The value of your home can decrease over time, if you don’t keep up with needed home improvements. Even if you are not trying to sell your home at this time, you have probably already thought about it at some point. Why wait to improve your home until you sell it? Simple improvements will increase the value while you get to enjoy it now. When the time comes to sell, you’ll be ready to put it on the market.
Improve the Building Exterior
The exterior of your house is just as important as the interior. Faded paint, broken siding, and clapboards being taken over by vines, decrease the appeal of your home. When you have the money for it, new siding is great. Or a fresh coat of paint can significantly rejuvenate the exterior. If the exterior is just dirty, you might consider having it power washed to remove debris. The point is to improve the appearance. Curb appeal matters when selling your home.
Create a Simple Landscape
When you purchase a home, you may want to landscape with flowering shrubbery, trees, ornamental grasses and other expensive items. However, when trying to sell it, you should look more toward green lawns and simple flowerscapes with are far less expensive. Lawn maintenance is manageable and inexpensive. Adding patches of flowers with simple borders will draw attention without breaking your budget. Plus it makes for easy upkeep.
A prospective buyer doesn’t want to look at your yard and see a lot of work to do, which is why hiring a professional to do some lawn care maintenance could work wonders for the value of your home. This will ensure that your grass is green, your shrubs are trimmed, and everything outside of your house looks healthy and easy with which to deal. Keeping your lawn in fantastic shape creates a positive first and last impression, as well, which could be the thing that convinces a potential buyer to make an offer.
Choose One Main Theme
It’s easy to get caught up in the latest trends, but it’s hard not to get carried away with them. You don’t want an ultramodern look in the kitchen, a retro look in the bathroom, and a vintage look in the living room. Instead, plan out one main theme that flows throughout the house. This is much more appealing to prospective buyers.
Keep it Energy-efficient
Older homes are rarely energy-efficient. When the heating, cooling, and water bills are out of hand, you might not be sure how to reduce them. So many people overlook energy audits which tell you where you are losing energy and what you can do to stop that. Check with your utility companies to see if they provide this service. Most do so for low or no cost.
Update Your Kitchen Instead of Remodeling
The first thing most people think of when it comes to improving the value of their home is a complete kitchen renovation. That means a huge expense to remodel and upgrade the one room. Realistically, you can update your kitchen without going to that extent, especially if you are good at do-it-yourself projects. Focus on appliances, cabinets, counters, and the floor. Swap outdated appliances with newer models, sanding and restaining cabinets, replacing worn countertops, and replacing damaged or outdated floors.
Bathrooms Matter
The bathroom is an important area to improve. Replace fixtures like toilets and sinks and faucets with newer models, especially if they are old or in poor condition. Replacing the old flooring with tiles can make the room very appealing. Fresh paint on the walls and adding little focal points can significantly improve this room.
Light up the House
It’s amazing how much lighting will improve your home. Replacing dull lighting fixtures with modern ones will generally improve energy-efficiency as well as brighten the room. Potential buyers don’t want to walk through dark hallways, and it gives the area negative energy. Recessed or dimmer lights can change the atmosphere of a room in big ways. So don’t forget to upgrade the lights.
These are just a few ideas that can help you improve the value of your house. Have you got any great suggestions to add to this list? We’d love to hear them! Share them in the comments!
