There are two caveats to heed when redoing homes, each meant for one of the two prime categories of remodelers.

Remodelers who stay put

For the first group –- those who remodel to enjoy their home for years to come -– it’s still smart to keep the next owner in the back of your mind.

While that doesn’t mean you should avoid transforming your basement into a luxurious home office or gym when you’ve been dying to do so, termed a lifestyle decision, it does mean you should be aware that not all future buyers will find your redo appealing. Moreover, many won’t be willing to pay for it when they make an offer.

In other words, you may not recoup 100 percent or even 95 percent of your investment. In fact, many new homeowners will want to change everything you’ve done, says Bruce Meller, who operates Home Forge Remodeling, Atlanta, a company that focuses on transforming kitchens and bathrooms within a few quick weeks.

His overall advice: Remodel the way you want if you plan to stay for more than five years rather than remodel for someone else. But it’s also smart to know that certain remodeling projects appeal more to some than others. Which fall into this category? To find out read Remodeling Magazine’s “Cost vs. Value” annual report, which details paybacks on different projects nationally and in different parts of the country.

Right now a minor kitchen remodel, costing almost $15,000, brings a national return of 98.5 percent while a more upscale redo, costing almost $85,000, means a smaller 85.7 percent return. The more minimal kitchen redo is more valued in the West, followed by the East, South and Midwest.

But kitchen redos still are more popular than many others, including a home office, which costs on average $13,000 nationwide and offers a return of just 72.8 percent.

To get a good handle in your own backyard, look at houses for sale and those that sold recently, which tells you what appeals in certain price ranges and areas, says Bob Formisano, a home repair expert with About.com. Midwesterners generally want basements while those in Florida and Arizona don’t because of the soil and climate, explains Formisano, also a licensed architect and residential builder.

When it comes to price, if most kitchens have laminate countertops and GE appliances, don’t go with granite and Sub-Zero or Viking appliances unless you’re a gourmet cook or really care about those improvements, he says.

In Atlanta homes where he’s worked, Meller has found that it’s more worthwhile for owners to put dollars into quality appliances in kitchens and forego features that readily can be changed such as flooring and countertops.

When it comes to less popular remodeling projects, Meller, Formisano and others suggest sometimes going with a less expensive solution. For example, paint can dramatically change a room’s look. Portable light fixtures can illuminate a room well and without tearing open a ceiling to add recessed cans.

Landscaping and carpet also are great, affordable change artists, adds Michelle Neujahr, who’s remodeled about seven homes. At the same time that you focus on these popular redos, don’t neglect vital structural fix-ups, such as rotted shingles or a malfunctioning furnace. These should be tackled before the fluffy stuff. “You don’t want to put in an $80,000 kitchen only to have it ruined if the roof goes,” Meller says.

Remodeling to sell

The second category of remodelers are those who tackle redos to compete with neighborhood homes in better shape or to eliminate a structural problem because they quickly want to sell and for a higher price. This group also is wise to proceed cautiously. Meller suggests they have a building inspection before they list their home so major repairs don’t adversely affect negotiations.

Formisano also suggests they think like a “flipper” or investor and make improvements that don’t cost too much or take too long, yet cosmetically improve their home. Curb appeal also adds value, as does its interior version, such as dressing up a dated kitchen with new knobs or lighting. In certain cases, it does pay to keep up with the Joneses.

“Most renovations are about keeping up with the times,” says Jacky Teplitzky, a residential real estate broker at Prudential Douglas Elliman, New York. She’s convinced many sellers to replace a plain white laminate kitchen –- “So 10 years ago!” –- with contemporary wood cabinets and granite or marble countertops.

But also she cautions not overdoing it, even if the Joneses are. Expensive marble bathrooms and mahogany kitchen cabinets won’t help move an apartment in a pre-War, walk-up building in certain New York neighborhoods, she says. Instead, owners should make changes in relation to other units in their building and fix the little things -– holes in walls, signs of water damage, condensation. While it’s hard to peg a price tag on fix-ups of either category, one good bottom line, according to Teplitzky, is to remember that the higher your sales price the greater the buyers’ expectations.