Whether you plan to sell or not, increasing the value of your home is always a great way to build equity. Believe it or not, there are ways you can increase your home value without spending more than $500!
Here are some ideas of things you can do to increase the value of your property:
1. Invest in Curb Appeal
This one is probably the most physical step. It will require time and arm work, but it is also one of the most important investments. Curb appeal is the first impression of your home and we all know that when it comes to selling your home, the first impression is crucial. It can be a simple project like maintaining the lawn, cleaning the windows and siding, painting the front door, upgrading the light fixtures and house number, adding a few flower pots, adding fresh mulch to your flower beds, pressure washing the patio, and much more.
2. Declutter & Organize
I cannot stress this enough. Decluttering and organizing your space will make it look so much bigger. This is the second most crucial step if you are going to put your house on the market. Buyers love it when they can feel that the owner cares about their home, especially the home they are going to be living in. Make it look more spacious and well-maintained, it costs nothing but a little bit of your time.
3. Improve Storage Space
Homes with ample storage space are not necessarily worth more, but they are more convenient and therefore, desirable to buyers. Consider adding built-in shelves, closet organizers, or storage solutions to make the most of your available space. There are so many storage accessories you can get at Costco, Walmart or Ikea, the options are endless.
4. Refresh Your Paint
There’s nothing like a fresh coat of paint. And that is walls, ceiling, baseboards, trims and doors. You don’t have to do it all, but if it seriously needs a little facelift, you should probably take care of it. If you are painting to put your house on the market: go neutral.
5. Add a Kitchen Backsplash
You do not need to spend thousands of dollars to make your kitchen look good. From my professional experience, one of the things buyers notice the most and always comes as feedback is: No backsplash
A backsplash keeps your wall dry, makes it easier to clean and it does look good – who doesn’t want that? We got ours at Kent home (a white 3’’x6’’ subway tile), we bought some nice trims, glue and grout at Ritchie’s flooring, and installed it ourselves. It cost us approximately $400 for materials to do the kitchen, bathroom and mudroom! Just make sure that if you do it yourself, you have all the proper tools and the tiles are laid straight and flat.
6. Update Light Fixtures & Outlets
Consider updating the outdated light fixtures and yellowed outlets throughout. There is a wide variety of flush-mount light fixtures on the market these days, and you can get a pretty nice one for under $50! Make sure you choose one that lightens up the room properly, if not better than your previous light fixture. As far as the outlets go, you can find all kinds of wall plates in the hardware store for around $1 each. You can even go an extra step and change the whole thing (aka. receptacle and wall plate), which looks much better if the receptacles are yellow.
Increasing your home’s value does not have to be expensive and can be achieved through a lot of different projects. The little details might sound silly, but they matter and they show potential buyers (and appraisers) that your home has been well-maintained.
If you would like to have a detailed list of home renovation projects to increase your home value, download our FREE Homeowner Guide: Return On Investment
