4 Easy Tips To Improve Your Home’s Value
Not everyone has the money for a huge renovation to improve their home’s resale value. If you’re hoping to sell your home and move soon, it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you need to spend a ton of money to increase your chances of getting a good offer on your home. Fortunately, this isn’t the case; there are plenty of ways to increase your home’s value without having to put too much money into it. Here are a few simple ways you can increase your home’s value for a reasonable price.
All About Appearances
One of the easiest ways to improve the value of your home without actually changing anything major is to clean up its appearance. There are a few ways of doing this, both inside and outside your home. Start with your exterior and your landscaping; your home’s curb appeal is one of the five most important factors in selling it. Keep your yard looking beautiful, and your house is sure to bring in a bit extra cash when it’s time to sell.
According to Andrew Wormer of deckmagazine.com, “The backyard is one of the last home improvement frontiers, and homeowners in all climates are increasingly turning to deck builders and other outdoor living specialists to transform their oversized, under-used lawns into functional spaces for cooking, eating, entertaining, and just plain relaxing.”
And Jeff Pelletier of architecture and design firm Board & Vellum notes that he is “seeing a bigger push towards more than one outdoor room with the opportunity to make them all outdoor versions of the rooms inside your home.”
You can also improve your home’s value by altering its interior appearance with some simple palette switches throughout your home. On average, homeowners are willing to spend $2,200 on a living room redecoration. That tells us even a room that important really just need a freshening up to increase a home’s value. Picking the right colors for different rooms can have a huge impact. In fact, Zillow’s 2017 Paint Colors Analysis found that homes with blue bathrooms sold for $5,400 more than expected. That being said, over one-third of respondents in a 2017 Interior Design Trends survey reported that they would choose a neutral color palette when redecorating their home. Repainting a room is a fairly quick adjustment that can be taken care of at minimal cost, but the impact it can have on your home’s value can be staggering.
Well Maintained, But Not High-Maintenance
Before you put your home on the market, take time to schedule any maintenance or repairs you’ve been putting off. It might feel like a bit of a waste if you’re going to be moving soon, but the money you put in now will be worth it when it comes time to sell. Homeowners who replace their windows can get back 80% of their investment, and there are a variety of other repairs and replacements that end up paying for themselves in terms of resale value.
If you are renovating a bathroom, make sure to choose materials that are both attractive and easy to clean and maintain. Jeff Patterson of Home Repair Tutor says, “The biggest trend we see in bathrooms is building curbless showers with timeless materials like subway tiles, marble, and glass shower doors.”
“Tranquil spa like spaces are on the top of every bathroom renovation wish list,” says Eric Phelps of Easy Sanitary Solutions. “Simply clean transition points thru out the space are made possible with linear drains. Form and Function create a must have upgrade to the old solutions that have limited clean transitional spaces in the bath.”
Another hot bathroom trend? According to Julia Billen, owner and president of WarmlyYours Radiant Heating, “The most popular trend in floor heating for residential remodels has been the pairing of floor heating cables with an uncoupling membrane. This combination is particularly popular in high moisture installations like kitchens and bathrooms that are going to use tile as a floor covering as the combination of cable and membrane helps cut down on installation time while also extending the lifetimes of relatively fragile flooring types like tile.”
A Little At A Time
Taylor Rennick of Builder Funnel says that she is “seeing more and more renovations being completed specifically to raise a home’s value for resale.” Of course, if you have plans for a larger renovation but can’t afford to fix everything right now, try tackling it a little bit at a time. Take care of one room at a time to keep stress levels relatively low during home maintenance. Doing a little is better than doing nothing at all, and taking care of what you can improve your home’s worth in the meantime while you save up for other updates.
“When budget is a concern, spend it on the rooms that matter the most for resale, and update kitchens and baths,” says interior designer Lori Dennis. “For the rest of the home, a can of white paint is your best friend. It’s affordable, you DIY and it will freshen up the entire place.”
Bright Ideas
Generally speaking, well-lit homes receive better responses than darker homes, so keep this in mind when making updates throughout your home. You can take advantage of people’s preference for well-lit spaces by improving your lighting throughout your home or repainting spaces with lighter colors to make them seem brighter. Additionally, if you’re posting photos online, make sure they’re well lit, and don’t be afraid to brighten up your images a bit to help catch people’s attention.
Of course, your home can be bright and still feel cozy. According to Gigi Holtkamp, a design curator at Layla Grayce, “Homeowners are moving toward more intimate environments rather than open floor plans, creating cozy nooks within their homes for relaxing and spending time together.”
Improving your home’s value can be a bit tricky, but there are a few simple ways to get a better offer on your home without having to spend a fortune. Look for small fixes you can make throughout your house that will greatly increase the offer your home gets once it’s time to sell.
