Whether you have a few acres of outdoor space surrounding your home or a postage-stamp sized "yard" in back of your townhome, making improvements to your backyard is an increasingly popular way to raise the value of your home.

In addition to making it easier to sell your home, upgrading your outdoor space can make your home a more pleasant place to live for however many years you stay.

But just like indoors, some features are more valuable than others in terms of your return-on-investment. In addition to your budget, you'll want to consider the weather in your area and your family’s lifestyle. You don’t want to build something that they’ll never use!

Let’s look at a few backyard projects and whether the money you spend on them will come back to you.

Landscaping
Simple landscaping of the space you have can go a long way — especially when you do most of the labor yourself. Putting in a new pathway, reseeding the lawn and putting in new, flowering plants can elevate your backyard and make it more pleasant for your family and for future buyers. Choosing native plants and hardy bushes can cut down on maintenance costs and still give your home "curb appeal" from the back. The return on investment on this depends on what you do and how much you spend, but you don’t have to spend a lot to get a lot back on this project.

Decks and Patios
The price of wood (and wood alternatives like Trex) have gone up substantially in the past few years. However, decks have a very high return-on-investment if they’re well-designed and maintained. You don’t need to have a huge, multi-story deck to create a pleasant space where the family can have dinner outdoors. Like with other projects, get multiple estimates, and make sure your project is allowed where you live (by your homeowners’ association and the city or county). Your return on investment could be up to 80% with this project.

Outdoor Kitchens and Living Rooms
If you want to go bigger, popular additions to backyards are secondary living rooms and kitchens. Instead of just a grill on your new deck, envision a large, covered and screened-in porch with a 50-inch television on the wall, surround sound, a kitchen with cabinets, a grill, a sink, counterspace and maybe even a wine fridge. These spaces can really up the 'wow' factor in your home. Plus, they can be used even when it's raining and the screens can help keep out those pesky mosquitoes. You'll need a little bit more space in your backyard to do this properly, and the return on investment will depend in part on how much you spend on outfitting your new space.

Pools
A pool in your backyard is a complicated asset. While it may look pretty and provide hours of entertainment, installation of an in-ground pool and ongoing maintenance can be expensive. In addition to the water itself, you’ll have to pay for chemicals to keep it clean, fencing for safety, and insurance. While it may be super fun to have a pool in your own backyard, not everybody wants to buy a home with a pool because of the maintenance and ongoing cost to operate it. That means homes with pools are harder to sell and stay on the market longer than homes with no pool or with a community pool nearby. Above-ground pools are less expensive, but they have even less of a return on investment, as they don’t last as long and typically aren’t as attractive. In other words, think carefully before you dive into this renovation! Unless you live in Florida or somewhere that it gets very hot and humid, this is a project you’ll want to do for your family to enjoy, not to attract future buyers.

Whether you decide on a small, traditional deck or go all-in with water features, CommonWealth One is here for you! We’d love to talk about your plans and how we can help make your dreams a reality with a home equity loan or home equity line of credit at a competitive rate. We’re always just a call or a click away and happy to help.