re: #89 Feline Fearless Leader

That, and just about any large ticket maintenance item is not going to recover its cost either.

The place I bought in 1990 (roughly) got new windows, a new roof, and a new furnace. Installed central A/C with the last - which was probably the only actual estate value enhancement. All were necessary, improved comfort level and possibly save some utility costs. All of it was no real help when I sold the place - and the house was on the market for about two years after I moved.* And that included a lot of additional post-move costs involving bringing a few things up to fit new building codes, stripping out old carpeting, repainting walls, etc.

* - And properly valuing a house for sale is still a bit of a crap shoot to me. I somehow think most people that sell (and buy?) think that they got the short end of the stick in the deal.

A lot has to do with the market and how long you are going to stay in the house. It is a crap shoot in many ways. There was a time when house prices in certain areas were going up consistently. At that point in time, if you planned on staying in the home only a couple of years, you could make money or at least break even (which is not a bad thing—basically get free rent for a couple of years).

If you added up the monthly payments, closing costs, maintence and utilities you wouldn’t pay as a renter, subtracted the tax savings and profit, it was often a good deal.

Worked for us—even with rehab hell. But it was a good market and good location.