It would really depend on how much you have in the home already. If you make this investment are you pricing yourself out of the market? It can be tough to balance "financially responsible" and "quality of life". If you need another set of eyes on it I would be happy to help.

The answers all say the same thing but let me add that if you are going to stay then do what you want. If the plans for the home are done for you to enjoy then do it and later when it sells you will recoup. Many remodels don't produce short term results but will enable you to enjoy the home for many years.

Susan,
Depending on where in Blowing Rock the home is. I would scale back the basement plans some. Of course not knowing where the 80K is going it is hard to advise. The kitchen and bathrooms are your best return on investment. Of course you can easily over do it and not recoup your investment. If you go with alot of personal color choices and stray from neutrals you can alienate some buyers. Most certainly with color choices on something like granite countertops and other big ticket items. So consult a local realtor. If you are fixing it up to sell I would check out the competition then make your plans.

Hope this helps you

There is always some risk with having the most expensive home in the neighborhood - especially if these upgrades will push your home significantly above the neighborhood average. If you're concerned about resale value, keep in mind that the upgrades you plan to add may not be able to be recouped. Most estimators say that a kitchen remodel can add 80-100% of the cost of the remodel to the value of the home - depending on how inline the remodel is with the total estimated value of the home. One estimate is that the average cost of the remodel should be between 10-20% of the value of the home.

You may want to think about asking a local agent for neighborhood comps before you start your project. Take a look at what the other homes in the neighborhood have to offer, and what any homes have sold for recently. If any other homes have finished basements, those would make great comparisons.