Here are a few projects that actually can make you money. We use the Cost vs. Value Report combined with real estate agent ARV (after repair value) data in Southeast Michigan to document what projects actually return.
Here's what rises to the top:
Garage Doors: 100%+ ROI
A quality new entry door runs around $5,000. That same door returns approximately $8,000 in added retail value.
Style options have never been better. And a new front door changes the entire first impression of your home.
Entry Doors: Close Behind
A quality new entry door runs around $5,000. That same door returns approximately $8,000 in added retail value.
Style options have never been better. And a new front door changes the entire first impression of your home.
Stone Veneer: Over $1 Back for Every $1 Spent
Stone veneer—natural or manufactured—returns more than 100% of its cost in retail value.
Spend $10,000 on beautiful stone veneer on the front of your home, and you add approximately $15,000 in retail value.
It also looks incredible every time you pull into the driveway.
Insulation: Pays for Itself Before You Sell
Insulation is the rare home improvement that pays you back before you even list your home.
Right now, most Michigan homes are losing more than 50% of their heat through the ceiling. After proper attic insulation, that drops to 15-20%.
The energy savings alone typically pay off the cost within 2-5 years. In many cases, if you finance the insulation at minimum payments, the monthly savings nearly cancel out the monthly cost from day one.
After it's paid off? Every dollar of energy savings goes straight into your pocket.
One to Avoid: Roof Coatings
There's a product on the market that coats over existing shingles for about 50% of what a full replacement costs.
It sounds appealing. It isn't.
These coatings don't expose the deck underneath. They don't address rotten wood, mold, or ventilation problems. They don't come with a real warranty. We regularly meet homeowners who spent $7,000 on a coating and then needed a full $16,000 replacement a few years later.
Total cost: over $23,000 for something that should have cost $14,000 from the start.
The 70% Rule
Here's what most homeowners don't realize:
Even the projects that don't hit 100% ROI are still a strong investment. Roofing, siding, windows, gutters—these consistently return around 70% of their cost in retail value.
Put it this way: if you replace your roof for $10,000, you recover approximately $7,000 of that cost the moment your home hits the market.
That means you're effectively getting a new roof for $3,000 out of pocket—while enjoying it for years before you ever sell.
Kitchen refreshes return close to 100%. Larger kitchen remodels return a high percentage too—though smaller, focused scopes often outperform full gut renovations on a percentage basis.
The question to ask yourself:
Not "does this cost money?" but "what does this actually cost me after the value it returns?"
