If you want to sell your home for a high price, you must make it as desirable as possible to future buyers. This means making necessary improvements to increase its potential value.
In the following sections, we will provide an overview of how to identify and carry out home improvements that will make the biggest difference in the value of your home. We will also provide information on calculating the costs involved.
Understanding the Real Estate Market
There are four key factors that drive the real estate market: comparable home values; the age, size, and condition that a home is in; neighborhood appeal; and the overall housing market health.
While you cannot change most of these factors, you can change the condition that your home is in. The key to doing it right lies in identifying the most profitable areas for improvement and figuring out how to renovate them as cheaply as possible.
Identifying High-Impact Areas for Improvement
There are specific parts of the house that can make a significant difference in your home’s value if you renovate them. Kitchens and bathrooms are major selling points for home buyers. If these areas of your house are outdated, reconfiguring the layouts to create a more appealing space and upgrading old appliances can increase your home’s value substantially.
Your home’s “curb appeal” is also important. Curb appeal is the way your house appears on the outside. You can improve your home’s curb appeal by making exterior architecture changes, upgrading your landscaping, or modernizing your home’s facade.
Other things that you can do include expanding your living space by adding extensions and making energy-efficient upgrades.
Budget-Friendly Renovation Ideas
Even if you are on a limited budget, there are renovations you can make that will increase your home’s value. Repainting the interior of your house or redoing the floors can make a big difference in its overall look and feel.
If you don’t want to renovate your entire kitchen, there are specific renovations that you can undertake. You can complete a cabinet and drawer makeover, replace your countertops, or redo your backsplash. For bathrooms, you can install a pre-made bathroom vanity or replace your shower. Regarding exterior renovations, ideas include painting, installing a deck or patio, and even cleaning by pressure-washing or power-washing.
Cost-Effective DIY vs. Hiring Professionals
Some jobs require professionals. In other cases, though, you might be able to DIY and save costs. Renovations such as painting and redoing floors are ones that are both high-impact and relatively straightforward. Although they may be time consuming, if you are willing to put in the effort you can save costs by not hiring professionals.
If you decide to handle parts of the renovation yourself, it’s important to pay attention to some architectural considerations. For instance, structural elements like load-bearing walls, proper insulation, and electrical layouts require careful planning to avoid costly mistakes.
However, for more complex renovations, you might need to hire a contractor. The good news is that you can choose contractors who offer financing for home renovations. This can help you spread out the cost over time while still ensuring high-quality work. By selecting contractors who provide financing, you’ll not only save money upfront but also gain access to professional expertise without the burden of paying everything at once.
Prioritizing Renovations Based on ROI
The way that you should approach the renovation process is to consider the ROI that you will get. You may or may not want to hire a professional for certain major jobs, but you should research the costs involved and the difference that it will make in the eventual value of your home.
If a major upgrade will add a significant amount to your home’s selling price, it will be worth carrying out. Then your task will be to find the right professional who can do the job well and for a reasonable price.
Researching Potential Returns on Different Upgrades
Every home has its own particular needs, and you will have to consider yours in terms of where your biggest problem areas lie. Overall, major renovation types such as HVAC conversions, remodeling projects designed to fix structural flaws in a house, and other projects of that scale offer the greatest returns.
Balancing Aesthetic and Functional Improvements
When you decide on renovations to make, you need to create a balance between aesthetic and functional improvements. Obviously you want your home to look nicer as it will be more visually appealing to potential buyers. But you don’t want to do this at the expense of functionality because serious flaws will quickly become apparent. So you should consider what is most essential within the context of your available budget.
Preparing Your Home for Market After Renovations
After you have completed your major renovations, you should make sure that your home is fully prepared to be put on the market. This also means making minor but important aesthetic improvements like refreshing your home decor, including painting areas that could use touch-ups, fixing minor damage to walls and floors, and overall improving your curb appeal.
If your home is going to be staged, think about what nice things you can add to rooms to bring them to life and illustrate how people might use them to their full capacity. There are ways to decorate on a budget that could go a long way in giving your home greater aesthetic appeal and not break the bank in the process.
Conclusion
Regardless of whether you are looking to sell your house right away, making renovations can be a great way to increase your home’s value, lower bills, and make it more livable. To make the best possible decisions about which renovation types are most worthwhile, you should make a careful assessment of where your biggest problem areas lie and how much you can gain upon resale from investing in those renovations.
