5 Cheap Ways to Boost Your Home’s Value

Published On: September 20, 2020|Categories: Curb Appeal, Home Sellers, Home Staging, Home Value, Jasper IN Real Estate, Sellers, Selling Tips|Tags: cheap, cheap ways to boost home value, home selling, Home Selling Tips, Home Staging, home staging tips, home value, Staging Tips, staging your home, tips to selling your home|

If you’ve made the decision to put your home up for sale, you’re probably considering making some improvements before it hits the market. If that’s the case, you’re definitely not alone.

According to Zillow’s Consumer Housing Trends Report, about 73 percent of sellers do at least one home improvement before selling. And a large majority of those averages 2.7 home projects each. People do work on their homes before selling them.

Of course, the goal is to maximize the home’s sales price. There are some projects that increase a home’s value the most, such as a kitchen remodel, a deck addition, or window replacement, but are very expensive. If you don’t have a huge budget but still want to work on your home, here are five cheap ways to boost its value.

1. Increase curb appeal

According to the Zillow report, landscaping is the most common project home sellers complete before selling. One of the reasons is that boosting a home’s curb appeal can boost its sales price on the cheap.

Curb appeal can be improved by neatly trimming existing plants and trees and by adding new ones that provide color or contrast. Repainting a front entryway and door is another way to kick up your curb appeal without breaking the bank. Make sure the front of your home is swept and clear of any debris and add potted plants on or near the steps and hang a seasonal wreath to give it a pop of color!

2. Change the lighting

One of the quickest ways to update a home is to switch light fixtures. Trends in lighting change rapidly, and lighting can make a home appear dated in only a few years. Fortunately, you can find inexpensive, modern light fixtures at every big-box home improvement store, as well as quite a few places online.

Keep in mind, too, that better lighting also helps when potential buyers see photos of your home online. Bright spaces are more appealing than dimly lit spaces. LED bulbs, relatively new on the market, tend to provide more brightness while using less energy. A few ideas would be to place floor lamps in darker rooms and turn them on during showings. You can also replace your bulbs with higher wattage bulbs to increase lighting and brighten a room. Lastly, hang lighter curtains and hang the rods above the windows at ceiling height to make the room seem larger and bigger and keep all curtains open to allow natural lighting to fill the room.

3. Smart home technology

Another modern amenity that buyers – especially younger buyers – appreciate is smart home technology. It might not make sense to run out and turn your entire home in a voice-activated machine, but a few updates can go a long way.

A smart thermostat, for example, is something you can install yourself for two or three hundred bucks. Keep an eye one your electric companies blog or newsletter for special deals on smart thermostats. The same goes for a smart doorbell and smart light bulbs. If you must replace a garage door opener, you could consider a wi-fi connected unit. Smart Door Locks are another enticing feature. Some of these can be expensive but there are plenty of cheap ones on the market that you can find on Amazon or your local hardware store.

Many newer homes come with smart-home features that homes built just a decade ago don’t have. If you want to compete for buyers with those homes, it doesn’t hurt to add tech.

4. Interior paint

Most sellers who do home improvement projects include painting in their budgets. If there are dings and nicks in the drywall, it’s time to repair them and cover your walls with a fresh coat of paint. If you do it yourself, it’s a pretty inexpensive project.

Be sure to choose neutral wall colors such as beige or gray, with white trim, as these allow the buyer to imagine their own belongings in the space better where as bright bold colors and accent walls will turn them off especially if they do not like the colors. Buyers will also be discouraged by dingy or stained walls that they’ll need to paint as soon as they move in. That will immediately lower the price of their offer. Don’t forget the bathrooms where lighting is low. Keeping your paint colors light and neutral throughout your home will make it seem bigger and cleaner and more attractive to the prospective home buyer.

5. Focus on floors

Walls provide the most surface area that buyers see when they’re in your home, and the second-most surface area is provided by the floors. Flooring is one of the first things people notice.

If you have carpeting that’s in good shape, at least have it professionally cleaned. If you have wood floors, make sure they are clean and free of clutter. If you have badly damaged or heavily worn flooring, you might want to add a few simple rugs in places where the floor is most heavily damaged or possibly consider replacing it with something like luxury vinyl tile (LVT). LVT can sometimes be had for less than carpet, and it’s something you can install yourself if you’re just a little handy.

The bottom line

Most home sellers do some work before they put their house on the market. But if the goal is to recoup the costs when you sell, it doesn’t always make sense to spend big bucks. Fortunately, you probably don’t have to. Find out what the value of your home is in today’s real estate market with a FREE NO OBLIGATION Home Valuation sent to you in 24 hours!

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