Owning a home is a dream come true for many people. It gives them a sense of fulfillment after years of putting extra hours at work. But there may be instances when homeowners will have to sell their homes due to unforeseen circumstances.
In these situations, they want to sell their homes at a good price. So, it’s necessary to increase its resale value to get the most out of their investment. Here are some tips to increase the resale value of your home in case you want to put it out in the market.
1. Enhance the Curb Appeal
The first thing to do is to make it pleasing to the eye, which means enhancing its curb appeal. Curb appeal is the way your home looks from the street. It will be your chance to make a good first impression on a potential buyer.
Landscaping adds value to your home, with some estimates ranging from a 5.5 to 12% increase to its sale value. To enhance the curb appeal, you should start with the lawn. Make sure the lawn is attractive and well-maintained. Trim the grass using a good residential mower. Planting trees and flowers can help not only its value, but its likelihood to sell– first impressions like the front lawn can get more inquiries, improving your chances at a sale. For this reason, work on all cracks and noticeable flaws on the façade of the house. Repainting the porch and front door is an inexpensive way to help your home stand out in the neighborhood.
2. Enhance the Kitchen and Bathroom
After working on the curb appeal of the home, you can now focus on the kitchen and bathroom. This means checking if your appliances and kitchen equipment and fixtures are outdated.
You also have the option of performing minor remodeling work to liven it up. Repainting the kitchen with neutral colors makes it appealing to a wide variety of personalities. Repainting the kitchen yourself can cost $200-600, but the return on investment can be in the thousands.
The same thing goes with the bathroom. It should be clean and pleasing to the eye. Installing new flooring and fixtures in the bathroom can also help increase the value of your home.
If the kitchen and bathroom are outdated, they may prevent your home from reaching its full resale value.
3. Invest in Smart Devices
Homebuyers these days are keen on buying homes that feature smart devices to make their lives easier. Aside from convenience, these smart devices also make the home safer for the homeowner. Some smart devices you can install in the house are security cameras, carbon monoxide detectors, fire detectors, automated lighting systems, smart bulbs, smart thermostats, and smart locks.
While the increase in resale value may not be substantial, these smart devices increase the home’s appeal to buyers. Depending on the homebuyer’s market in your area, your potential buyer may find great value in smart devices and modern technology.
4. Increase the Space
A big home commands a higher resale value. Buyers will immediately notice the size of the house once they see the property. It’s a sizeable investment, but you can make the house bigger by adding a new room, or converting it into a loft, if you have the vertical space. Another way to make it look bigger is to create a new living space by sprucing up the basement. You can also add a deck to the house.
5. Make Maintenance Costs Lower
One thing that homebuyers may balk at when checking out a house is the cost of maintaining it. With this in mind, you should make the cost of maintaining your home lower. This means making it easy to clean and maintain as well as reducing energy costs.
You may want to remove a carpet and replace it with hardwood. You can also replace incandescent bulbs with longer-lasting LED lighting. Insulating the water tank of the house and making sure your house is well-insulated so that heating and cooling costs are kept down are also a good feature to sell.
6. Pay Attention to Details
You should also pay attention to small details that are easily overlooked in increasing the resale value of your house. These small details include minor paint touch-ups in different parts of the house. You should go through every nook and cranny so your house is as perfect as it can be.
You have to make sure all windows are clean, all dents and scratches are covered up, and all squeaky door hinges are replaced. You can also refinish the hardwood floors of the house. Make sure you cover everything so you’ll make a good impression when a buyer comes in to look at the house.
Increasing the resale value of your home doesn’t have to be costly. All you need to do is to focus on specific areas to make it attractive to anyone in the market for a new home.
