Whether you are planning to sell your home in the near future or quite a ways down the road, you can make updates to make your home more livable for yourself that will also speed up the selling process when the time comes.
8 Best Home Improvement Tips to Make Before Selling Your Home
There are several home improvements tips you can make before putting your home on the market. Any home improvement should update your entire home, no matter how small the update is. Your goal is to make your home look move-in ready to prospective buyers instead of them seeing some new trend that could just turn them off. You have to keep in mind that you don’t want trendy, but classy improvements.
Perfectly Painted
One of the least expensive home improvements you can make that gives you a bang for your buck is a new, fresh coat of paint on the walls. This update doesn’t take a lot of time either. Keep in mind that you want to use neutral colors that are not overly bright or dark. If you already have a statement wall in your living room in a dark or bright color, consider covering that wall up in a neutral color to match the other walls. This will attract buyers with more interest in your home. Popular neutral colors include gray, white, charcoal, beige and light blue. You can change colors from room to room if you wish but stay close to the same color palette so all of the rooms fit together in a sense. Make sure you choose a color that goes with your home decor so that it has even more appeal to prospective buyers. Don’t use wallpaper as it can go out of style or not appeal to a buyer’s taste.
Darling Front Doors
The front of your home is the first thing people see. You can improve their first impression by painting your front door or you can replace it with a newer version. A brightly colored front door makes your home more memorable as a whole. If you don’t like this idea, you can replace your existing door with a steel door or replace your old screen door on the front with a new glass door. If you do use paint, use a bright or light primary color and make certain that the door matches the home’s entire exterior so it doesn’t look like an afterthought.
Beautiful Bathrooms
One of the best areas to update for a buyer is by making an investment in the bathrooms to increase your resale value. You can make very small changes in a bathroom that really make it stand out and excite all who look at your home. Some of the best bathrooms remodel involve replacing the vanity, replacing all of the fixtures in the shower, tub and sink and re-caulking the tub so it appears much newer. These simple items will make a bathroom shine as if it were brand new. If you want to invest more in the bathroom, you can purchase a new tub or refinish the one you already have, or install new flooring and wall tiles. You may not want to create a luxury bathroom though, because many people may not like this style.
Cut Out the Clutter
This improvement doesn’t actually directly affect the value of your home, but it can greatly speed up the sale of your house if you declutter it. Clean out all of your storage areas and closets to make the entire home appear roomier and it makes it easier for others to picture their belongings in your home. This is the least expensive upgrade in that you only need to rent a dumpster to get rid of unused and unwanted items and then you can work at your own pace going room to room. Stuffed closets make them appear much smaller than closets that have fewer items in them. If you don’t want to part with some items that you don’t use very often you can rent a small storage area until you move. The most important thing to remember about clutter is not to hide unwanted items in the garage or a storage shed. Prospective buyers will be looking in these areas too.
Bring on the Energy Efficiency
Making your home more energy efficient is a great asset for the resale value and it can bring you to cost savings before you sell your home. You can improve energy efficiency in several manners. You can add insulation to your home or replace appliances with newer energy-efficient models to help decrease your electric bill and to get credits on your tax return all while increasing your resale value. You should definitely keep the paperwork on new appliances to show prospective buyers that they are Energy Star rated or show them copies of your utility bills. Any home that is 15 years or older can see the return on this investment at the sale for replacing an old hot water heater with a new on-demand system, adding insulation to the attic or new caulking around doors and windows. Avoid adding solar panels though. They do add energy efficiency, but they require maintenance that a new homeowner may not be interested in.
Fresh Flooring
Updating your flooring is a great way to improve the look and value of any home. Hardwood floors are one of the more expensive types, but they are loved by all for the clean appearance and ease of maintenance. If you already have hardwood flooring, you can simply have it refinished to a bright and shiny luster that appears new. Otherwise, you can replace older worn carpeting or install vinyl floors, which can impress buyers. Don’t select unique tile patterns, because the buyers may not be impressed with this style.
Lower Landscaping Needs
You can improve your curb appeal by reducing landscaping needs. It attracts viewers and helps to close the deal easily. The best landscaping remodels for resale include low maintenance with curb appeal through attractive items. You can remove any high maintenance plants or trees, clear the weeds and simply edge your sidewalks and driveways for a neat and attractive lawn. Trimming your bushes and trees so they don’t take up too much space and fertilizing your lawn helps keep it green, lush and tidy. You can consider hiring a landscaper to add hearty plants that look great and require very little attention. Don’t add large topiaries or flower beds that require too much work. This is a turnoff to most buyers in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
Basement Business
Many homeowners don’t realize that they have more square footage in an unfinished basement. The cost of finishing a basement is more than other home improvements; however, it gives you the best return on your updates than any other. An external addition to your home for more square footage is way more expensive and adds less value than a basement remodels, which is a far more cost-effective way to add space. Make sure to get permits and inspections on the basement remodel to add the price of the renovation to the price of your home.
These home improvement tips are the best of the bunch to raise the value of your home in the case that you want to sell it in the future. You can start with one at a time from the least costly to the most costly so you can recoup all your money in the end.
