Owning a condominium is like owning other pieces of real estate: You own the property and are allowed to make renovations, usually with some form of association board approval (in many neighborhoods, you may likely need municipal or local approval to make certain renovations, as well). Before you do anything, it’s important that you familiarize yourself with the condo association rules and bylaws and make sure that the renovations you have in mind are allowed.
If during your search for Toronto condos for sale you saw some better than others, you may already have ideas about how you can upgrade your own situation. Whether you are looking at a major renovation in the kitchen and bathroom or smaller changes with the flooring and walls, the possibilities for upgrading your condo are numerous.
Some people upgrade in order to have a greater quality experience while living in their condo, but others are typically thinking about adding value to the unit in order to resell it at some future date. When considering the latter, one needs to think more analytically about which improvements will result in greater value and make specific choices in that direction. For instance, should you renovate and modernize the entire kitchen? Or just concentrate on the bathrooms? If you choose to do everything you can, there is the chance that your renovations could overvalue your condo in your development, making it more expensive and difficult to sell.
Most people choose to renovate the kitchen, since it is considered by many to be the central hub of the home, and the opportunities for improvements are usually several. Moreover, research has shown that minor or mid-range remodeling usually shows the promise of higher returns than high upgrade models. People who are looking at Toronto condos for sale generally do not want to spend money on unnecessarily exorbitant items, such as imported tile and ornate faucets. But they are usually willing to pay more for new appliances that function well and replace older, outdated items. Putting in a brand new stovetop, for instance, can make a huge difference, and buyers are willing to pay more for that than they are for rare wood cabinets with an expensive finish and gargoyle-head handles.
It’s always a good idea to keep aesthetics in the back of your mind to inform your redesigning decisions, but let function drive every decision you make. People invest in functional condo kitchens, but are less likely to pay more for items that are merely art décor.
