In a tough economy, raising the value of a home by redoing just one room might be akin to finding free money. The question, on today's limited budgets, is which room to do.
"Sweat Equity," a show on the DIY Network, hopes to provide some answers. The show's crack team of experts comes in, analyzes a home and tries to help the owners increase the value by spending minimal funds on an all-important improvement project.
The show's crew recently came to the New York area to work on a Long Island 1930s Colonial owned by Heather and Paul Asencio. The room they chose? The 160-square-foot garage, which the Asencios and the show's team transformed into a full-service storage center for the family's extra goods.
After a local real estate agent came in and appraised the Floral Park home at $639,000, the "Sweat Equity" team worked with the family to choose the room and do the work. The object of the show is to have the real estate agent come back after the work is done and appraise the home for more than the family spends on the project.
The Asencios, both 37, bought the Nassau County house two years ago. They planned to use the single-car garage for storage, needing the space as their three young daughters matured. The couple tried to organize the area themselves, but it didn't work. "It was a freaking disaster," says Paul Asencio, who's vice president of corporate sales and services for the New York Mets. "We bought these massive metal industrial-style shelves and got stuff off the floor, but it was just packed in these shelves in a very unorganized way."
Normally so neat they store handbags on closet hangars, the family of five has accumulated much junk over the years. During the first day of production, the couple moved the garage's stash of beach umbrellas, car seats, bikes, in-line skates and Christmas decorations into the yard, forming a big pile of personal goods for all the neighbors to see.
"Sweat Equity" host Amy Matthews showed Paul and his wife, Heather, how to install slatted walls, which can hold shelves and hooks easily in grooves. She also helped them replace the garage's window with a new one.
Potomac Garage Solutions continued putting in the wall on the second day as Matthews and the couple moved onto assembling cabinets and polypropylene floor tiles. Some of the gray metal cabinets were as big as gym lockers, with a few the size of a nightstand. The floor tiles looked like mammoth red, gray and black puzzle pieces. They're sturdy enough to hold 250 pounds per square foot, allowing the Asencios — or future owners of the home — to drive cars on them.
According to the show's producers, the homeowner ultimately selects the project, sometimes even going against Matthews' recommendations. The hope, of course, is that the work brings an equity boost.
The third and fourth days on the Asencio project were spent putting together more cabinets and organizing the family's belongings into the improved area. The enhancements weren't cheap. Gladiator Garage Works and Clo-Pay provided most of the materials, but the bulk of the overhaul cost $10,000, including a new garage door.
"We're not teaching you to do everything yourself, but to know your skill set," says Matthews, a home improvement expert since the age of 14 who hosts three other DIY Network shows and appears periodically on the "Today" show. "We're teaching you to be savvy enough to know when to bring in the pros."
The moment of truth came when a local real estate agent returned for the show's climax — the appraisal. After a look around, she uttered the price: $660,000. Miraculously, the value of the home went up by $21,000. In four days, and after a cost of $10,000, they were $11,000 and an orderly, multiuse garage ahead on the deal.
"Everything is so organized and every single thing in the garage has a place," Paul says. "You'd think it would just look great for that day, but it's the complete opposite."