The real estate market is full of ups and downs. But when you are ready to sell your home, there is one thing that never changes: you want to get the best price. If you are considering putting your home on the market, here are five ways to increase your home’s value and three things you shouldn’t waste your time or money on.
The best ways to increase the value of your home
1. Paint, paint, paint
One of the easiest and most cost-effective improvements you can make to your home is painting the interior. Freshly painted rooms look clean and updated, and that means more value.
Remember, when you are selecting paint colors to list your home for sale, you want to attract as many buyers as possible. So, keep things light and neutral. Nobody wants to “repaint that wall deep red” at the top of their to-do list when they move into a new home.
The average gallon of paint costs about $ 25. Even when you buy rollers, brushes, protective rags, and painter’s tape, you can renovate a room or two in your home for less than $ 100.
2. Renew your lawn
Before a buyer sees the inside of your home, they must get to your front door. Sometimes this short walk can make or break a purchase.
Curb appeal is very important when it comes to the value of your home, so you should avoid overgrown bushes and uneven lawns. It is worth hiring a professional landscaping company for your lawn renovation and will only cost a few hundred dollars (depending on the size of your lawn).
Investing in someone with amazing tools to spend a few hours trimming and grooming your lawn, tending to your bushes and shrubs, and eating grass on your property is money well spent. You can add some extra curb appeal with the addition of colorful shrubs and plants from your local garden center that are easy to maintain.
3. Replace the garage door
If you replace your garage door, experts say you can get 10 times the return on that investment. If you are looking for a housing project with a great payoff, this is the place.
“A new $ 500 door could add $ 5,000 to your asking price in the right neighborhood,” said Michele Harrington, COO of First Team Real Estate in California. USA Today.
4. Replacement of worn rugs or carpets
If you have stained or worn carpets in your home, this will be an immediate turnoff for buyers. If you can rip out the carpet and replace it throughout your home, that’s the best case. If you can’t do it all at once, start in the room where the rugs and rugs are the most worn.
5. Remodeling the bathroom / Updating the kitchen
Nothing will add value to your home faster than a bathroom remodel or a kitchen update. They’re the two rooms that benefit the most from even the smallest renovations, like replacing outdated wallpaper or an old vanity, updating lighting and fixtures, or adding a new tile floor. Kitchen and bathroom makeovers can improve the value of your home by thousands. At the high end, we are talking about 50,000 to 100,000. But even an average home can make big profits.
“Think of adding value to your home as a savings account,” says Omar A. Barragán, a real estate salesman in New York with Corcoran Baer & McIntosh. “The more you improve something, the more likely you are to retain your investment and hopefully even benefit from it.”
Startup updates that don’t add much value
1. A new roof
Replacing a roof beyond its average useful life of 30 years is actually considered maintenance, not an upgrade. If you put thousands of dollars on a new roof, that doesn’t automatically mean a higher purchase price for your home.
However, a new roof can be a nice touch for a buyer who is undecided. Knowing that they won’t have to do that repair anytime soon can be a huge advantage.
2. Dated decor updates
You may be in love with white appliances or rose gold bathroom fixtures, but not all of them have your tastes. Home decor has as many trends as fashion, but you don’t want to decorate your home in the latest style. You really don’t want to add expensive, modern items to your décor in the expectation that it will increase the resale value of your home.
Some people don’t like 12×12 ceramic tiles. And not everyone is a fan of barn doors. When you are decorating or remodeling your home to sell and incorporate details to add value, always think neutral and classic. If the project is anything modern (painted accent walls, mid-century light fixtures, overlap), you won’t see any return on that investment.
3: Extensive professional landscaping
As important as a clean lawn with some curb appeal is, there’s no need to overdo it. In fact, there is a point where you will not get any return on your investment. You can spend thousands of dollars on water features and pools, erect a pergola, build a bridge over a pond, and install the best swing set money can buy. But you will never get that investment back.
Landscaping options, especially backyards, are personal. Some people don’t want to spend money to maintain a professionally landscaped backyard. Others may view a pool as a safety hazard.
The point is that a clean lawn and curb appeal is a great investment. However, extensive professional landscaping is not worth it when selling your home.