As many of us are thinking about the spring and summer ahead (If this cold ever decides to leave us?), we are thinking about home project that we would like to start. This may be simply the clean up projects around the house (when was the last time you checked the outside caulking on your home?), or it may be larger projects like repainting to get ready to sell…. or even bigger like an addition such as a screen porch.

Many times when I meet with clients who are on the fence about moving or staying, it is often because they want more (or less) space in their homes.

In our area in NW Indiana, we don’t see a lot of screened-in-porches. We see many covered patios, many sun rooms and many new pools, but the screened porch, in my opinion is a lost art. We added this addition to our home about 4 years ago and I can honestly tell you that during the months of March - November it is the most used room in the house. We do everything out there from kids crafts, to playing games, eating dinner and watching movies. Since our homes faces West in the back, it also provides some much needed protection from the sun. So, in my opinion it has been 100% worth the investment. That being said, we made the decision to add on with an existing deck in place. We also made the decision knowing that we were not planning on moving anytime soon, so we felt that we would truly get our investment out of it. Depending on the porch, you will definitely get a value addition to your property in selling it. It may even be a feature that drives someone to purchase your home over another, but depending on the state of the market, you may not get the full value of investment back on the sale (which is similar to a basement finishing). Therefore, the question I always ask before anyone does anything is: What are your real estate goals? How long do you plan to stay here and what will the value addition be for you besides the hopeful financial one when you sell?.

Keeping this in mind, USA NEWS has a full article on a screen porch addition for you to read and learn more. That said, if you have any specific questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me as well!

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