Everybody wants a nicer house, but while some home

improvements may boost your lifestyle, they don’t necessarily add equal value to your house.

Although the return on investment partly depends on where you live,

here are some general rules…

Real-estate brokers say the more you do to enhance your home’s “curb appeal” (or how it looks when a potential buyer pulls into your driveway), the more likely you are to sell it at the price you want.

A recent survey by the national Association of Realtors showed that remodeling your kitchen or Bathrooms was one of the best ways to add value to your house. On average, 88%of the cost of a kitchen remodeling is recouped in the resale of a house, the survey says, while 82% of the cost of remodeling a bathroom is recouped.

Adding a room or garage to your house is one of the more expensive improvements you can make, but it can pay off. The NAR survey says that about 84% of the cost of an addition is recouped when a home is resold. However, the association warns that “only careful design and seamless execution make this pricey piece of work pay off at the settlement table.

Converting underused rooms - such as a basement - into more functional space can make the house more livable, but you won’t necessarily get all your money back. The NAR survey showed that on average you’ll get 75% back if you convert your attic into a bedroom and about 69% back if you refinish your basement.

Making the yard look better always improves curb appeal, but if you put $10,000 into your backyard, don’t expect to see all that money back.

A good rule of thumb: Don’t leave too much of your own lifestyle in the house.