience, tax breaks or boosting the sale value or your home are your best choices.

If You Plan To Stay: Improvements For Your Safety And Comfort

Experts recommend that you pay off your mortgage before you retire. If you're planning to age in place in the home you own now, consider making the following improvements to the house to make your retirement years easier and safer:

1) Put in a laundry chute or move your laundry room to the same level as your bedrooms. If possible, move as much of daily living to one level. For example, if your master bedroom and bath are on the second floor, make sure you have some sleeping arrangements on the main floor in case you can't use the stairs for a time. Only having sleeping space on the second floor may force you into a quick move you're not prepared to make.

2) Renovate bathrooms to include taller toilet seats and make sure that showers and tubs have grab bars to reduce the risk of a bathroom fall. Other options include widening doorways into bathrooms and other space on the main floor and making sure you've got plenty of turning space near those doorways. If you're forced to use a wheelchair or scooter for a short period of time, these adjustments will make it possible to stay in your home.

If You Plan To Move: Improvements To Increase Value

Installing solar panels on your home can provide you with a great tax break, though you should discuss this with your accountant before making the purchase. That's money in your pocket now, but do solar panels increase home value? Yes! Not only will this add value to your home, but this improvement is also a great option if you plan to age in place, as it will reduce your monthly expenses.

3) Purchasing a solar power system can add a sizable premium to the price of your house. When selling your home with solar, be sure to promote

• your reduced utility bills

• the days when the meter spins backwards

• how simple the system is to monitor

As solar gets more popular, more buyers are savvy enough to understand the value of a solar power system on their new home. However, some may be off-put by this "new" technology, so be sure to provide plenty of data on the system installed and the reliability of this renewable resource. If you leased your solar power system instead of buying it, the new homeowners will need to be able to contact the leasing agency and make their best decisions as to how to move forward once they purchase the home. This contract should be transferable and your solar power system provider should be willing to assist in this transfer.

4) If you've invested in any energy or water saving appliances or fixtures, you may be able to deduct them from your taxes when you sell your home. Other improvements you can make now that will increase the value of your home later include the addition of a room or deck, improved flooring or energy efficient windows and doors.

Final Thoughts

Your home is a large investment. The choice to improve it must be done with an eye to your own comfort as well as resale value. To make sure you'll be able to recoup the value of any sizable improvements, consider contacting a realtor to pull comparables of your neighborhood to make sure you don't invest in an improvement that will price you out of the range for your area.