Homes have been selling rapidly over the past few years since the pandemic. In very hot markets, home sellers have barely had to do many renovations to their homes to get them to sell. Living in a highly sought-after community with very little inventory has been enough to create lots of interest and final sales prices well over asking. But as the year progresses and interest rates keep rising, it may not be as easy to fetch great deals on your home without putting much effort into renovating them. Here are some summer home fixes you should make before selling your house. These renovations are critical to include if you want to improve your home’s appraisal value.
Boost Your Curb Appeal
One of the best ways to fetch a good return on investment is to improve your curb appeal. A recent study revealed that something as simple as boosting the landscaping could increase home value by 5 to 11 percent. Here are some ways to update your curb appeal to lure potential buyers into checking out the rest of your house.
Keep Your Greenery Lush
If you are looking for a way to boost your curb appeal, this suggestion is much simpler than you think. Making sure your lawn looks beautiful is a straightforward way of boosting your curb appeal that doesn’t require much of an investment but yields excellent ROI (return on investment). A recent study by Homelight reveals that basic yard care, spreading fresh mulch, and cleaning up the landscaping can give a homeowner an ROI of 238 percent on an investment of $3,467. Just the basics will raise the perceived value of your home before potential buyers even enter your home.
Change Your Front Door
If you want to continue to increase ROI, turn your attention to your front door. A simple coat of paint will do wonders for your door. However, if you want to really add value, consider replacing your existing door with another one. Steel doors add plenty of value because they increase the safety of your home, reduce exterior sounds, and are energy-efficient.
Fix or Change Your Garage Doors
Speaking of doors, don’t forget about the garage doors in your home. As with entryways, you can splash on a fresh coat of paint to give the garage a new, fresh look. You could also hire someone to repair your garage doors. Or you can replace them entirely, especially if the mechanical features are outdated or not working correctly. Spending a few hundred dollars on garage door replacement could yield ROI upwards of a few thousand dollars at closing.
Clean or Repaint Critical Outdoor Areas
Another way to enhance curb appeal without investing substantial money is to clean your exterior areas. Over the years, mold, moss, mildew, cobwebs, dirt, oil, and grime accumulate in critical areas of your home, including the roof, siding, driveways, and patios. A good pressure washing company can tidy these areas in a few hours and restore the original color making your home look new.
Upgrade Your Kitchen
After ensuring that the outdoor spaces that affect your curb appeal are nice and tidy, another area of concentration is your kitchen. Summer is a great time to update your kitchen space. While you may not recover all that you invest in your kitchen remodel, you can at least recoup upwards of 70 percent. Before grabbing a sledgehammer and working on your DIY kitchen remodel, it is a good idea to discover how much your remodel can recoup by checking out some of the available home improvement ROI tools and apps. In many cases, you may not need to demolish your entire kitchen and replace it with a new, more functional one. Sometimes just making simple updates to existing hardware, replacing flooring, and updating the kitchen countertops may be all you need to excite potential buyers. Meanwhile, some homeowners would want to focus on structural repairs such as wall repaints, chimney tuckpointing, and other possible renovation projects that would help increase the overall value of their houses.
Redesign Your Bathroom
Another critical interior space you should consider renovating, especially if you are selling your home this summer, is your primary bathroom. Nowadays, bathrooms are no longer a place to bathe. Many homeowners are rearranging the space to make them more functional, giving it a luxury spa feel. As with your kitchen, you don’t have to go overboard to get potential buyers’ interest. Updating hardware, fixing or painting cabinets, replacing countertops, and ensuring that your bathrooms are sparkling clean can be just as appealing as jetted tubs and fancy showerheads.
Create a WFH Office Space
Working from home seems to be en vogue these days. While some companies have encouraged workers to return to the office, others allow teleworking indefinitely or for some parts of the week. If your potential buyers happen to be part of the emerging WFH phenomenon, they will want functional office spaces. So, consider incorporating a great office space into your home if you’re thinking about value-added areas. A recent article published by the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) projected that home buyers’ preference for home offices would increase as the shift continues. As a result, such spaces may bring more buyer interest. So it would be ideal to include such spaces. Some homeowners are converting small nooks or closet spaces into small office spaces. Others are taking rooms that are generally too small for any other purpose and making them into a home office.
Add Pizazz to Your Outdoor Space
Another great way to add value to your home is to improve your outdoor space. This is another area that has gotten more attention since the pandemic lockdowns. Homeowners are investing more effort into outdoor spaces, particularly backyard areas that are great retreats. So instead of having a small slab dedicated to entertaining, homeowners are transforming the entire backyard landscape by putting in playgrounds, outdoor kitchens, fire pits, gardens, and appliances. In addition, they are extending their hardscapes to include intricate walkways and other spaces to provide balance to the excessive greenery in the yard. Improving your backyard space is a great way to enhance the value of your home.
While very few renovations will get you a 100 percent return on your investment, you can still get a substantial amount of your money back when you close on your house. As the house selling frenzy dies down, many homeowners will have to resort to renovating their homes to get buyer interest. These renovations above will bring the most value. Most importantly, many don’t require a lot of financial investment.
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