My house had 100 year old plumbing featuring galvanized and lead pipes. I changed them all to copper. My house has a sewer pit right in the middle of my basement with 100 year old infrastructure. I moved the sewer infrastructure to the mechanical room (so now I can finish my basement without a sewer pit in it) and built a modern overhead sewer system. My house had 1/2 inch waterline. I expanded it to 1 and 1/2 inch to improve water pressure and allow more bathrooms. Also added drains outside property and tied them into the home sewer system as before water was getting into the basement. Obviously the work was very expensive and visually it doesn't look like much has changed. Did I add value? Was this a good decision? I don't plan on selling, just curious.
I'd think of it as the shitty plumbing taking away value and making your house less attractive to buyers. Who wants a house with lead pipes, esp after Flint.
Not everything has to be for a home’s future value. You can do something purely because it makes living in your home more enjoyable or comfortable. And if your quality of life has improved, then why would it not be worth the money?
Also, it’s probably cheaper to do it now vs later anyways before something blows up. Prevention is almost always cheaper than the cure
Yes you added value. And extended the life of the building. Long after you've gone, that plumbing will be dutifully flushing crap away and supplying water. It's a good thing to add value to our built environment. Now tough question: hows the wiring?
Not too bad. There was a lot of dead wiring the previous owner covered up but we tore all that out. Electrician says we should be able to do a simple panel upgrade and house electrical will be great. The HVAC and central air is great too.
So already upgraded from 2 wire?
I mean, you added value for sure, but if it is a net profit is something that would require an appraiser that knows the area
Yeah, I think finishing the newly serviceable basement along with doing cosmetic upgrades will show the value more.
Definitely added value and made it easier to sell if/when you do. Also, things like old plumbing can be a liability. Imagine spending the 90k to fix the plumbing plus another $20, 50, or 100k to fix damages.
You added value in that the house wouldn’t sell at a discount for being out of date relative to comps. Will you get a premium for the house? Probably not.
Definitely added value, but likely not nearly as much as what you have put in.
Yeah I agree. That's why I'm not planning on ever selling and will just depreciate the costs of the improvements over time via taxes while also having property appreciate. Don't want someone else to profit from my work.
You can’t depreciate cost of improvement over time via tax unless you are renting it out and depreciating it against your rental income. If you are living there you don’t get any tax deduction on this until you sell it.
Wow $90k. You could’ve had a multi room makeover in kitchen and bathrooms for that. Or even turn an attic in to liveable space. That would’ve increased value.
But you would have had ancient plumbing and an unusable basement. Felt like lipstick on a pig.
I mean increasing value isn’t always the same as increasing your enjoyment of the home. If you enjoy it more then that’s a completely valid reason to do it. Doesn’t mean it increases the market value though.
Buyers are dumb so probably not. They just like the shiny stuff they can see.
how much did it cost you to do this ?
90k for all the plumbing work. I had to dig outside as well. For water line and a sewer crack of the pipe in my backyard.