Ways To Increase Your Home’s Value

Published On: March 23, 2019|Categories: Blog, Selling, Tampa, Things to Do, Tips|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Many people wonder which home improvements add the most to their home’s value. When on a budget and faced with the task of improving your home for ultimate resale value, it can seem daunting to decide what needs the most work. While there are some improvements that cost a lot of money, many are simple, such as painting the entire home for a fresh new look. This can be accomplished for a little money and and a little elbow grease and will significantly improve the appearance of your home.

Another relatively easy improvement is to blacken the driveway so it looks new again. This has significant curb appeal. Installing a new porch light can give a fresh look to a dated entry way.

When faced with selling older homes, there is much more to consider if you want to maximize resale value. Safety and comfort issues should always be addressed before aesthetic issues. Many homebuyers are limited to what they can buy, even if they plan to do their own updates. Someone with a VA-backed loan for example, will not be able to purchase a home with safety issues not corrected.

Is the home wired properly? How old is the heating/cooling system? Does it need a new roof? After these issues are addressed (which can be quite costly) it may be prudent to concentrate on a couple rooms to update. Research has shown that sellers get more return value for kitchen and bathroom upgrades than any other room.

Kitchens can be updated with new cabinetry, counters, and stainless steel appliances. Avoid brightly colored appliances as they may detract from a potential buyer’s view of your home. This can be a pricey upgrade, but it is often returned with money to spare at the time of the sale of the home.

Another big upgrade for big returns is to remodel the bathrooms – all bathrooms in the house. As long as the fixtures are neutral, this will give your home great resale value. New flooring, especially tile, is a winner with home buyers. Installing energy efficient showers and toilets may impress buyers as well.

It’s important to keep in mind the maximum value of homes around your neighborhood. If the highest sale in the past year was $500,000 and your home is currently valued at $475,000, it is not prudent to spend $100,000 in upgrades. Spend the additional $25,000 in upgrades, but don’t go over the maximum sale value in the neighborhood unless your house is bigger, has more acreage, or other amenities that will make it worth more.

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