Do you ever wonder what improvements you can make to increase your property value? If you’re like most homeowners, then the answer is yes.
However, so few actually know what they are capable of doing in order to improve their property value, and the ones who do have an understanding fail to take action.
Hopefully by the end of this article, however, you will have a detailed understanding of what exactly you can do to increase your property’s value and the will to take action.
What Does Increasing Your Property’s Value Mean?
I’m sure you’ve probably heard people talk about their property value before, but what does it mean exactly?
A property value is defined by SFGate as an estimate of what a price of land is actually worth.
Property value is determined by a real estate appraiser who will take a variety of considerations into account. While the actual property value is determined by an appraiser, there is the factor of appeal to the potential buyer as well.
While there are numerous improvements you can make to your home to increase value and appeal, here are the five best home improvements you can make.
1. Apply Fresh Paint
Applying fresh paint to both the exterior and interior of your home is a great way to quickly and cost efficiently increase your property value.
A good first impression is everything when selling a house. Also known as curb appeal, having a freshly painted house can make your house look more aesthetically pleasing and inviting to potential buyers.With that said, it is important to choose a color that is certain to attract potential buyers. Therefore if your favorite color is neon green, I would encourage you to let someone else pick the color of the home.
It is also important to repaint any areas of your home that suffer from poor paint quality. Similar to the outside of your home, you want to paint the inside in a color that is complementary to the rest of your house. By doing so, you will not only increase the appraised value, but you will also increase the attractiveness of your home with potential buyers.
2. Replace the Windows
The windows are something that many homeowners neglect when trying to improve the overall property value, but it is crucial to have modern, up to date windows when trying to increase the value of your home.
If your windows are starting to crack, hard to open, shut and lock, or suffer from moisture damage, you will most definitely need to have them replaced. If your windows work well, but they are dirty and obviously outdated, you can probably benefit from new windows in this instance as well.
Once you make the decision to replace your windows, it’s important to choose windows that are aesthetically pleasing, such as picture windows. Similar to applying fresh paint to your home, adding new, more attractive windows will increase both the appraised value and likelihood that someone will purchase your home at the appraised value.
3. Repair or Replace Your Home’s Siding
While fresh paint can make the exterior of your home look more appealing, in many cases the problem is with your siding. If your home uses aluminum or vinyl siding, then it is more at risk of damaging and needing replacement than a home with wood or brick.
In order to find out if you can increase your property value by replacing the siding, you should conduct a thorough examination of your home’s exterior. If the siding is has holes, dents or blatant scrapes, then you can more than likely increase the property value by replacing it with new siding.
Although doing so comes at a cost, you will ultimately save money when it comes time to sell your home. Therefore, replacing your home’s siding should be viewed as a solid investment as it will significantly improve your property’s value.
4 .Replace The Carpet or Get Hardwood Floors
One of the most offsetting characteristics of a home for a potential buyer are dirty carpets or torn up, damaged wooden or ceramic flooring. As a result, replacing old, dirty carpet can be a great way to quickly increase your property value.
If desired, replacing your carpet or ceramic tile home with hardwood flooring can be an even better option for improving your property’s value. Not only does hardwood flooring improve the appraised value, but it looks more attractive to many and is much easier to keep clean than carpet. However, if you have animals you may want to consider using a rug to prevent them from scratching up your new hardwood floors.
While it will cost you to do replace your flooring, you will be able to increase your home’s value and get a return on your investment later once you are ready to sell.
5. Landscaping
As previously mentioned, a good first impression is extremely important to a potential buyer. If your grass hasn’t been cut, the driveway is dirty and covered with grass patches and their aren’t any aesthetic attractions to draw them in, it will be difficult for a potential buyer to picture the end result.
Instead, show them what the house should look like by doing it for them. While it will take more work than money, landscaping is a great way to make a potential buyer’s first impression memorable.
If you don’t know how to landscape properly or you don’t have the time to landscape by yourself(and you don’t have any kids who need some additional chores), then you can hire a landscaping service to do the landscaping for you. A good landscaping service will be able to deliver you the yard of your dreams without you having to raise a finger, except for when you write the check, of course.
A little Work Can Go a Long Way
While it may seem like a lot of work, constantly improving your home in small increments can have a significant impact when it comes time to list your house for sale.
Instead of neglecting the quality of your home until it is time to sell, take action and keep your home up to date as you go.
Was this article helpful and informative? What are some other ways that you can think of to boost your property value? Leave us a comment with your thoughts in the section below.
