Interesting that this link appears on the msn homepage today - what does that say about the general publics perception of homes as an investment?

Why remodeling is a waste of money
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/HomebuyingGuide/weston-remodeling-its-a-waste-of-money.aspx

Good article.  Remodeling almost never increases the value of a property by as much as the cost of the remodel-you almost always lose money.  Only remodel if you are living there yourself and want to enjoy the updated whatever.  Now, fixing things, staging, cleaning, that’s different.