What is the best money you have spent on your home?

[redallen]

Putting in the hot tub

 

[TippyThomas]

Buying the land surrounding it. I don't have to worry about neighbors now.

 

[ronandannette]

great addition!

i often wonder how a housing development that was being built near where we lived back in the early 2000's is doing these days b/c of it's unique take on handicapped accessibility. it was in a town that was very family friendly but also appealed greatly to seniors. the development was designed to provide homes that were large enough to manage a family but weren't as big as the mcmansions that were the norm. the big difference was they were designed for lifelong ownership and had 'aging up' design elements-

wider hallways, doorways and turning radius (from halls into rooms) to facilitate wheelchairs,

hydraulics installed (but unseen) on sections of kitchen island/bathroom counter tops to allow for lowering for wheelchair access,

front, back and garage entrances to the home designed to easily install ramps,

landscaping (concrete walkways, porches and patios) with minimal rises to help with walkers/again facilitate ramps,

landscaping that entailed the most minimal of upkeep,

all bathrooms with handicapped features in place.


i thought it was a spectacular concept, it would be fascinating to see what the turnover sales rate has been like with older owners.






it's a miracle!!!! today is the first day in 3 weeks i can see the mountains again. it's been so smoky over here on the east side of the state that it's looked like december-dark, overcast and foggy. we've been in the dangerous air quality for sooooo long. i feel sorry for anyone looking to cool off-high double digits/low triple but none of the pools or splash zones are open due to the air quality. fresh air is supposed to be coming in this weekend-fingers crossed.

Interesting! I guess in our city few people intend to “age in place”. In 33 in the housing industry I’ve never known of a single home built for it. We have done several custom builds for families with handicapped members; elevators, modified bathrooms and transfer apparatus in the bedroom ceilings, but never just general accessibility features for future needs. There must be a need but I don’t know of a single one of our competitors that is aggressively marketing to that niche.

Sorry to go OT for a minute - are you getting smoke from the fires in the BC interior? Here on the east side of the Rockies it’s intense.

 

[barkley]

Sorry to go OT for a minute - are you getting smoke from the fires in the BC interior? Here on the east side of the Rockies it’s intense.

yes. it cleared up a good bit yesterday morning but was back by afternoon. this morning it's a bit better but still looks foggy.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

The best money we have spent on our house is finding a home that fits our needs.

Aside from that, a fresh whole house paint job before we moved in and installing a large hall linen closet.

I am so glad we found a house that we did not have to do a huge list of things we needed to do to it to make it work for our family.

Over last spring, we did redo our master closet, it was just "okay", it was functional, but we greatly improved the use of the space and doubled the hanging capacity.

 

[1GoldenSun]

We've spent very little money on our home except for the money we spent just to buy it, as well as some general repairs over the years. But we've been in the house for around 8 years now, it's 25 years old, and we paid it off last year, so we've been thinking that it's time to start making some changes. Nothing major; structurally it suits our needs well and is in good shape, but we'd like to "refresh" it. I'd like to replace the carpet with hardwood and update the kitchen and baths. But I think we'll wait until materials are in better supply; we're not in any hurry. It's been interesting reading what all of you have done that you've appreciated!

 

[Cadiewampus]

Air traffic control. You must be hired before your 31st birthday and then you lose your medical clearance at 56.

Air traffic control. You must be hired before your 31st birthday and then you lose your medical clearance at 56.

Wow that sucks.

 

[joyjoy]

Major - hardwood floors throughout Minor - garage door opener; game changer!

 

[trivan]

Whole house generator, Tankless hot water heater

 

[belleatdisney]

Fence and lots of evergreen trees. They have grown taller than the house now. We don’t see our neighbours or the street at all anymore.

 

[lynxstch]

The new HVAC system we had put in last October. For 17 years we heated the house in winter with a wood stove, and I did all the carrying, stacking, lighting fire, emptying stove. And we had 3 window ac units. So nice to just press a button last year and have instant heat..and to press a different button and have nice cool ac air this summer!

 

[LuvOrlando]

We finished the basement with heat when the kids were little. This made the house 30% bigger so we didn't need to move to expand and gave the kids a place to hang with friends clear through high school. We thought the space was past it's prime but then in 2020 the office/bedroom down there became the sanctuary/safe spot for our son. Worth every single dime many times over.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

We’ve done many upgrades, but the AC is hands down my favorite.

 

[prairie_girl]

Interesting! I guess in our city few people intend to “age in place”. In 33 in the housing industry I’ve never known of a single home built for it. We have done several custom builds for families with handicapped members; elevators, modified bathrooms and transfer apparatus in the bedroom ceilings, but never just general accessibility features for future needs. There must be a need but I don’t know of a single one of our competitors that is aggressively marketing to that niche.

Sorry to go OT for a minute - are you getting smoke from the fires in the BC interior? Here on the east side of the Rockies it’s intense.

The building we’re in was definitely built to be handicap accessible, but it’s not marketed that way. The hallways are wider than usual, same with door frames. Also, all door knobs aren’t the old fashioned kind, they are all the bar kind that can be used easily for someone with hand issues, I guess. I hope you know what kind of knob I’m talking about

***eta*** it looks like this, but fancier

 

[ronandannette]

The building we’re in was definitely built to be handicap accessible, but it’s not marketed that way. The hallways are wider than usual, same with door frames. Also, all door knobs aren’t the old fashioned kind, they are all the bar kind that can be used easily for someone with hand issues, I guess. I hope you know what kind of knob I’m talking about

***eta*** it looks like this, but fancier

View attachment 596310

Lever handles - yes I know them. I’m glad you found a place that’s so well suited!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We’ve done a lot since we bought our house. All worthwhile

Added a legal in-law apt, all handicap accessible. (Can rent out if need be, may come in handy in retirement.)
Added large front porch and screened in part of it
Added a vaulted sunroom which is probably most used room for us
Added central AC
Major kitchen renovation

 

[wilbret]

Had a steep hill with sinkholes causing trees to fall all the time. We cleared it, and pushed the hill back 30-50 feet. Went from a little strip of grass on that side of the house to a big yard the kids can play in. Our backyard is wooded, so grass doesn't really grow there.

 

[LoveSpringsteen]

We remodeled our kitchen late 2019. Our prior kitchen had a terrible design and I had just one corner of usable counter space, a small built-in oven and no dishwasher. We expanded about a foot into our dining room, included a full size oven and a dishwasher and upper and lower cabinets. I love it. We also added a full size bathroom in our basement about 15 years ago.

 

[china mom]

To get the house ready for my elderly mother, I had the tub pulled out and a roll in shower and grab bars put in the downstairs apartment. Then, as her condition worsened, I had the stoop with three steps pulled off and invested an insane amount of money in a porch with a covered handicapped ramp. Mom is gone now but I have just undergone my second foot surgery and would have had a much more difficult time without these remodels. best. money. ever. spent!

 

[YachtClubWoman]

Whole house generator, Tankless hot water heater

same for me - the generator runs on natural gas and switches on within a minute
During a big storm last year - we ran out neighbors refrigerators also so they did not loose food