Our home is one of our most valuable assets. Making home improvements can boost the value even more. Moreover, improvements make your home a nicer place to live.
However, it’s no secret that remodeling and making renovations can be quite expensive. The high cost of home improvement is one of the main reasons why many delay making them.
Below is a list of tips to increase a home’s value without spending too much.
Clean and Declutter – You can add value to your home by keeping it clean and organized while also minimizing the amount of stuff you have. It will not only boost your home’s value, but also make your home look more attractive and comfortable.
Increase Usable Space – The amount of livable square feet is one of the factors that determines a home’s value and price. The more livable and usable space your home contains, the higher the value. Use this as an opportunity to get rid of extra furniture you have lying around that you accumulated over the years.
Dress It Up with Fresh Paint – A fresh coat of paint will help make your home look brand new. Using neutral colors will be more inviting. A smart move that I see many of my sellers do is before they paint, they remove all the pictures and artwork from the walls and they fix up all the holes. This way, it provides a nice fresh look that a buyer can envision themselves in. If you’re painting anyway, you might as well remove the family pictures.
Improve Your Curb Appeal – There’s a saying that goes, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” However, in this case, looking good on the outside can say a lot about what’s inside. It generally gives me a sense of the sellers if they’re the type to maintain their home and if they value maintaining besides just cosmetic updates.
Working on the exterior of your home will make a huge difference to the value and to the perception of the buyers of your home. Power-washing your driveway, mowing the lawn, cleaning the windows, replacing or painting the old front door, making sure the stairs aren’t broken or cracked, and a basic upgrade of your landscape can go a long way. Even replacing your garbage cans if they’re broken or cracked gives a vibe to the buyers that you’re the type who maintains their property.
Update Your Kitchen’s Look – Many consider the kitchen as the central feature of a home. It would then be smart to give your kitchen an updated look. It could just mean changing the backsplash and painting the kitchen or maybe upgrading some of the furniture in the kitchen.
I never advise people to redo the kitchen completely, just in order to sell. The ROI (return on investment) of what you put in you don’t always get back, but the minor remodeling of appliances and the painting of the backsplash can add tremendous value to your home.
These are some basic ways on how to positively affect the value and price of your home. Even the most relatively inexpensive renovations can enhance your property’s value. Although it is important to determine the costs incurred in improving a home, it is also important to consider how much of that cost you’ll recoup.
If you intend to sell your home, then it would be best to reach out to a licensed real estate agent because their experience will enable them to give you advice, which can help you determine what would be the best course of action to take so your home will appeal more to potential buyers.