After spending the majority of the year at home, either working or homeschooling the children if you have kids, you may have noticed some areas in your home which are in need of a makeover. These upgrades aren’t just the aesthetics, but also about your home’s functionality. And if you’re strategic about which renovation projects to undertake, you may even end up choosing those which can increase your home’s market value.
In this economic uncertainty today, it doesn’t hurt to give yourself the advantage of increasing your home’s market value. That way, should you decide to sell your home to Four 19 Properties or other cash buyers, you can have the most out of its sale. Most importantly, your home won’t stay stale for too long in the real estate market. While renovating a home may mean a significant bite on your budget, these are expenses you can have back once you begin enjoying the returns.
If you’re looking to reconfigure or renovate your home as one of your projects this year, you may want to focus on those which can boost your home’s value. These include:
1. Repaint Your Home
Repainting your home is one of the easiest and most cost-effective means to boost your home’s value. It's a home project you can easily do yourself. Or, if you’re working on the entire home and you want to finish fast, you can also hire expert paint contractors. Whichever route you take, however, you can still have that guarantee of a worth-it project.
The reason for this is simple. A newly painted home makes it look, feel, and smell new. This can make it more attractive to potential buyers. Also, it can fix any wall problems that may have had your home looking quite outdated.
A good tip to follow is to paint your home with more neutral colors. If you have bright, colorful walls, this won’t appeal to a lot of potential buyers. But with neutral colors, you can appeal to a wider range of buyers. This also increases your home’s marketability, thereby increasing its worth.
2. Improve Your Window Treatments
If your home has outdated window treatments, it’s a good idea to improve, too. The older ones can be anything from plastic blinds, aluminum blinds, or paper blinds, which may be functional but are hurting your home’s aesthetics. A good alternative is to change to more appealing window treatments such as drapes, plantation shutters, and wooden blinds.
Especially if you’re going to opt for neutral colors, those new window treatments can increase your home’s value once you decide to sell your home.
3. Finish Your Basement
If you have a basement and it’s been nothing but a dumping ground of your clutter and old items, now’s a good time for you to finish it up. Give your basement a purge and empty it of things you’re no longer going to use. Then, think of the possible upgrades or renovations you can do to transform the space.
When it comes to your basement, the options are limitless. The choice boils down to your preference as to what your family would love to have. But some of the upgrades you can do include:
- Start by keeping it dry, so moisture and leaks won’t linger;
- Insulate it, so you can keep the cold out and the warmth in;
- Make a family room or a recreation room;
- Make the staircase attractive;
- Finish the walls to make it have a more inviting ambiance.
4. Make Your Home Energy-Efficient
One of the best upgrades you can do to your home to increase its value is to make it more energy-efficient. The best tip is to have solar power installed. This may be quite an investment for now, but in the long run, the cost-savings from being energy-efficient will add up and make the expense worth it. With many potential homeowners looking for more energy-efficient homes, you’re guaranteed that equipping your home with a renewable energy source increases its value.
Apart from installing solar power, there are other upgrades you can do to make your home more energy-efficient. These include:
- Bring in more natural light by having bigger windows;
- Create a skylight.
Conclusion
With the examples of upgrades above, are you now ready to make your home more beautiful and functional? Apart from the benefits, the upgrades can even be effective in giving your home’s value a boost. When you’re going to be spending on renovations, you’ll want the expense to be worth it.
The last thing you want is to spend money and then find out the renovations you did actually reduced your home’s value, rather than increase it. Take it one project at a time, and you’ll definitely enjoy your home even more. When you re-sell, you’ll be glad to know your home’s value has increased, too.
