Last year the government shipped out over 111 million refunds to American tax payers! Although you may not get enough to buy that dream home or gallivant around Europe for a month, I bet you got enough to spruce up a few facets of your house that would make a great investment! Here are a few quick ideas for that tax return that is currently burning a hole in your pocket!
Have your front door refinished or repainted. This should cost about $500. Replacing the front door would be great, but that can be up to $1,395 for a new steel entry door or $3,259 for a new fiberglass model. So, if you still like that front door, just refurbish it. By the way, you can recoup from 60 percent to 80 percent of the cost of a new door when you sell your house, according to the 2017 Cost vs. Value Report in Remodeling Magazine.
Pick out a new color for the trim on your house, like the fascia boards and edges around windows. You’ll need a gallon bucket of high-quality exterior paint ($50-$80). You might need more to do the garage door, too. For exterior paint, we recommend good preparation, a primer and 100 percent acrylic base paint.
Add fiberglass insulation to your attic. This is one of those improvements that Remodeling Magazine says can greatly add to the value of your home. Add fiberglass loose fill insulation on top of existing insulation to get to an R-38 level, according to the magazine. This will improve the comfort level in your home and save some money on your heating and cooling bills.
Redo a small powder room. If you don’t have to replace the floor or the toilet, this is a job that can be done for about $1,500. You can get a vanity off-the-shelf in a big box store or order one that’s a little better quality. Then buy a sink, new faucets and hardware at a plumbing supply store and use a low-cost remnant piece of quartz or granite for the counter top. Then repaint the walls yourself.
Install a fire pit in your backyard. Gathering around a fire pit is a great way to spend more time outdoors in the evening; these cozy pits are becoming a near necessity for the ambiance in Arizona backyards. Have a stone fire pit built for about $1,200 or do it yourself with a kit for a few hundred. You can use propane to light your fire or extend a gas line (a more expensive option). But be sure to hire a licensed plumber to install the gas connections.
Some info gathered from Azcentral.com