Home Improvements to Boost Your Home's Value

When it comes to buying a house, its no secret that we tend to “judge the book by its cover”.  So, if you’re selling your home its important to make sure it looks as appealing as possible. Here are a few tweaks you can make to boost your selling price.

Improve your landscape

Make sure your lawn is nice and manicured – clear out any unattractive shrubberty and replace them with new, lively alternatives. Try adding tasteful pops of color with potted plants, evergreen hedges or garden beds.

Spruce up your entryway

Paint your front door! This is often overlooked as a dramatic change but it really makes a big different. While you’re at it, update your house numbers and mailbox to tie it all together.

Change out light and plumbing fixtures

this may seem like a no-brainer but often times people forget about this easy improvement. By replacing old fixtures with more stylish options your  house will get an instant lift.

Return rooms to their original uses

If you use the extra bedroom s an office, turn it back into a bedroom. This will allow prospective buyers to envision their uses for the rooms as opposed to yours.

Replace dirty or worn carpet

There are few things more unappealing than a dirty old carpet. Often cleaning isn’t enough. If you have hardwood floors under the carpeting, your best option might be to refinish them and forget about the carpet all together.  Nothing beats a freshly varnished hardwood floor.

Remove window treatments unless they are current and high end

Your personalized window décor probably won’t match every prospective buyer’s taste so you’re better off getting rid of them. Again, this will allow the buyer to picture their décor rather than yours.

Depersonalize

On that note, remove obvious and identifying personal items like photos and knick knacks. You want the buyer to be able to see themselves living there. That can be hard to do with someone else’s family portraits staring out from picture frames.

Clean thoroughly

You know the phrase “make it sparkle”? Do that. Deep clean every inch of the house and consider hiring a cleaning service to go through again.

Paint every room

A fresh coat of paint is an instant makeover for any room. Opt for netural colors that appeal to everyone. It will freshen up the house and make it look more current.

Consider replacing textured ceilings

For some buyers, popcorn ceilings are a deal-breaker. If your home was built before 1979, the ceilings could contain asbestos so you might have to hire a professional to remove the texture. If it’s a newer house you can do it yourself either by scraping the ceilings or (if they are high enough) installing drywall over them to create new ceilings. However, I would definitely recommend the first option because high ceilings alone make a room immensely more appealing. 

Buying a home? Check out our recent listings.