Adding Square Footage - Worth It?

[Bryan Andrews]

Aloha Bigger Pockets!

How do I assess the value in adding square footage to a property? 

I’m moving to Southern Illinois from Hawaii and am currently under contract to buy a duplex in the area. My plan is to house-hack it with this property and hold onto it as I take my first steps into Real Estate Investing. 

The duplex is 4 bed/2 bath (2 bed/1 bath each) with a total of 1800 square feet. So it’s small and the layout doesn’t offer up the most functionality for the livable space. I’ve been wrestling with the prospect of reconfiguring the layout/adding additional square footage, but since I’m so new to real estate I’m struggling to determine whether or not I would see a return on any of the money I would put into those changes. 

I’ve done my best to research and draft up estimates, but figured I might as well turn to the Bigger Pockets community to see what advice could be had.

Mahalo for your time and thoughts!