Refurbish vs. Remodel vs. Renovate: What’s The Difference?

Preparing a home for sale often means making upgrades. You want your property to look as attractive as possible to potential buyers.

And as you search for information on home upgrades or talk to real estate agents or lenders about them, you’ll want to use the right terms. Do the changes you plan to make fall into the category of refurbishing, remodeling, or renovating? 

These three terms represent different scopes of work and budget considerations. A renovation could be as simple as repainting your living room, while a remodel might change the structural layout of your home.

This guide to the meaning of refurbish versus remodel versus renovate will help you understand when to use which term — and the extent of work and funds each implies.

Refurbish

Refurbishing means restoring a property to its best possible state by perfecting deteriorated or outdated features. Primarily, refurbishing deals with reworking what’s already there, like sanding and polishing an existing wood floor to make it pristine. However, refurbishing can also cover upgrades like replacing old windows with new, energy-efficient ones. 

Refurbishing is a great idea for homes with aesthetically pleasing details that need a refresh but not a complete overhaul.

Refurbishing: What it is and isn’t

Refurbishing doesn’t mean revamping a property by putting in a state-of-the-art kitchen, changing the floor plan, or investing in aesthetic changes that make the space look more contemporary. Instead, refurbishing is an act of conservation.

Refurbishing is: 

• Preserving the beauty of original details like moldings, floors, and banisters

• Cleaning the property to remove years of grime that distract from the original aesthetics

• Retrofitting old appliances, windows, and heating or cooling systems that aren’t functional or energy-efficient

• Replacing worn materials, like flooring tiles, with replicas 

• Restoring an old fireplace to its original state and making it work again

• Plastering wall damage

• Trimming and treating existing landscaping elements to help them look their best

Refurbishing isn’t: 

• Tearing out areas of the home and replacing them 

• Making significant aesthetic changes to the space 

• Changing the layout of the home (i.e., turning a closet into an office or knocking down a wall between spaces)

Remodel

Experts associate remodeling a home with a complete overhaul—the kind of property gutting seen on home improvement shows, where a designer (or DIY expert) tears back everything but the bones of the space and starts over.

Remodels seek to make a home more contemporary, attractive, and efficient, even if doing so implies extensive work. As a result, remodels can be costly.

Remodeling: What it is and isn’t

Remodels aren’t necessarily concerned with conserving features of an original aesthetic or layout. Instead, a remodel aims to revamp a home, turning it into a turnkey property that’ll grab buyers' attention. 

Remodeling is:

• Gut jobs: taking down walls, tearing up floors, and putting in new kitchens and baths 

• Changing the layout of the space to make it more functional, open, or aesthetically pleasing

• Upgrading structural, plumbing, or electrical elements 

• Modernizing the property’s look by putting in trendy new flooring, tiles, wall coverings, etc.  

Remodeling isn’t: 

• Preserving floors, tiles, and woodwork 

• Honoring the home’s original style (a remodel might turn a midcentury home contemporary)

Renovate

Renovation describes updating and fixing a home to make it more attractive and functional. However, this term doesn’t cover changes to the home’s floor plan (as remodeling might).

Home renovations can be minor but impactful, and as such, affordable. For example, a DIY-er could renovate a structurally sound, contemporary home with a budget-friendly bathroom upgrade or by updating paint hues to trendier ones. 

Renovating: What it is and isn’t

Interior and exterior renovations aim to take a property into the future, not preserve its past. The goal also isn’t to gut the property and start from scratch but to improve the look of the space with cosmetic changes. 

Renovating is:

• Focused on aesthetic improvements 

• Less likely to require permits as it doesn’t include structural changes 

• As simple as a fresh coat of paint or as extensive as giving a room a full “facelift”

• Concerned with making the necessary repairs to get the home market-ready

Renovating isn’t: 

• Conserving antique details in good condition

• Tearing down walls and changing the layout of a home

• Necessarily costly or requiring expert help (i.e., from architects, engineers, or electricians)

Definitions aren’t always strict

You’ll likely hear people refer to refurbishing, renovating, and remodeling projects interchangeably.

Even though there are technical differences between the three terms, they are similar and share some overlap. For example, a refurbishing project that includes upgrading windows sounds pretty similar to a renovation project that does the same. Or a complete renovation could include some refurbishments, like polishing existing floors.

That said, when discussing your plans with a lender or real estate agent, specificity helps. Take the following scenario: some upgrade loans only cover certain types of work, and being able to share your ideas clearly with the lender will help determine your eligibility.

Do I need to refurbish, remodel, or renovate my home?

The Wall Street Journal reports that a turnkey home can be more attractive to buyers and has a stronger chance of competing against new constructions in your area. So, it’s wise to make your home as market-ready as possible before attempting to sell. And that means performing upgrades.

Before you dig in, get a professional opinion on what changes you should make. Have your home inspected to uncover plumbing, HVAC, electricity, or structural issues that could require remodeling.

And ask your real estate agent for their expert opinion on the aesthetic qualities of your home. Realtors are experts on the local market and know what types of upgrades appeal to buyers. Their expert advice can save you wasted time and money on updates that wouldn’t have generated much value. A real estate professional might recommend shifting the layout (a remodel), doing basic DIY projects to make the space look more contemporary, or refurbishing classic features that are attractive to buyers in your area.

Use a Titus CLoC to refurbish or renovate your home

Learning the difference between “refurbish” versus “remodel” versus “renovate” helps you navigate the world of home upgrades (and the loans that back them). But you can approach these processes with far better guidance by partnering with a top-notch real estate agent.

Work with a Titus-affiliated agent and learn how to make your property shine. Not only will you get expert support, but you’ll also gain access to a unique financing tool: a closing line of credit (CLoC). Credits of up to $25,000 are zero-interest and cost you nothing out-of-pocket. Learn how it works here.