5 Simple improvements which add value to your home
Category Advice
Are you looking for a few ways to spruce up your home without breaking the bank? People choose to update their homes for a number of reasons, such as: out of necessity due to lifestyle changes or with resale in mind. Either way, improving your home’s value can be done with ease and within budget, with this simple guideline:
1) Gates and fencing
“You will never get a second chance to make a first impression” and your gates and fences are the first thing people see when they visit your home. Installing aesthetic, yet functional gates and fences can make all the difference in the world when upgrading your home’s exterior. Alternatively, if you already have a secure fence or gate, a little paint goes a long way and a touch up could uplift your home drastically. Thus, by ensuring your gates and fences are ornate and efficient, you will garner more money for your home when you put it on the market as this gives home buyers a lasting first impression.
2) Landscape
A neglected yard can deter visitors and home buyers very easily. Mowing the lawn, planting new grass, beautiful flowers, bushes or trees can be an inexpensive way to give your home the facelift it needs and make it attractive to buyers. Additionally, installing outside lighting and garden pathways can also be a simple and rewarding improvement for your home as this not only serves for aesthetic purposes but security purposes as well.
3) Revamp the Kitchen
The kitchen tends to be the heart of the home and can easily dissuade buyers, even if the rest of the house is magnificent. However, upgrading it doesn’t always mean expensive new appliances, tiles and counters. Sometimes just a few simple changes can make your kitchen a whole lot more attractive and functional. For instance, upgrading the lighting in the kitchen is a great place to start. Adding better quality light fixtures and cabinet lighting can give the kitchen that modern edge that it needs. Also, replacing the taps with more ornate, high pressure faucets and exchanging old cupboard handles with newer, more fashionable ones are just some of the little changes which make a huge difference.
4) Bathrooms
If your home only has one bathroom, the addition of a small guest bathroom can recoup a large chunk of your investment. This not only makes your house more appealing to a whole new group of buyers but makes the home more convenient for those living in it. Additionally, small changes to your existing bathrooms can improve your home’s value as well. These include adding another sink to make it a double basin, expanding the shower to make it larger and more open, getting rid of stains in the bathtub, basins and toilets and giving the room a fresh coat of paint.
5) Go Green
Are you tired of high electricity bills? Although sustainable energy can be costly to set up initially, it is very low maintenance and quickly ensures a return on investment with the savings on electricity. Installing solar panels is highly beneficial as it makes your home more desirable to home buyers as going green is gradually becoming a necessity. Or alternatively, if you are working within a lower budget, replacing high power lights with energy saving LEDs and investing in energy efficient appliances are a great way to start.
Therefore, there are several small changes you can make to your home which can improve its value. Expensive upgrades come with a huge risk, as you may not always get the return on investment that you desired. A little extra love and care goes a long way and you don’t always have to spend large amount of money on renovations to make your home more appealing and valuable.
Author: Dormehl Property Group
