Potential Home Improvement Projects (Tacoma, Sumner: sale, countertops, house)

[wagood24]

My wife and I are thinking about doing a few things to our 7 y/o home in Sumner. One of our top priorities is repainting the trim. But other than that we're having a hard time deciding what to do next. We'll probably be moving in the next 4 years because I'm in the Air Force so we want to make improvements that'll make the biggest impact to our resale potential. A couple of options that we're thinking about is upgrading our master shower and our kitchen/bath countertops. The kitchen countertops are already ceramic tile so upgrading to granite isn't a high priority. But our shower is just a builder grade fiberglass (or vinyl) stall. I'd really like to upgrade it to a tile shower with frameless glass surround. Any ideas on cost to do these? Any good contractors in the greater Tacoma area? Thanks.

[mkarch]

Hold off on cosmetic improvements until the year before you move. Doing them now just means they'll be worn and maybe out of style 4 years from now. A 7 year old house probably doesn't have any major flaws that have a real affect on sale ability. It just needs to look good compared to whatever else is on the market.

That said, now is a good time to tackle a bigger thing like a yard that was never landscaped or a deck that is too small to use. You'll get some enjoyment out of it and it won't depreciate.