Cost-Efficient Ways to Improve Home Value

When it comes to reselling your property, you might find yourself scrambling to figure out what you can do to improve home value in the eyes of others. Unfortunately, a number of the home improvements you make to your home don’t even come close to increasing the value of your home enough to make up for what you spent.

Here’s a great home construction remodeling tip; instead of focusing on huge, expensive improvements to your home, consider small, simple ways to improve the appeal of your home, and increase what you can get for it as you try to sell.

Simple, Inexpensive Ways to Boost Curb Appeal

One of the best things you can do when it comes to boosting your home’s resale value, and encouraging potential buyers to feel good about your home, is to improve the curb appeal. Your home makes a first impression, and the way it looks when others pull up has a big impact on the perception of value. Your home is more likely to sell at a higher price if the first impression is one that encourages the thought that your home is really worth something.

You can boost your home’s curb appeal with a few simple and inexpensive home renovations:

• Neaten the yard: Keep the lawn mowed and cared for. Pull weeds. Trim the hedges. Plant a few flowers. Remove trash and toys.
• Add some paint: If you have a fence, touch up the paint. If the exterior looks dingy, pressure-wash the exterior, repaint, or update the siding (although doing the siding can get expensive).
• Replace the front door: According to Remodeling Magazine, you will recoup the entire cost (less than $1,300) of replacing your front door. Plus, it gives the home a neater, newer look when you have a new front door.

You’ll be amazed at what you can do with a little elbow grease to improve the look of your exterior.

Neal’s Notes:   If you do need to spend a few pesos on home improvement, make sure you are smart about financing these renovations.

Improve the Interior

Make small changes to the interior can also help. Have the carpets deeply cleaned. If you don’t have the time or inclination to do it yourself, hire someone to come and clean your carpet. It’s worth it to provide that clean look.

You can also add new paint to the walls. Clean scuffs off baseboards and touch up the paint. Try to avoid garish colors as you redo the paint, since you will be more likely to get more for your money with neutral colors.

Some areas where a cheap home upgrades can stand out are in the kitchens and bathrooms. You don’t have to go whole hog, but replacing old cabinets (or at least re-staining them) can help breathe fresh life into the kitchen. New tile around the tub, or a new sink, in the bathrooms can also make a difference. Small ways to improve the look of your kitchen and bathroom can go a long way toward increasing the chances of selling your home in a timely manner, and for a better price.

And, of course, when you are ready to sell, consider staging your home. A professional may cost some money, but staging your home in a way that makes it look spacious and inviting can help you sell faster, and increase the chances that you will get what you want.

Tom Drake is the owner and head writer at MapleMoney, a Canadian personal finance blog that’s been featured on Forbes, The Globe and Mail, and Reader’s Digest.