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How to Increase the Value of Your Home

Apr 23
11:00
AM
Category | General

If you are looking to sell now, or down the road, it can be challenging to know where exactly to invest your money to increase the value and appeal of your home. By following some of these strategies, you should be able to get a good return on investment and have success with moving on to your next location.

Staging and Cleaning: Start with the basics and work diligently to declutter and clean your home. This is something you can do on your own with help from friends that does not cost anything. Throw out old papers, donate dated furniture that you don’t need, organize cabinets, closets, etc.

From there, look to stage your home. Realtors are a great resource of recommendations for how to best organize your furniture layout to make the biggest impact. You can also hire a professional to stage for you. This service is very different from decorating or designing and does not necessarily mean you need to paint or buy all new furniture. It’s simply about making your home appear more neutral and allowing a buyer to visualize their family in the home.

Work on Curb Appeal: You only have the first impression to get a buyer interested in your home so why not start with the outside; the first glimpse of the house they will get. Your outdoor space is free extra square footage and you want to make it look as appealing as possible. Even if you don’t have a lot of money for plantings, new stonework, new outdoor furniture, or paint, at the bare minimum focus on the entrance. Brighten it up with flowers or plants that trim the walkway and make sure the walk from the car to the front door looks as good as it can.

Invest in the Top Two: The two most important rooms in your home are your kitchen and your bathroom. If you have a limited budget of time or finances, you must get these spaces done to the best of your ability. Even if you can only afford a fresh coat of paint, it will make a big impact. Be sure to stick to a neutral palette with any changes you make to these rooms. The worst is when you invest in renovations and the new buyer does not like the style you chose.

Photography: With online listings being the popular place to search for new homes, make sure you have great photos of the interior of your home to nail that first impression. The easy solution is to a hire a real estate photographer, but if you really can’t afford to do that, there are free photo editing apps available like VSCO that can make a big impact.

No matter which of these tips you choose to apply to the sale of your home, it’s important to evaluate which projects you can do yourself and which are wroth investing in a professional’s help. Even though taking on projects alone can save money, if they are done poorly, the buyer will notice.