Tips for Increasing Your Home’s Value
Considering selling your home? Perhaps you’re just looking for ways to build on your investment. Whatever the reason, making a commitment to increasing your home’s value can be daunting. However, with the right strategies and additions, you can drastically improve the look and value of your property in one fell swoop. From kitchen upgrades to landscaping efforts and everything in between, you’ll find it’s easier than you ever imagined to boost your home’s value and make a more comfortable living space for you and any future owner.
A Fresh Coat of Paint
Revamping your home’s interior and exterior walls with a fresh coat of paint can pay dividends when it comes time to sell. Hire a professional painter to give your home the facelift it needs. For just a few hundred dollars, you can fetch thousands more during the sale. Whether you decide to paint yourself or hire a professional, be sure to use paint products that don’t contain VOCs, as these harmful compounds can result in serious medical issues.
Focus on the Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of the home, and making improvements in this area could greatly contribute to increased home value. You don’t have to completely remodel your cooking space. Enhance the look of the room by refinishing or painting the cabinets, add a new backsplash that serves as a focal point, or purchase a rolling island that provides extra counter space but can be easily stowed away for more room. You may also consider replacing your hardware. Switching out stained and rusted handles and pulls on your cabinets will make a significant impact on the overall look of the space, and adding chrome or stainless steel faucets can give the room an injection of upscale design.
Step Up Your Curb Appeal
Your home’s curb appeal matters. Increasing your home’s value by thousands of dollars could be as simple as adding landscaping features. Landscaping can add up to 20 percent more value to a given property, and one of the most effective ways to do so is adding a tree. The value of a tree in your front yard will continue to increase as the tree grows; not only does it heighten your chances of a better sell, but it can also affect energy efficiency—you’d be surprised how much natural shade can save you when it comes to cooling costs. Browse the available trees at TheTreeCenter.com. Looking for a low cost way to boost your yard’s aesthetic appeal? Create flowerbeds, create a DIY garden box, and use native plants to save water and effort.
Enhance Your Lighting
Buyers want bright spaces, and doing all you can to enhance both the natural and artificial lighting in your home can make a big difference in appearance of space. Simple ways to achieve better lighting? Install dimmers. These can help set the mood, perfect for those eventual walkthroughs with prospective buyers. You may also install lighting that only turns on when motion is detected. When it comes to emphasizing natural light, start small. Change your curtains or window treatments and prune back bushes that may be blocking the sun’s rays. If you’re looking to spend a bit more, consider installing a skylight or adding more windows to your space.
Going Green
The push towards sustainability and eco-friendly features has forever transformed the landscape of real estate. Buyers are looking for green features, and energy efficient upgrades can definitely work in your favor when it comes to fetching a higher price at resale. From solar panels to energy efficient appliances, added insulation to eco-friendly irrigation systems, there’s no limit to the ways you can make your home greener. While upgrades like solar water heaters and new windows can be costly, investments like these are now affordable through organizations like Renovate America. This company offers a Los Angeles PACE program—one that can be found in many other California communities, as well—that helps homeowners finance energy efficient projects, meaning you can make those vital upgrades to your home. These investments can help you save on your current living expenses, and allow you to demand a higher price when you put your home on the market.
Boosting the value of your property doesn’t need to break the bank. With simple fixes and strategic additions, you can improve your own comfort and expect a much better selling price in the future.