Questions about updating home how much $ is too much?

If you live in Seattle, do not do ceramic tile floors except in the bathroom... unless you want to splurge for infloor radiant heating in the other rooms (even the kitchen), it'll be a huge turnoff for potential buyers. The only places that appreciate the coolness of tile flooring are homes in hot hot climates.

You can get tongue and groove floating laminate flooring (looks great and lasts forever) for cheap as borscht. Prices can range anywhere from $.90 per square foot and upwards. There's always sales on discontinued stock in pretty much every home improvement store around. Nothing beats real hardwood floors of course, but laminate wood flooring is second best to the real thing.

If you scrimp on the kitchen renos, you'll regret it down the road when you go to sell your house. The kitchen is THE main room in the house that will make or break a sale... it's also the one room where you will gain an average of anywhere from 5-20% on the value of your home. It's a guaranteed return on the amount of money you spent on renovations. It's the first thing any realtor will tell you.

a reply to: Grovit

The average home price in my area is $550,000. This is a modest home and the reason it's valued that high is because the lot is large.

I don't think there are any homes in Western WA that are under $100,000. Maybe a cabin.